2026 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

The 2026 F1 World Championship arrived at Monza with a twist that could turn the Italian Grand Prix into one of the defining races of the title fight. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli headed to his home race carrying a 59-point advantage, but the Mercedes driver would have to attack the Temple of Speed from the back of the grid after his team opted for a complete power unit change. On a circuit built around full-throttle, slipstreaming and some of the hardest braking zones of the season, the championship’s leading man suddenly had a weekend of recovery ahead of him.

Race Guide

Season: 2026 F1 World Championship
Race date: Sunday, 6 September 2026
Race start time: 15:00 local time
Circuit: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Laps: 53
Circuit length: 5.793km
2025 winner:Max Verstappen

Pole position
Driver	Pierre Gasly	Alpine
Time	1:21.786
Fastest lap
Driver	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
Time	1:23.504 on lap 53
Podium
First	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
Second	George Russell	Mercedes
Third	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing

Few venues connect Formula 1’s past and present quite like Monza. Its long straights, low-downforce set-ups and extraordinary speed have made the Italian Grand Prix one of the sport’s great spectacles, but in 2026 the home crowd had something more personal to believe in. Not since Ludovico Scarfiotti triumphed in 1966 has an Italian driver won the Italian Grand Prix, leaving Antonelli with the opportunity to end a wait stretching back 60 years — even if doing so from the back of the grid would require a drive worthy of Monza folklore.

Monza Stats & Facts

The Italian venue is one of only four tracks from the inaugural 1950 F1 World Championship season still on the calendar today, alongside Silverstone, Monaco and Spa-Francorchamps. Almost every Italian Grand Prix in the World Championship era has taken place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, with 1980 — when the race moved to Imola while Monza underwent major renovations — the sole exception. More than 75 years later, its combination of huge straights, minimal downforce and sustained high speeds means the “Temple of Speed” remains a fitting nickname.

Date	Session	Local Time
4 September 2026	Free Practice 1 (FP1)	12:30 pm – 1:30 pm local time
4 September 2026	Free Practice 2 (FP2)	4:00 pm – 5:00 pm local time
5 September 2026	Free Practice 3 (FP3)	12:30 pm – 1:30 pm local time
5 September 2026	Qualifying	4:00 pm – 5:00 pm local time
6 September 2026	Race	3:00 pm local time

Championship background

Antonelli arrived at Monza with a healthy cushion at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, leading both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton by 59 points, but the momentum behind him had started to shift. Lando Norris sat 83 points off the championship lead, yet consecutive victories at the previous two races had suddenly brought the McLaren driver back into the conversation. With the season entering a crucial phase, another big result in Italy could turn what looked like a comfortable advantage for Antonelli into a much more complicated title fight.

Starting from the back meant Antonelli faced a weekend of damage limitation rather than one in which victory was expected. Monza can offer opportunities to overtake, particularly with the powerful slipstream effect along its enormous straights, but climbing through an entire Formula 1 field would be a different proposition. That left Russell, Hamilton and Norris with a major opportunity to eat into their championship deficits — and made every position Antonelli could recover potentially significant in the final reckoning.

Ferrari, meanwhile, would have the full force of the Tifosi behind them as they attempted to turn their home Grand Prix into a championship statement of their own. Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were expected to receive fresh engines at Monza without taking grid penalties, giving Ferrari the prospect of additional performance at a circuit where outright power and straight-line speed remain vital. After disappointing weekends in Hungary and the Netherlands, two venues where Ferrari had been expected to challenge strongly, Monza offered an immediate opportunity to reset the narrative.

There was another familiar threat to consider. Max Verstappen won the 2025 Italian Grand Prix and Red Bull could find itself much closer to the sharp end at Monza, where the strengths of its power unit could be particularly valuable. With Antonelli compromised, Ferrari desperate to deliver at home, Norris carrying winning momentum and Verstappen returning to a circuit where he had already proved formidable, the championship leader could spend Sunday looking forwards through the field while several of his biggest rivals sensed their best opportunity yet to close the gap.

