Andrea Kimi Antonelli bounced back from his Zandvoort woes, taking a sensational win at Monza. Here’s how the drivers fared at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old extended his championship lead after benefiting from Mercedes’ strategy call to deny team-mate George Russell the Italian GP, becoming the first Italian driver in 60 years to win at Monza.
Kimi Antonelli: 10
Grid Position: P19, Race Result: P1
Antonelli came into his home race off the back of a relative dry spell – winning only one out of the last five races.
To make matters trickier, the German marque decided Monza would be the right track for the Italian to take his ‘mandated’ engine penalty.
Starting the 53-lap race from 19th, however, the 20-year-old drove an inspired first lap. By the time the red flag was called out for Charles Leclerc’s massive 60G shunt, Antonelli was already running as high as 12th.
The restart saw the Italian dispatch six more rivals with ease on the first lap. It wasn’t long before the championship leader was right on the gearbox of his team-mate Russell. What ensued was a sensational back-and-forth of the race lead between the Mercedes duo, lap after lap after lap.
Lance Stroll’s stricken AMR26 called out the VSC, giving Mercedes just what they needed to separate their drivers on track. But despite Russell holding the lead at that moment, the team called Antonelli into the pits for a set of brand-new Medium tyres.
From there on, the Italian put up a stellar charge, eventually getting past his team-mate and completing a historic comeback from the very back of the grid to win his home race in only his sophomore year in the sport.
A flawless performance that sees him head into the Spanish GP weekend with an extended 66-point lead over Russell in the championship standings.
George Russell: 8.5
Grid Position: P2, Race Result: P2
Russell did all he could to secure his chances of victory at Monza. He got ahead of pole-sitter Pierre Gasly after the first start and kept his nose ahead at the restart. But the red flag period was probably where it all started to unravel for the Mercedes driver.
The Brackley-based team decided to relieve the Briton of his Medium compound starting tyres for the more durable Hards. With no new set of Mediums available, his best bet was to finish the race without another pit stop.
Mercedes split strategies to ensure both cars took the chequered flag, and it fell in Antonelli’s favour, who took the initial start on the Hard tyres and had a further set of new Mediums to spare during the VSC stop.
Whether Russell threw away the ‘best strategy’ is something that Mercedes needs to figure out in the debrief. But Russell fell further back in the championship to Antonelli with no apparent fault of his own. Notwithstanding, a strong result for the trailing championship contender as he heads into the inaugural race weekend at the Madring.
Max Verstappen: 9
Grid Position: P5, Race Result: P3
The Dutchman led the 53-lap race momentarily, but the W17’s race pace was all too much for his RB22 after all. Verstappen’s third-place finish on Sunday, therefore, became his first podium at Monza which was not a race win.
The Red Bull driver tried his darndest to keep up with the squabbling duo of Russell and Antonelli in the opening phase of the Grand Prix, but the round of pit stops finally put a gap between him and the leading duo that proved to be insurmountable.
That said, he put up a valiant showing against the McLarens. Putting his Zandvoort heartbreak behind him, Verstappen ensured that he stood on the podium for the first time since the summer break.
Liam Lawson: 5
Grid Position: P22, Race Result: P14
After a stellar maiden outing with the RB22 at Zandvoort two weeks ago, Lawson seemingly slumped back into the form that saw him axed from the Milton-Keynes based team only three rounds into the 2025 season.
An engine penalty for the Kiwi driver meant he started the race from the pit lane – that said, he wasn’t threatening the top 10 anyway, after being knocked out in Q2 on Saturday (though he was in fact impeded on his final run by Piastri).
The 53-lap race was a ‘ frustrating’ affair for Lawson, who lost a substantial chunk of his front wing after contact with Nico Hulkenberg at the restart.
With Isack Hadjar inching closer to resuming his Red Bull racing duties with each passing day, Lawson may have missed a golden opportunity to audition for a front-running seat at the team, or elsewhere, last weekend.
Lando Norris: 8
Grid Position: P8, Race Result: P4
After winning back-to-back races in Hungary and the Netherlands, Norris was brought back to reality by the MCL40’s ineptness at the Temple of Speed.
McLaren’s package did not seem like the benchmark for the field anymore. Brake issues in qualifying saw the reigning F1 World Champion only able to post the eighth-fastest lap of Q3.
In the race, the relative proximity in terms of outright performance between the MCL40 and its rivals saw Norris lose the majority of his race time scrapping with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Gasly and his team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Nonetheless, it was a solid outing by the McLaren driver who, after enjoying a “good battle” with Piastri throughout the 53-lap race, has sharpened his instincts heading into the Spanish GP.
