Antonelli Completes LEGENDARY Italian GP Comeback
Kimi Antonelli started near the back for his home race at Monza, but that didn't stop the championship leader from pulling off an unbelievable performance to win from 19th. This extends his championship lead over George Russell and Sir Lewis Hamilton, and arguably all but ends any hope of someone challenging the Italian teenager in the remainder of the season.
Video Transcript
I said it after qualifying yesterday.
I said that we had a potential classic on our hands for the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, and what did we get?
We got one of the greatest Monza races of all time.
This has to go down as one of the most incredible action-packed, nonstop Grand Prix around the world's fastest circuit.
The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza absolutely served up an unbelievable race.
But what were the main things that we learned?
I'm gonna try and summarize this race as best I can.
I mean, in the words of the late, great Murray Walker, this race was a commentator's nightmare because there was just no letup.
There was no letup in the entire running of this race.
It was incredible to witness.
And on top of that as well, we have had some very decisive results when it comes to the world championship as well.
Here is our full review of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix here on thef1chronicle.com and Formula Reports.
So where do we start?
Where do we start when it comes to this race?
Well, I guess we really have to start with Ferrari.
This was very much a day to forget for the Ferrari fans.
And to be honest with you, a lot of the blame when it comes to the misery of Ferrari supporters today can be laid firmly at one person's feet, Charles Leclerc.
Now, Ferrari came into this race not really high when it came to expectations.
They weren't really expecting to be in and around the victory, perhaps the podium at a push.
They have the weakest power unit in Formula 1 with the possible and probable exception, to be honest with you, of the Honda engine.
Either way, regardless of that, it is down on power a lot compared to the Mercedes and also the Red Bull Ford as well.
So that meant when they were competing with the likes of Mercedes, McLaren, and Red Bull, that they were always going to struggle.
But in qualifying, they did a really good job.
Fourth and fifth place became third and fourth after Oscar Piastri's penalty that sent him down to P6.
But it all unraveled on that first lap.
Leclerc got a good start.
Hamilton got a better start.
He was challenging his teammate going into the first chicane of the first lap.
Leclerc got his elbows out, some people saying he was right to defend the move, some people saying that Hamilton was very much too optimistic when it came to his attack.
But either way, Hamilton ended up in the gravel and dropped all the way down to about 10th place at the end of the first lap.
But then Charles Leclerc's weekend just kept getting worse.
He was passed by a few other drivers, and then when he was being challenged by Oscar Piastri going into the Parabolica, officially these days of course known as Alboreto, but everybody still calls it the Parabolica, going into the final corner as it were, he was being challenged by Piastri.
Piastri tried to go down the inside.
It wasn't quite working though.
Leclerc held on, but then all of a sudden, Leclerc just flew out wide.
He just lost control of the car.
I don't know what caused that.
I don't know if it was a driver error or a car error or because the tires were cold.
I'm not sure what was going on there though.
But to be honest with you, I think the blame does lie at the feet of Charles Leclerc because I think he pretty much accepted it when it came to his radio and also his comments in the press after the Grand Prix or indeed during the Grand Prix, as it were.
The race was still going on when he was being interviewed.
He had a very similar crash back in 2020 at the same corner, and just like in 2020, there had to be a red flag flown for the barriers to be repaired.
That meant that everybody had to line back up for a second start, and Hamilton on that second start was really aggressive.
He was really going for the overtakes, and he was quickly up to fourth place after just a few laps of green flag running.
But Ferrari potentially made a bit of a strategic error.
See, when it comes to these red flag periods, you can change your tires.
This was a very hot and very dry race over in Italy, so it meant that some drivers were able to change onto the hard tires and run pretty much the entire Grand Prix on the white compound tire.
Ferrari, though, they decided to start the Grand Prix on the softs trying to be aggressive and go for the overtakes.
I mean, didn't really work out in the case of Charles Leclerc, but the intent was there.
But Hamilton, he could have changed onto the hard tires for the restart.
However, unlike most other drivers, he changed onto the mediums.
Now, admittedly, he wasn't the only one to do this.
Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen also did the exact same thing.