Race entries

Three rookies took over regular drivers’ cars during FP1 at Monza: Colton Herta replaced Sergio Perez at Cadillac, Luke Browning stepped in for Alex Albon at Williams, Paul Aron would take the place of Pierre Gasly at Alpine, and Ayumu Iwasa for Max Verstappen at Red Bull. Herta was making his third FP1 appearance of the season, Browning his second in 2026, and Aron his fourth overall and second for Alpine, where he would help assess the team’s latest upgrade package.

For a second race in a row, Red Bull announced that Isack Hadjar would miss another Grand Prix after suffering a wrist injury before the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix during routine training. Liam Lawson once again stepped up from Racing Bulls to partner Verstappen for the Red Bull team, and Yuki Tsunoda replaced Lawson at Racing Bulls alongside Arvid Lindblad.

Other than these changes, the lineup of drivers and teams remained the same after FP1, as it was for the 2026 season’s entry list for FP2, FP3, Qualifying and the Grand Prix.

Tyre choices

Pirelli went aggressive with its tyre selection for Monza, bringing the three softest compounds in its 2026 range. The C3 as the Hard, the C4 as the Medium and the C5 as the Soft, giving teams several potentially viable options for Sunday’s race — although track and air temperatures would have a significant influence on how useful the softer compound proved over longer stints.

Tyre management at Monza would also look slightly different under Formula 1’s new regulations. The 5.793km circuit, with just 11 corners, remained one of the fastest tracks on the calendar, with its enormous straights putting particular emphasis on energy management with the new-generation power units. Simulations suggested lap times could be around two seconds faster than in 2025, adding another intriguing variable as teams learnt how the new cars behaved around the Temple of Speed.

The demands on the tyres were expected to shift towards the rear axle. Lower approach speeds into the major braking zones should reduce some of the punishment traditionally placed on the fronts, while the rear tyres would have to cope with the enormous power being deployed as drivers accelerated out of Monza’s slow corners. Keeping the car stable under braking and finding traction on corner exit — particularly around the opening chicane and Ascari — would be crucial on a circuit where teams strip away downforce in pursuit of maximum straight-line speed.

A one-stop strategy was the most likely route on Sunday. The Medium and Hard compounds provided the obvious foundation for that approach, while the Soft could become more attractive depending on temperatures, Safety Cars and track position. With powerful slipstreams and genuine passing opportunities into the chicanes, sacrificing track position for fresher tyres could be a much less painful decision here than elsewhere on the 2026 calendar.

FIND OUT MORE

Free Practice

Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari a dream start to its home Grand Prix by topping FP1 at Monza with a 1m 23.008s on the medium tyres, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 0.173s as George Russell finished 0.304s back in third. Liam Lawson impressed with fourth for Red Bull ahead of 2026 F1 World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while Lando Norris took sixth and Oscar Piastri was only 11th for McLaren. The session was interrupted when rookie Colton Herta stopped his Cadillac with a suspected hydraulic issue, triggering a Virtual Safety Car and then a red flag, while traffic proved a recurring problem during a busy hour featuring four rookie substitutes.

In FP2 George Russell ended Friday fastest after setting a 1m 22.559s, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.120s as Kimi Antonelli completed the top three just 0.141s off his Mercedes team-mate. Lando Norris was fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen endured a more difficult return after sitting out FP1, complaining of a lack of downforce before finishing ninth. Traffic and the hunt for a tow created several tense moments, including Norris taking to the grass after an encounter with Lance Stroll, while Leclerc spun late at the second chicane and Gabriel Bortoleto’s running ended early with an engine problem.

In final practice, FP3, Russell completed a clean sweep of the final two sessions with a 1m 22.219s, finishing 0.226s ahead of Ferrari’s Hamilton and 0.350s clear of Verstappen. Antonelli was fourth despite his looming back-of-the-grid engine penalty, with Norris fifth and Leclerc sixth. The session featured a Liam Lawson spin, traffic problems throughout the hour, a tense side-by-side exchange between Hamilton and Verstappen, and yellow flag investigations for Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.

