Andrea Kimi Antonelli took a commanding maiden Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix victory, with Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar rounding out the podium.
Despite a chaotic GP that saw multiple Safety Cars and a Red Flag, the young Italian became the youngest-ever winner of the Monaco GP. He kept a cool head and managed to fend off Hamilton to reign victorious.
Antonelli lined up on pole, with the young Italian looking to continue on his incredible championship campaign as well as redemption for 2025’s Monaco GP, where he finished as the last driver.
However, Antonelli had Max Verstappen alongside him, the Dutchman looking to use his four championships’ worth of experience to get ahead of the young Mercedes driver into Turn 1.
Up until Monaco, the second row has led the first lap of every race in the 2026 season.
Disaster for Verstappen off the line
Antonelli had an impressive start off the line, holding onto his lead as Max Verstappen was slow off the line. It was a disaster for the Red Bull man, who found himself falling through the order and ended up far behind even Gabriel Bortoleto, who started from the pit lane.
Verstappen complained about the engine being broken on the formation lap and about the Red Bull underneath him not having the drive to get him up to speed.
On the second lap, Ollie Bearman and Bortoleto dove into the pit lane, Bearman switching out a damaged front wing. Verstappen also came into the pits but did not change his tyres, retiring the car instead, bringing his Monaco GP to an end before it had really begun.
While Antonelli built an impressive gap of 3.5 seconds in just three laps, his teammate George Russell was noted for a potential false start. It was another blow for the Mercedes driver, who had struggled all weekend.
Sergio Perez was also penalised for a false start and received a drive-through penalty.
Esteban Ocon came into the pits too, switching onto the Hard tyres.
Russell was cleared for the potential false start and focused his attention on Isack Hadjar in front of him and was told to look after his tyres so he’d be prepared when Hadjar struggled.
It was the end of Valtteri Bottas’ race when they called him into the pits over the radio, saying they needed to cool the car, due to overheated brakes – an unfortunate result for the Finn.
Russell on the back of Hadjar
Hadjar began to have issues on Lap 21, complaining about fears that his engine would explode. The team tried to calm the Frenchman, but it did nothing to protect him from Russell’s Mercedes charging up behind him. The gap was down to just 0.6 seconds on Lap 23.
The Red Bull team told Hadjar there was no fix for the issues he was noticing, but they were working on a solution.
Russell was closer than ever on Lap 26, with the Briton looking around the outside of Hadjar but failing to make a significant attempt on the Red Bull. Unfortunately, being caught up by the Frenchman has put him nearly 40 seconds behind his teammate.
On Lap 28, Russell attacked once again with Hadjar cutting the chicane and staying ahead. The Mercedes driver was quick on the radio to complain about Hadjar’s corner-cutting.
The first pit stop came from Hamilton, diving into the pit lane on Lap 29. He swapped his soft tyres for hards and came out behind Leclerc in free air.
Bearman retired his Haas machinery on Lap 32, and Russell, close behind, was coming into the pit lane to change his tyres.
A lap later, Hadjar came into the pit lane, but came out of the pits detrimentally behind Russell.
Penalties galore
Hamilton was dealt a blow as he was handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Hamilton was forced to try to build a gap between himself and those around him.
Lando Norris was sitting in sixth when he went on the radio, concerned about the power unit not working. McLaren seemed unable to fix the issue, leaving Norris to navigate it on his own.
Antonelli finally came into the pits, maintaining his lead comfortably while his teammate received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Franco Colapinto was the third driver noted for speeding in the pit lane and received a five-second penalty.
The Monaco pit lane has a slower speed requirement than most tracks. Instead of the usual 80 kmph, the maximum speed allowed is 50 kmph.
However, each car has limiters that help hold it at the correct speed. So it’s rare to see so many drivers struggling to reach the required speed. So far, the area of difficulty has been in the pit entry, with drivers not slowing down fast enough.
Russell looked around the outside of Norris’ McLaren, nearly hitting the Brit’s rear wing. Heading into the nouvelle chicane, he had his tyres close to Norris, but was unable to get past.
The day went from bad to worse for Russell, being investigated for crossing the white line in the pit lane. However, a silver lining for the Mercedes driver was Norris’ continued woes.
The reigning F1 champion complained about losing the battery on the radio before diving into the pit lane to retire his car.