But Ferrari probably made another error when it came to the strategy later on as well because unlike Antonelli and Verstappen, Hamilton didn't come into the pits.
Now, when it comes to the rules, of course what Hamilton did, finishing on the medium tires, there's nothing against that.
But he had to do basically the whole Grand Prix on the medium tires, and to my knowledge, I think he was the only one who tried doing that.
There might have been someone further down that was outside the points that tried doing that, but I'm pretty sure he was the only one inside the top 10 that ran the medium tires from the red flag period to the end of the Grand Prix.
And that meant, unfortunately, that Hamilton, despite an incredible battle with Oscar Piastri, I mean, those two were passing and repassing each other for most of the Grand Prix, he finished behind the McLarens.
He finished down in P6.
Sixth place from starting third and fourth for Ferrari.
That's really bad.
The home fans, though, had plenty to cheer on in the form of Kimi Antonelli, but we'll talk about him in a little bit I have to say that Hamilton did the best that he could have done in the circumstances, but he'll be bitterly disappointed to not beat the McLarens, to not be challenging the likes of Max Verstappen up ahead as well.
But P6 it is for him.
It wasn't quite to be for Alpine and particularly Pierre Gasly.
Gasly got a good start at the initial start of the Grand Prix, but he was passed by George Russell.
He lined up in second place after the red flag period, but just over time he did eventually get passed by the leading drivers.
The race pace of that Alpine not being on the same level as what it was during qualifying, but he was only about three seconds, not even three seconds, about two and a half seconds or so be- behind Lewis Hamilton.
He did an excellent job.
That Alpine does have some pace, does have some serious pace it must be said.
Although again, saying that, had he started, I don't know, in the mid-pack, would he have been that ahead of the likes of Arvid Lindblad behind?
I'm not too sure, to be honest.
But he did everything he could.
He pulled off his first ever pole position in Formula 1.
I think Alpine's first pole position as well since rebranding from Renault after 2020.
So a lot of positives there for Pierre Gasly.
Doesn't get his podium unfortunately for him.
Of course, that being stripped off of him when it came to the Monaco Grand Prix earlier in the season.
Colapinto, he had an incredible start to this Grand Prix.
He made up places at the start and he made up places at the restart.
He was running in P3 for a very short amount of time until he dropped it at the Lesmo.
He went off into the gravel, went basically to the back of the field, but he still managed to recover to P9, and he was only a couple of seconds behind Lindblad in eighth.
I think that recovery drive from Franco was really, really good.
I mean, we didn't notice it that much during the race because there was so much going on, but I have to say the recovery was great from Colapinto.
It's just a shame that he dropped it at the restart like he did.
He is still a relatively inexperienced driver.
I think this is his first full season in Formula 1.
He's had a not quite complete series, season I should say, last year in 2025, and he only f- competed in the back end of 2024.
So this must be his first full season in F1.
So he will improve of course over time.
A lot of encouraging signs there for the Argentine.
Let's talk about McLaren next.
I mean, Lando Norris very much an understated drive.
He was pretty much behind his teammate for a- almost the entire Grand Prix, but he bided his time.
He kept in that battle that was running between himself, Gasly, and Hamilton.
Just a train basically.
Not a DRS train because there is no DRS.
A, overtake mode train, I guess you could say these days, of course.
Absolutely fantastic battle, but he was at the back of that train.
He was in seventh place for the majority of it, but he bided his time.
He was patient.
He didn't use too much energy.
He didn't use the tires too much, and in the end, he overtook Hamilton, he overtook Gasly, and he overtook Piastri as well.
And he ends up in P4, which given where he started, I think he was ninth place on the grid, maybe eighth actually because Antonelli, dropped down.
Yeah, he would've been eighth on the grid, would, Lando Norris.
And with only Charles Leclerc ahead of him retiring, I think to finish in P4 is actually a really good effort for him.
Piastri, I think what really hurt him unfortunately, I mean, it's only two tenths off of his teammate in the end, but what really hurt him is the fact that he was battling with, Lewis Hamilton for so long, battling with Pierre Gasly for so long, battling as well with Va- Max Verstappen.
Even though Max Verstappen stopped and he was on newer tires, Piastri had unbelievable straight-line speed in that McLaren.