Oscar Piastri: 7.5
Grid Position: P6, Race Result: P5
Piastri seemed to be on the back foot compared to Norris throughout the Friday and Saturday practice sessions. But he turned that around in Q3, out-qualifying the Briton for the fifth time this season.
Come race day, Piastri was the lead McLaren driver for the majority of the race – running as high as net P3 on the road. But a fast-charging Antonelli and a resolute Verstappen pushed him into the clutches of Hamilton and Norris.
And, in the dying embers of the 53-lap race, the Australian relinquished fourth place to his team-mate, rounding off a somewhat lukewarm Italian GP for the Woking-based team.
Lewis Hamilton: 7
Grid Position: P4, Race Result: P6
Hamilton may have found his mojo back under the latest F1 technical rule-set, but the gremlins of the past that have denied the Maranello-based team have finally caught up to the seven-time World Champion.
Despite a second-row starting grid, the Briton was forced deep into a time-consuming battle with the McLarens and Alpine’s Gasly after a Lap 1 contact with team-mate Leclerc saw him forced onto the gravel and plummeting down the order.
And while he did claw back places at the restart, Ferrari’s decision not to pit him during the VSC meant Hamilton was always fighting with one hand tied behind his back.
After the race, the Ferrari driver was drawn to comparisons with his former team, Mercedes – the 42-year-old believing that all he could do is drive, and a lack of written “rules of engagement” at the Scuderia will always cost him and the team points.
Charles Leclerc: N/A
Grid Position: P3, Race Result: DNF
The Monegasque’s Italian GP ended as soon as it had started. A banging of wheels into the first chicane with Hamilton then turned into a drag race around the Curva Grande with Gasly.
Having relinquished P2 to the Frenchman, Leclerc was then passed on the inside at Parabolica by Piastri. Holding position on the outside, however, the Ferrari driver demanded too much of his rears, getting on the power early.
In an almost carbon copy of his 2020 shunt at the same spot, his SF-26 veered off track and into the barriers. Leclerc suffered a massive 60G shunt but was cleared by the medical centre afterwards.
Pierre Gasly: 7.5
Grid Position: P1, Race Result: P7
After a sensational pole lap in Q3 on Saturday, many wondered if the A526’s one-lap pace would translate into Gasly’s first win since 2020 (coincidentally at Monza, too).
It was pretty clear after the start that it would not. From there on, it was only a matter of how high Gasly could finish the 53-lap race.
At the restart, the Frenchman started from P2 but was quickly swallowed by Verstappen, Hamilton, Piastri and Antonelli in successive laps as the pit wall instructed him to start looking after his tyres.
In the grand scheme of things, a P7 finish at the chequered flag is a stellar result for the Enstone-based team, but in hindsight, the Anglo-French marque would be mulling over what could have been without the red flag interruption.
Franco Colapinto: 7
Grid Position: P7, Race Result: P9
It was an ecstatic start to the Italian GP for the Argentinian racing driver. Quick wits during the first start saw Colapinto dump all of his battery on the main straight, seeing Leclerc in the wall and expecting at least a Safety Car.
This meant he was able to overtake Piastri and get himself into fourth as the red flag was called out.
The restart saw Colapinto getting his elbows out once again – running as high as third – but battling Verstappen saw him run wide at the first of the Lesmos and into the gravel trap.
He did undertake a valiant comeback drive from there onwards, taking the chequered flag in ninth for double points for Alpine. But after the race, Colapinto was overcome with emotions, and understandably so for missing out on a huge “opportunity for the team and myself.”
Arvid Lindblad: 8
Grid Position: P9, Race Result: P8
2026’s rookie of the year was sandwiched between the Alpine drivers at the chequered flag on Sunday.
He extended his points-scoring streak with a solid eighth-place finish. Admittedly, the A526 was a worthy opponent, with Lindblad conceding that the Enstone-based team was the “faster” package out on track.
But relatively, losing only one place to pole-sitter Gasly and a handy haul of points are the positives the British-Swedish driver should deservedly take away from Monza.
Yuki Tsunoda: 8.5
Grid Position: P15, Race Result: P10
A tricky qualifying on Saturday put Tsunoda on the back foot. But to the credit of the Japanese racing driver, he dragged the VCARB 03 into the points in only his second full-time experience with the all-new 2026 regulations.
Tsunoda’s 10th-place finish at the chequered flag has helped Racing Bulls eke out a 13-point lead over Alpine in its quest for P5 in the Constructors’ championship.