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Free Practice 1 Classification

2026 Italian Grand Prix FP1, 4 September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:23.008	29
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.173s	26
3	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.304s	27
4	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	+0.425s	26
5	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.636s	27
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.711s	26
7	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+0.794s	29
8	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+0.998s	21
9	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.020s	27
10	61	Paul Aron	Alpine	+1.169s	23
11	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.176s	26
12	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	+1.563s	27
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.618s	27
14	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1.638s	28
15	46	Luke Browning	Williams	+1.732s	25
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.819s	25
17	36	Ayumu Iwasa	Red Bull Racing	+1.865s	24
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+2.844s	26
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.976s	27
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.058s	23
21	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+3.064s	21
22	25	Colton Herta	Cadillac	+6.914s	5

Free Practice 2 Classification

2026 Italian Grand Prix FP2, 4 September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:22.559	31
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.120s	29
3	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.141s	32
4	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.384s	25
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.457s	27
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.469s	26
7	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+0.790s	26
8	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+0.811s	29
9	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.818s	30
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	+0.896s	29
11	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.060s	28
12	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	+1.101s	37
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.173s	28
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.214s	27
15	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.217s	22
16	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+1.294s	31
17	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.341s	30
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.848s	30
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.468s	18
20	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+2.523s	28
21	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.590s	28
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.694s	27

Free Practice 3 Classification

2026 Italian Grand Prix FP3, 5 September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:22.219	13
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.226s	21
3	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.350s	24
4	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.361s	18
5	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.406s	18
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.489s	21
7	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+0.505s	21
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.554s	21
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+0.679s	24
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+0.882s	23
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+0.907s	22
12	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	+0.984s	23
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.079s	21
14	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1.366s	23
15	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	+1.598s	16
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.656s	28
17	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.801s	25
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.218s	29
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.700s	20
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.785s	20
21	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+2.812s	20
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.336s	20

Qualifying

Pierre Gasly claimed a sensational maiden Formula 1 pole at Monza with a 1m 21.786s, beating George Russell by 0.060s and Oscar Piastri by 0.180s in a dramatic Italian Grand Prix qualifying session. Ferrari had to settle for fourth and fifth with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, while Max Verstappen took sixth and championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh before his engine-related grid penalty. Franco Colapinto made it two Alpines in Q3 with eighth, Lando Norris was only ninth after McLaren struggled with braking, and Hamilton escaped Q2 by just 0.001s over Gabriel Bortoleto.

Full Qualifying Report

Qualifying Classification

2026 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying, 5 September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:22.612	1:22.077	1:21.786	18
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:22.779	1:22.161	1:21.846	17
3	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:22.924	1:22.017	1:21.966	18
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:22.902	1:22.509	1:22.004	18
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:22.847	1:22.516	1:22.011	15
6	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:22.631	1:22.188	1:22.070	17
7	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:22.758	1:21.882	1:22.093	18
8	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:22.662	1:22.400	1:22.220	18
9	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:22.659	1:22.067	1:22.256	19
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:22.727	1:22.345	1:22.286	18
11	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:22.946	1:22.517		12
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:22.906	1:22.756		15
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:23.440	1:22.779		12
14	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	1:22.989	1:22.821		17
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:23.616	1:23.453		15
16	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:23.466	1:23.454		15
17	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	1:23.755			6
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:24.356			6
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:24.364			9
20	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:24.595			9
21	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:25.150			6
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:25.222			9

Piastri given three-grid place penalty

Oscar Piastri was later handed a three-place grid penalty for inadvertently impeding Liam Lawson during qualifying. He dropped from third to sixth, promoting Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to third, fourth and fifth respectively. The stewards said Piastri was not told Lawson was on a flying lap and had no way to avoid blocking him, but imposed the standard penalty.

2026 Italian Grand Prix Starting Grid

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:21.786
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:21.846
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:22.004
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:22.011
5	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:22.070
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:21.966
7	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:22.220
8	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:22.256
9	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:22.286
10	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:22.517
11	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:22.756
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:22.779
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:23.453
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:23.454
15	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	1:23.755
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:24.364
17	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:24.595
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:25.222
19	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:22.093
20	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:24.356
21	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:25.150
22	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	1:22.821

Note – Antonelli and Albon required to start from the back of the field due to using additional power unit elements. Piastri was handed a three-place grid drop for impeding in Qualifying. Alonso and Lawson required to start from the pit lane after using additional power unit elements and then making changes under parc ferme conditions.