I don't know what kind of engine mode they were running with that Mercedes engine in the back of that car, but oh my goodness me did he have some unbelievable straight-line speed.
Once people got past him, he just stuck behind them and then waited and then overtook them on the next straight.
He was absolutely unbelievable.
Even doing it to Max Verstappen who, you know, we know how difficult Max Verstappen is to overtake.
George Russell definitely knows how difficult it is to overtake Max Verstappen after this race.
But yeah, incredible effort to do what he did, but it did unfortunately cost him just a little bit in the end.
P5, not a bad effort.
Close to his teammate.
I think he'll take that to the bank, to be honest.
Very much an improved drive on what we've been used to recently.
Let's talk about Max Verstappen and, and very briefly Red Bull.
I mean, Liam Lawson, I don't know what happened to him today.
Just did not really go right for him at all.
He pitted relatively early after the, the restart.
Was down near the back.
I was saw he got a black and, black and orange flag I believe, or a black and white flag early on in the race as well.
So he was just in the wars.
He couldn't really escape the mid-pack.
You can see everybody from 11th downwards, so people who ran outside or finished outside or didn't finish at all, the points that is, in this Grand Prix.
So yeah, not really his day unfortunately for him.
Would Hadjar have done better?
We don't know, but we've got the, the Spanish Grand Prix on, next weekend as it were.
It's a dou- it's a back-to-back is, is this, kind of section of the season.
So yeah, not too great for Lawson.
I think he'll be back in the racing bulls for next round.
But who knows?
Maybe Hadjar will not be fit and he'll get a third cameo appearance in that Red Bull.
But the lead Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen, I mean, what an effort was by him.
I must admit, I must be totally honest here, I genuinely thought after he qualified Where'd he qualify?
He qualified like sixth or something like that.
He was pretty far down.
I think it was seventh actually where he started.
But I thought to myself, "Well, he could get a podium here.
He could pull off something incredible like that."
But he actually briefly led after the restart.
He had fantastic pace.
I mean, obviously Hamilton and Leclerc dropped down.
He overtook the McLarens did, Max Verstappen, and he also kept with George Russell and was an absolute thorn in Russell's side.
And I'm not saying that Verstappen did anything wrong.
He did nothing wrong.
Before anybody says that, before anybody puts, tries to put that word into my mouth, he did nothing wrong.
He was really, really forceful and on the line and proper when it came to his defense of George Russell.
And just like Oscar Piastri as well, similar to Jo- Oscar Piastri, what he did to quite a few drivers, including Verstappen.
He was just so hard to overtake.
His straight-line speed was absolutely brilliant.
He knows how to win round here.
He's won round here three times in his career has Verstappen.
He started on pole last year and like I said, he briefly led in this one as well.
And he was the only guy that was really able to challenge the Mercedes.
Yes, both Mercedes.
Because, let's talk about it, Verstappen was P3 and he was behind both of the Mercedes.
Kimi Antonelli today- My God.
My God.
Wow.
P19 to first.
He won.
He won his home race from 19th on the grid.
Now, I am sure there'll be plenty of cynics out there saying that, "Well, it's no big deal.
He's in the fastest car on the grid.
Of course he's gonna win."
Well, you might say that.
You might say that, but Russell has the same car, despite what some absolute whack job conspiracy theorists try and say.
You know, Russell has the exact same car as Antonelli, and Antonelli absolutely outclassed him today.
This is a legendary drive.
This has to go down as one of the greatest drives in the history of Monza, and this is a circuit that goes back over 100 years.
I think it was 1922, the first ever Italian Grand Prix hosted at this circuit.
Fact-check me on that.
Might be wrong, but it's been a long time.
It has been around forever.
I think it's like the second or third purpose-built racing circuit in the entire world.
So it's seen all the legends round here, and Antonelli is absolutely etching his name into that book.
He's etching that name, his name into that conversation.
Seven victories this season.
Seven victories this season, and he- from 19th place.
If you look back at the history of Formula 1, there is only one driver, John Watson, I think it was the 1983 United States Grand Prix West, Long Beach, California.
He started in 22nd or 23rd, something like that.