Gabriel Bortoleto: 6.5
Grid Position: P10, Race Result: P11
Monza was the third race running for Bortoleto finishing outside the points. What’s more concerning is that it was the second race in a row where the Brazilian racing driver started inside the points only to filter out of the top 10 at the chequered flag.
Missing out on Q3 by the slimmest of margins, Bortoleto was elevated into P10 after accounting for Antonelli’s grid drop. But after sluggish starts, something Bortoleto agreed Audi needs to work on, he was only able to take the chequered flag in 11th.
Nico Hulkenberg: 6
Grid Position: P12, Race Result: P12
Hulkenberg’s run of points-scoring finishes came to an end at Monza on Sunday. Consecutive Q2 eliminations saw him start the race from 12th on the grid.
The German driver struggled throughout the 53-lap race on a power-sensitive track like Monza. The works Audi power unit is still lagging behind some of its direct rivals, and Hulkenberg conceded that the best he could have extracted from the car was 12th.
Carlos Sainz: 6
Grid Position: P13, Race Result: P13
Monza was Sainz’s eighth consecutive race without points for the Grove-based team.
After failing to make it into the top 10 shootout on Saturday, it was always going to be a tall order for the Spaniard to make a bid for the points.
That said, being able to hold onto his grid slot at the chequered flag was a sign that Williams had gotten its race right in terms of execution. This is the positive that Sainz shall take with him into his first proper home GP at the Madring, this weekend.
Alex Albon: 6
Grid Position: P20, Race Result: P17
The British-Thai driver was due for a massive grid drop after taking a new engine in the back of his FW48.
Starting the 53-lap race from 20th, Albon “gambled” at the red flag restart by opting to go till the end on a single set of Hard tyres.
That said, it turned out to be too much to ask, as he lost a substantial chunk of tyre performance towards the end of his stint despite running as high as 13th.
In the end, he capped off another disappointing weekend with Williams with a 17th-place finish at the chequered flag.
Oliver Bearman: 5
Grid Position: P11, Race Result: P15
Bearman was optimistic heading into the Italian GP weekend. Haas has fallen behind its rivals in the developmental battle, but an upgraded Ferrari PU in the back of his VF-26 and suite of upgrades for the chassis promised to deliver a “night and day difference” in competitiveness.
But despite a strong sixth-row grid slot, the Briton only went backwards. Taking the chequered flag in 15th, Bearman extended his point-less streak, subsisting since the Monaco GP in June.
Esteban Ocon: 6
Grid Position: P14, Race Result: P16
Ocon has been on a similar dismal streak as his team-mate, though he enjoyed a steadier 53-lap run at Monza on Sunday.
The Frenchman’s opening stint was a strong one, seeing him briefly in the points. But from there onwards, his VF-26 lacked any real pace to threaten the points.
Ocon seemingly summed up Haas’ Italian GP weekend perfectly when he said, “I don’t think we were quick enough.”
Sergio Perez: 5
Grid Position: P17, Race Result: P18
Perez fell backwards from his 17th-place grid slot at the chequered flag. But the Mexican racing driver had quite a few positives to take away from Monza.
Cadillac managed to get both its cars across the finish line this time, and Perez believes that the Spanish GP will be a “better opportunity” for the General-Motors-backed project to get closer to the midfield pack.
Valtteri Bottas: 4.5
Grid Position: P16, Race Result: P19
While both Bottas and his team-mate Perez have struggled for results this season, the Finnish racing driver has found it seemingly more difficult to extract whatever Cadillac’s package has to offer compared to Perez.
It was yet another tough outing for the former Mercedes driver as even though he started ahead of his team-mate in 16th, fell all the way back to 19th – taking the chequered flag the last of the classified finishers.
Lance Stroll: N/A
Grid Position: P18, Race Result: DNF
The Canadian racing driver reached a milestone last weekend, albeit an unwanted one. Unable to proceed through to Q2, Stroll became the first F1 driver to have endured 100 Q1 eliminations – ironically at the Temple of Speed.
The race, too, was another disappointing footnote in his career, with a hydraulics issue with his AMR26 forcing him to retire from the Italian GP.
Fernando Alonso: N/A
Grid Position: P21, Race Result: DNF
Alonso had predicted a difficult weekend of racing for Aston Martin at Monza. The team’s radical B-spec AMR26 had thrived at Zandvoort’s narrow and twisty layout, where chassis was king.
But at the power-sensitive Monza circuit, Honda’s works PU was exposed for its utter lack of competitiveness. Engine issues compromised his qualifying, and his race also came to a premature end on Lap 23.
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