MONZA — Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, September 6, 2026, after starting the race from 19th on the grid due to a power unit penalty. The victory extended his lead in the drivers' championship to 66 points over George Russell.

Antonelli, a 20-year-old Italian driver, became the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix since 1966. Ludovico Scarfiotti was the last Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix, doing so in 1966. Pierre Gasly started the race from pole position. Charles Leclerc crashed at the Parabolica corner on lap two of the race, and the incident brought out a red flag.

George Russell finished second in the Italian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen finished third. Oscar Piastri finished fifth, and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth.

Russell acknowledged Antonelli's rapid ascent through the field during the opening stages. He said a great race from the neutral perspective and that as soon as he saw Kimi up to P5 after a handful of laps, he knew he was going to be in the fight with them. He added that it was clearly a very impressive opening few laps.

Pierre Gasly finished seventh in the Italian Grand Prix. Arvid Lindblad finished eighth, followed by Franco Colapinto in ninth. Yuki Tsunoda finished tenth. Nico Hulkenberg finished 12th, Carlos Sainz finished 13th, Liam Lawson finished 14th, and Oliver Bearman finished 15th.

Lance Stroll retired from the race due to a hydraulics problem. Fernando Alonso retired from the race with car damage. He recorded the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff attributed the victory to his ability to navigate traffic and maintain focus under pressure. He said the differentiator that day was the ability to go through the traffic, noting that they had seen it with other great drivers in the past, including Lewis Hamilton, who did it in some of the races. He added that was what he had shown that day. He said when a driver and a car are one, then there's nothing that can stop them. Wolff also discussed the team's strategic approach, which involved splitting tire strategies between their two drivers. He said it was the right thing to split the strategies because they didn't know what the better one would be. In the morning meeting, they said the hard tyre was going to go forever. He noted that you can start on it and finish on it, and you can see with George that it was a forever tyre. At that stage, the system said that the one-stop comes out ahead, that two-stop was coming close to the end, but didn't catch it. He said that's what the software said.

There are ten race weekends remaining in the season after the Italian Grand Prix. He has seven wins this season and has achieved 11 podium results in 13 races.

What's New

Additional reporting provided further insight into his mindset and the race dynamics. He said after the second restart he was up there and he knew he had a shot for the win. He added it was really difficult to break away, with the tow being so strong, and that it was nice to win. He also stated that with the red flag, he was already P12, and then he knew that he could have a shot at it. He added he did not expect this, that it was unbelieveable, and that he was so happy, he could have never imagined he'd be there that day. He reflected on his journey, stating that definitely was not the way he wanted to introduce himself into the sport. He said if someone, while he was walking off in the gravel, would have said, 'in two years you're going to be leading the world championship in this exact moment,' he would have said 'shut up … don't joke with me.' But, he added, you know, it's happening. And, you know, he's very, very, very happy, very grateful. And just got to keep pushing. He also discussed his mental approach, saying he'd very much rather fight for pole and start at the front. But in some ways, he feels like it makes him a bit more relaxed going into the weekend. And he thinks also that's why he's going to be able to enjoy more the driving and the weekend itself. Of course, the goal is always the same, and they're going to try to maximize the result … but definitely he feels very free mentally going into this weekend. He said he's actually very excited, very much looking forward to it, but with no real pressure. Regarding technical observations, he said it's a track where you can really do so many different things. And it was interesting in the long run that day, running behind other cars to see what they were doing differently, where they were deploying compared to them. So it was very interesting. And, yeah, he thinks they have gathered a lot of data, and now they look forward to tomorrow. He also noted competitor performance, stating Ferrari definitely took a step forward with the new engine, and now the speeds are the same. So they know how good their car is on into the corner. So for sure, he knows it's going to be a tight fight for pole tomorrow.

Why It Matters

His victory marks a historic moment for Italian motorsport, as he became the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix since 1966. This ends a 60-year drought for home winners at Monza, a circuit renowned for its high speeds and passionate local support. The win solidifies his position as the championship leader, extending his advantage to 66 points over his teammate George Russell with ten race weekends remaining in the season.

The result demonstrates Mercedes' competitive strength and strategic flexibility, as evidenced by the split tire strategies employed by the team. His ability to recover from 19th on the grid shows his skill in traffic management and adaptability under changing race conditions, including a red flag period caused by Charles Leclerc's crash. With seven wins and 11 podiums in 13 races this season, he has established a dominant pattern of performance that positions him favorably for the remainder of the championship.