He's the only guy to come from further back on the grid to win.
Antonelli has just It's just absolutely incredible.
I mean, I think he was helped a little bit by the red flag, because he started in 19th.
I'm not taking anything away from him.
Don't you worry about that.
I'm gonna wax lyrical about this kid.
This is how he won this Grand Prix, right?
He started in P19, near enough at the back.
Two guys, Lawson and, Alonso, started from the pit lane.
He was last but one on the actual grid.
Albon was the only guy who started behind him.
He was P13 at the end of the first lap, which again is impressive, right?
Six overtakes.
Nobody else went off other than Charles Leclerc.
He was the only guy.
In fact, he might have been P12, actually, after Charles Leclerc.
They call the red flag.
Everybody lines up again.
They change the tires.
Kimi Antonelli, interesting, he's one of the guys to stop on the medium tires, just like Max Verstappen did as well.
I'll talk about the, the VSC and how that changed things as well.
Don't worry.
But then Antonelli, when the second restart came up, or the restart, I should say the second start, he was up to, what, P6?
P6 at the end of the first racing lap, going into that first chicane, or start of the second racing lap, I should say.
I mean, it's just unbelievable.
And his pace from there was brilliant.
I mean, Hamilton, like I said, he was making up a lot of places.
Breezed past him, breezed past the McLarens, breezed past Max Verstappen, and he made very light work as well of George Russell.
And I gotta like the kid.
I really have to like the kid and how he conducted himself during this race.
I mean, Bono, we know Bono, right?
He's an absolutely He's a legend of Formula 1 pretty much at this point.
All his time with Sir Lewis Hamilton.
He knows how to win races.
He knows how to win championships.
Now, Russell was on the hard tire.
He was gonna go to the end of the race.
Kimi Antonelli, he was on the medium tire.
Bono was saying to Kimi, "Look, you know, don't push things.
If you work together here, if you use each other's slipstream and each other's overtaking mode, you can pull clear of Max Verstappen," because Verstappen was keeping with them.
Verstappen was doing a really good job to keep up with the leading two.
He had no real right to be there, did the Red Bull driver, but he somehow managed to do it.
But Antonelli was like, "Nah, screw that, man.
I'm not doing that.
I'm just gonna win this race.
This is my home race."
Then the VSC came.
I believe it was for Lance Stroll in his Aston Martin pulling up in the first chicane.
Stopped out on track.
The VSC came out, and because if you pit under the VSC compared to com- pitting in green flag running, both Antonelli and Verstappen stopped.
They came out behind the McLarens, behind Gasly, and also behind Lewis Hamilton.
Made very light work of all of them, with the exception of Verstappen trying to get past Piastri.
But Ki- Kimi Antonelli was on a mission.
He had to run at about over one second a lap faster than Russell to be able to catch and pass him.
Catch him he did, pass him he did as well.
His first attempt at overtaking actually ended in disaster nearly for them.
Going into the first chicane, Antonelli had a really good run.
He went round the outside.
Russell, he went too deep.
He locked up.
He went over the chicane.
And Antonelli, just probably presuming that Russell was gonna bounce back onto the circuit and potentially hit him, Antonelli took to the gravel.
Bit of inexperience there from Antonelli.
I don't think Russell would've hit Kimi Antonelli coming back onto the track.
But either way, Russell maintained the position.
But it wasn't long before Kimi Antonelli came up again and just passed him.
It was easy for him, and he pulled a nearly four-second gap by the finish of it.
And again, Russell's engineer's saying to him, "No risk.
Don't take any risks."
Kimi Antonelli was coming through.
There was nothing he could do to stop it.
He did everything he could to try and stop it, but there was nothing he could do in the end, and he completes an unbelievable drive, does Kimi Antonelli.
I mean, you know, it's the old adage, isn't it?
I keep saying it all the time.
If I had a hat, I would take it off to you, sir.
I mean, he was absolutely unbelievable today, and he has rubber-stamped his authority yet again on this driver's championship.
I mean, I'm calling it now.
I am calling it now.
Ferrari's car overall is probably not good enough to be able to win the world championship.
I don't think Hamilton's gonna be able to do it.