Fighting for points
On Lap 50, further down the grid, Alex Albon was defending for the final points position. He complained on the radio after being asked to hold back the cars behind to give his teammate ahead a buffer. However, the backup opened the door for Arvid Lindblad.
Down into the start, finishing straight, Lindblad dove around Albon, taking the final points position.
On lap 52, Leclerc critically got within five seconds of his teammate. Currently putting him at a net second for the race finish. The Monegasque was maintaining a steady gap of 4.7 seconds but lapping faster than his more experienced teammate.
Oscar Piastri was the next driver to find himself under investigation for speeding in the pit lane. Receiving a five-second penalty, it was clear there must be an issue with the sensor leading into the pit lane.
Lelcerc closed the gap to Hamilton to 2.9 seconds, but not without issue. The Ferrari brushed the wall on its lap. However, the close was halted when Lance Stroll locked his brakes into the final corner, slamming his Aston Martin into the wall.
With the car wedged into the wall, a Safety Car was brought out. Both Ferraris dove into the pits. Hamilton served his penalty, putting the Ferrari duo on even footing. Antonelli came into the pit lane the lap after.
Antonelli watched his nearly 30-second gap disappear as the Safety Car ran for multiple laps.
Russell pitted under the Safety Car but didn’t serve his five-second penalty, leaving him open to further punishment.
Safety Car restart
On lap 65, the Safety Car came in, and Antonelli led the field away cleanly. It was a disaster for the home hero Leclerc, who locked up in the final corner, repeating Stroll’s accident nearly identically.
It was an awful end to a strong weekend for the Monegasque, who was visibly irate coming into the garage.
Only a few laps later on Lap 68, the race was red-flagged. There were concerns that the tarmac in the final corner was breaking up, which may have been the reason Stroll and Leclerc met the wall.
Under the red flag, it was clear that the issue affecting drivers was a gouge in the newly resurfaced tarmac. While they can tell drivers to be careful, there’s not much they can do to fix the issue.
Looking at the progression across the race, the tarma has been ripped apart as the grand prix has gone on. For Stroll, he was trying to avoid the hole and get on the marbles, which turned out to be chunks of tarmac.
Leclerc did a similar thing, blaming the brakes, but it was coming from the tarmac breaking up.
The FIA could still restart the race if it deemed that drivers could avoid the tarmac and that the track was safe enough to resume racing.
Race control issued a resumption order for the grid, and drivers began preparing to get back in their cars.
Under the Red Flag, Russell received a drive-through penalty for failing to serve his penalty correctly.
With dry track conditions, the grid would have a standing start. Giving Hamilton the opportunity to get past Antonelli into Turn 1. Potentially Hamilton’s only chance to take the lead.
One final chance to take the lead
Hamilton was under investigation for a safety car infringement for leaving more than 10 car lengths between him and Antonelli. Luckily, just ahead of the restart, there was no further investigation.
Lindblad is the only driver with new soft tyres for the restart.
Antonelli pulled up in pole position for the second time in the race. This time with a seven-time world champion alongside him.
The young Italian was clean off the line, but Hamilton had a strong start, the two nearly going side by side. It wasn’t enough for Hamilton, who had to settle for second.
Nico Hulkenberg was side by side with Carlos Sainz down Mirabeau as the Audi clipped the Williams. Sainz’s race was over as he limped to an escape road.
On Lap 73, Russell came into the pits to serve his drive-through penalty. Coming out of the pit lane, he settled for 14th place.
In fourth, Hadjar was noted for two separate infringements, putting his top-five finish at risk. They wouldn’t be investigated until after the race.
Gasly was in third, but he had a ten-second penalty to serve at the end of the race. As of Lap 75, the gap was at 3.3 seconds.
There was no stopping Antonelli as he took the chequered flag, crossing the line to become the youngest ever race winner in Monaco. A year on from finishing the race as the last classified driver. Hamilton and Hadjar completed the race on the podium. Although Hajdar’s podium was provisional, with an impending investigation.
Piastri and Lawson crossed the line to round out the top five. Lindblad made it double points for Racing Bulls in sixth with Gasly, Albon, Ocon and Perez closing out the top ten and the points scorers.
READ MORE: F1 2026 Monaco Grand Prix – Race Results
Discussion about this post