What happened in the 2026 Italian Grand Prix?

Kimi Antonelli produced one of the defining drives of the 2026 Formula 1 season at Monza, charging from 19th on the grid to victory in his home Italian Grand Prix and beating Mercedes team-mate and title rival George Russell after a stunning late-race recovery.

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The result was already extraordinary on pure sporting terms. From the back row, Antonelli carved his way through the field, stayed in contention through the strategy phases and then used fresher tyres to hunt down Russell in the closing laps.

But the significance goes much deeper. Antonelli has become the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966, ending a 60-year wait for a home victory at Monza and doing so from an almost impossible starting position. For the leader of the 2026 F1 World Championship, it is also an enormous step towards a maiden world title.

Russell, who had started from the front row and looked well placed to take victory for much of the afternoon, eventually had to settle for second after his used hard tyres began to fade. Antonelli crossed the line around four seconds ahead of his team-mate at the end of the 53-lap race.

Max Verstappen completed the podium for Red Bull after an aggressive and determined drive of his own, while Lando Norris won a close intra-McLaren fight with Oscar Piastri for fourth.

Antonelli begins from 19th with everything to do

Antonelli’s Sunday began from almost the worst possible position.

The Italian had shown front-running pace throughout the weekend but was sent to the back by his engine-related grid penalty, leaving him 19th on the starting grid for the biggest home race of his career.

That completely changed the nature of his afternoon.

While Russell was able to attack from the front row, Antonelli had to immediately begin picking his way through traffic and finding opportunities without losing too much time to the leaders.

He did exactly that.

The Mercedes driver made rapid progress through the field with a combination of outright pace, decisive overtaking and careful race management, refusing to allow the starting position to turn the afternoon into simple damage limitation.

Instead, what began as a recovery drive gradually became something much bigger.

As the laps ticked away, Antonelli worked himself into genuine contention and put Mercedes in a position where both of its drivers could influence the race for victory.

Leclerc crashes out on lap two

Ferrari’s home Grand Prix took an early and dramatic blow when Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at the final corner on lap two.

The Monegasque had started fourth following a qualifying session in which Ferrari had been unable to fully convert its strong practice pace.

Any hopes of a home challenge from Leclerc ended almost immediately when he went off at the final corner and crashed out of the race.

That left Lewis Hamilton as Ferrari’s sole remaining representative.

The seven-time World Champion continued but was unable to challenge the leading group for the podium, ultimately finishing sixth as Ferrari’s hopes of a home victory disappeared.

For the Tifosi, however, the afternoon would ultimately still deliver an Italian winner — just not in red.

Russell controls from the front as Antonelli closes in

At the front of the field, Russell established himself as one of the central figures in the race.

The Mercedes driver had qualified second behind surprise polesitter Pierre Gasly and possessed the pace to remain at the front as the race developed.

Gasly, fresh from securing the first Formula 1 pole position of his career, made a promising start but was unable to maintain the same pace as the established front-runners over the full race distance.

As Gasly began to slip backwards, Russell emerged as the key reference at the front.

Antonelli, meanwhile, continued making progress from deep in the field.

The scale of the recovery was becoming increasingly clear. What could easily have become a frustrating afternoon spent fighting through the midfield was instead turning into a legitimate challenge for the podium — and eventually the win.

His pace allowed Mercedes to attack the race with two cars on different trajectories.

Russell was controlling his position from the front, while Antonelli was charging towards him from behind.

Virtual Safety Car transforms the strategic picture

The crucial strategic moment came with a mid-race Virtual Safety Car. Antonelli seized the opportunity and pitted under caution for a fresh set of medium tyres. Russell stayed out on his existing hard tyres.

At first, the decision maintained Russell’s track position and left him with the advantage at the front. But it also created a clear tyre offset between the two Mercedes drivers. Antonelli now had significantly fresher rubber and a compound better suited to attacking over the remaining distance, while Russell was being asked to extend an older set of hards.