I just don't see it, unless their upgrade package means that they're absolutely lightning in a lot of these tracks.
But they'd have to go on a really big winning run to be able to overtake Kimi Antonelli.
And the same goes for George Russell in that Mercedes as well.
He's 66 points behind his teammate now.
He's the closest challenger to him, but it's almost getting to three victories now between Antonelli and Russell.
I'm saying it now.
Kimi Antonelli, he's got one of these, right?
He's got one hand on the trophy It's his to lose.
It's been his to lose for a while now.
Russell came back, he, he brought that championship gap down, but Antonelli has opened it up again.
Antonelli started near enough last in this race and he still managed to win.
And Russell as well presumably has another engine change to come.
He's gonna have to do it at some point, 'cause Antonelli had to do it as well.
For my money, I think he's probably gonna do it at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a few rounds time.
But is Russell gonna go from last to first in Azerbaijan?
Probably not.
He's shown that he's not as decisive, not as forceful, not as determined, not as quick, quite frankly.
Antonelli has shown him up.
Russell unfortunately, you know, is a driver that a lot of people have identified as a potential world champion one day, but he's not good enough.
He's not good enough.
He's a good driver, but he is not good enough.
You compare him to Antonelli, Hamilton, Verstappen, he just doesn't have that level of pace or consistency.
I'm saying it.
I mean, you might say it's harsh, but that's just my takeaway.
Then that's the levels in Formula 1.
There's not that many unbelievable world-class generational drivers in Formula 1, but Antonelli's absolutely one of them.
He's 19 years of age.
He started in P19, he is 19, and he's all the way up at the top of the championship by a mile.
You'll have seen the driver standings there.
Like I said, it's very much Antonelli's to lose, and it's similar as well in the Constructors Championship, the Teams Championship as well.
I mean, absolutely Mercedes is to lose at this point.
And to be honest with you, Ferrari, they are not clear of McLaren really.
I mean, you look at the gaps between the teams and you have to say, over 100 points between Mercedes and Ferrari, Ferrari might get caught by McLaren.
I mean, it was a strong result for McLaren.
Lando Norris won the previous two Grand Prix before this.
We'll have to see.
But yeah, we have the Mad Ring next, guys.
An abs- absolutely insane race at La Pista Magica, you know, the Magic Track, Monza.
And we go to the Mad Ring, yeah.
I mean, you know, love it or loathe it, and I absolutely loathe it, don't worry about that.
But that track has big potential to cause chaos, and we could see something similarly incredible at the Mad Ring, but more farcical, more Baku in a sense.
But hey, entertainment is entertainment, and right now I am loving Formula 1.
I can't wait for the next race.
I just hope it's decent around the Mad Ring, I really do.
But I look at the design of that track, I look at the on boards, the renders of it, I just think to myself, "I can't see it."
But I'll be happily proven wrong, guys.
But let me know what your takeaways were from this Grand Prix.
Just unbelievable.
Like I said, I, I am dumbfounded.
I am speechless.
I've just spoke about this race for 20, over 20 minutes now, but I'm speechless at this kid, Antonelli.
He's not even close to his peak as well.
This is the thing, right?
Formula 1 drivers peaks these days is, like, what?
Between 25 and 30, something like that.
May- maybe you could argue, like, 28 to 35, depends on the driver I suppose.
But he's only gonna get better.
He's only gonna get better I think, I really do.
With experience, he's only gonna get better.
But his pace, his raw pace has never been in doubt, and he showed it today.
He just went for it, and it worked.
Unbelievable.
Italy, after over 70 years, is gonna get another world champion in Formula 1, and it's gonna be Kimi Antonelli.
Simple as that.
Like, share, comment, subscribe, guys, as always.
If you wanna support the channel some more, you can become a member over on YouTube, over on Substack as well if you wanna see us do more long form content like this.
This is what I like at the end of the day.
And to be fair, we've had an incredible race to, wax lyrical about, and an incredible drive as well from Antonelli.
Where does he rank in the all-time greats after this?
Let me know in the comments below.
See you soon, guys.
Arrivederci, see you later, and buenos tardes to Spain.
I really hope it's gonna be a decent race, but I'd be shocked around there, to be honest
