Antonelli wins Italian GP at Monza after charge from 19th
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 6, 2026
Antonelli wins Monza
Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza after starting 19th on the grid and climbing through the field before the finish. Antonelli passed George Russell late and held the lead to give Mercedes a 1-2, with Russell second. The victory made Antonelli the first Italian to win at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti. It also gave him his seventh victory of the Formula 1 season and pushed his championship lead over Russell to 66 points. The result turned a difficult starting spot into a winning day and gave Mercedes the top two positions on the road. Antonelli had to spend the race recovering from the deep grid position, and the late move on Russell ended that charge at the front. The win gave him a milestone result at one of the season’s biggest stages and added more space in the title race. It was a milestone finish, and it left Antonelli with a victory that mattered in both the standings and the history book. He turned a tough opening into the kind of result that carries weight beyond a single afternoon.
Mercedes splits strategy
Mercedes split its strategies under a Virtual Safety Car. Antonelli pitted for fresher tires, while Russell stayed out, sending the two cars down different paths for the closing laps. Antonelli later passed Russell to take control, then secured the win. Russell finished second to complete the Mercedes 1-2. The strategy split was a defining detail of the closing laps, with Antonelli’s stop and Russell’s decision to stay out marking the different approaches. Mercedes ended the afternoon with both cars in the top two after using separate strategies during the race.
Leclerc crash triggers
Charles Leclerc‘s race ended on lap two when he crashed out at the Parabolica, and the incident brought out a red flag. That early stoppage interrupted the opening laps before the final order was set. Once the field settled again, Max Verstappen finished third, Lando Norris finished fourth, Oscar Piastri finished fifth and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth. Those results filled out the order behind the Mercedes pair and showed the shape of the race after the early crash and the later strategy split. Leclerc’s exit came before the final order was set, and the red flag interrupted the race early. From there, Antonelli’s run from 19th to first stood out even more, because he had to recover from the back of the grid and still reach the lead by the end. Monza produced a clear winner, a Mercedes 1-2 and a top six that followed the early crash and later strategy split. The final order left Antonelli with the race win, Russell with second and Verstappen third, while Norris, Piastri and Hamilton completed the top six.