As the race returned to full speed, that difference became increasingly important. Russell’s tyres began to fade. Antonelli’s did not. The championship leader began closing.

Antonelli hunts down his title rival

The final phase of the Italian Grand Prix became a direct battle between Mercedes’ two championship contenders.

Antonelli had already completed the hardest part of the job by recovering from 19th into the fight at the front. Now he had to finish it. With the fresher medium tyres underneath him, the Italian steadily reduced Russell’s advantage and moved into striking range.

The pressure on Russell intensified as his hard tyres continued to lose performance.

Antonelli attacked. There was one major scare when he briefly ran through the gravel while trying to find a way past his team-mate late in the race. It could have ended the comeback. Instead, Antonelli recovered, kept the car under control and resumed the chase. The mistake did little to slow his momentum.

He continued to close and eventually completed the pass on Russell in the closing laps, taking the lead of his home Grand Prix after starting the afternoon 19th. From that moment, he did not look back.

Historic win ends 60-year Italian wait

Antonelli crossed the line after 53 laps to complete an extraordinary victory.

Russell finished roughly four seconds behind, giving Mercedes a 1-2 but also delivering a huge swing in favour of Antonelli in the championship fight.

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The historical importance of the result is enormous. No Italian driver had won the Italian Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. For six decades, generations of Italian Formula 1 drivers had attempted to follow him onto the top step at Monza. Antonelli has now done it. And he did not do it from pole position, the front row or even somewhere inside the top 10. He did it from 19th.

That combination — an Italian driver, at Monza, recovering from the back row to win — makes this one of the most remarkable home victories in the modern history of Formula 1.

Verstappen fights to third

Behind the Mercedes pair, Verstappen secured the final place on the podium.

The Red Bull driver had endured an inconsistent build-up to the race, struggling with downforce during Friday practice before showing improved pace on Saturday.

On Sunday, he delivered a much stronger performance.

Verstappen used several bold overtakes to move himself into podium contention and eventually secured third place, salvaging a strong result from a weekend in which Red Bull had not consistently looked like the fastest package.

He was unable to challenge the Mercedes pair in the decisive final phase, but the podium still represented a determined recovery.

Norris beats Piastri in McLaren battle

The next major contest on track came between the McLaren team-mates. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri became locked in their own close fight over fourth place as the race developed. Norris ultimately came out on top, securing fourth ahead of Piastri in fifth.

The result gave McLaren a strong double points finish but left both cars outside the podium positions after Piastri had started third.

Their inability to convert that qualifying position into a top-three finish will be one of the areas McLaren reviews after the weekend.

Hamilton followed them home in sixth as the surviving Ferrari.

Gasly slides back after breakthrough pole

Gasly’s weekend had produced one of Saturday’s biggest stories when he claimed his sensational maiden Formula 1 pole position.

The Alpine driver started the race from the front and initially remained in the fight, but the pace that had carried him to P1 in qualifying did not translate across the full 53-lap Grand Prix.

As the faster race packages came through, Gasly gradually slipped backwards.

He eventually finished seventh.

It was still a valuable points result after his breakthrough Saturday, but a long way from the victory hopes created by starting from pole.

Lindblad, Colapinto and Tsunoda complete the points

Arvid Lindblad continued another impressive weekend for Racing Bulls by taking eighth place.

Franco Colapinto followed in ninth for Alpine, completing a double points result alongside Gasly.

The Argentinian’s race included an off-track moment, but he recovered well enough to return to the points and secure a useful result for the team.

Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10 in the second Racing Bulls.

It marked a better Sunday for Tsunoda after a difficult qualifying session had left him well behind Lindblad on Saturday.

Audi just misses the points

Gabriel Bortoleto was the first driver outside the points in 11th, with team-mate Nico Hulkenberg following in 12th.

Hulkenberg was involved in a battle with Liam Lawson at Turn 4 that drew the attention of the stewards.

The pair fought closely through the chicane area, adding another incident for officials to assess during an already busy race.

Carlos Sainz finished 13th for Williams.

Lawson completed his second substitute weekend for Red Bull in 14th, having also carried a power-unit-related penalty into the weekend.

Haas, Williams and Cadillac fill the lower order

Ollie Bearman led Haas home in 15th, with team-mate Esteban Ocon following in 16th.

Alex Albon took 17th in the second Williams after also starting the weekend with an engine-related penalty.

Cadillac completed the classified finishers with Sergio Perez ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

Neither driver was able to fight into the points, leaving the American team outside the top 10 at the end of the Italian Grand Prix.

Aston Martin suffers double retirement

Aston Martin endured a difficult afternoon as both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to finish. Alonso returned to the pits later in the race with suspected car damage and was unable to continue. Stroll also retired after pulling off the circuit with a hydraulics issue.

Their exits meant both Aston Martins joined Leclerc on the retirement list.

A colossal win in the championship fight

There are victories that add 25 points to a championship campaign, and then there are victories that change the emotional momentum of an entire season. This belongs firmly in the second category. Antonelli arrived at Monza already leading the championship but facing the prospect of a hugely difficult race after his engine penalty sent him to 19th. His closest rival, Russell, was starting from the front row.

On paper, this was a weekend where Antonelli could easily have lost a significant chunk of his advantage. Instead, he won. He recovered 18 positions, defeated his title rival on track and converted what should have been a damage-limitation race into one of the biggest wins of his career.

The significance for the 2026 F1 World Championship was therefore immense. Every point gained on Russell strengthened Antonelli’s position, but the psychological impact may be just as important. Russell had the better grid position, controlled much of the race and still could not stop his team-mate coming through from the back.

Antonelli’s combination of speed, overtaking, tyre management and resilience under pressure delivered a result that will inevitably be remembered if he goes on to secure his first World Championship.

To achieve it at Monza, in front of his home crowd and in the middle of a championship campaign, elevates the result beyond a conventional Grand Prix win.

It was a statement drive. It was a historic home victory. And it could prove to be the day the 2026 F1 World Championship swung decisively towards Kimi Antonelli.

2026 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 2026 Italian Grand Prix Race was held on 6 September 2026 at 3:00 pm local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	53	1:51:15.281	25
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	53	+3.857s	18
3	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	53	+14.718s	15
4	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	53	+19.056s	12
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	53	+19.253s	10
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	53	+24.655s	8
7	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	53	+27.351s	6
8	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	53	+45.136s	4
9	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	53	+47.353s	2
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	53	+58.187s	1
11	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	53	+65.187s	0
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	53	+66.187s	0
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	53	+74.117s	0
14	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	53	+75.609s	0
15	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	53	+78.958s	0
16	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	52	+1 lap	0
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	52	+1 lap	0
18	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	52	+1 lap	0
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	51	+2 laps	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	26	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	23	DNF	0
NC	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1	DNF	0

Note – Perez received a five-second time penalty for failing to follow Race Director’s instructions regarding the escape road.

2026 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for Drivers’ and Teams after the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.

2026 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes	267
2	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes	201
3	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Ferrari	191
4	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	171
5	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	155
6	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	127
7	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren	116
8	Isack Hadjar	FRA	Red Bull Racing	71
9	Liam Lawson	NZL	Red Bull Racing	51
10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Alpine	41
11	Arvid Lindblad	GBR	Racing Bulls	29
12	Franco Colapinto	ARG	Alpine	21
13	Oliver Bearman	GBR	Haas F1 Team	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Audi	10
15	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Audi	6
16	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Williams	6
17	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams	5
18	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Haas F1 Team	3
19	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin	3
20	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Racing Bulls	1
21	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin	0
22	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Cadillac	0
23	Sergio Perez	MEX	Cadillac	0

2026 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	468
2	Ferrari	346
3	McLaren	287
4	Red Bull Racing	204
5	Racing Bulls	75
6	Alpine	62
7	Haas F1 Team	21
8	Audi	16
9	Williams	11
10	Aston Martin	3
11	Cadillac	0

Seen in:

2020s Races

Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.