From Kimi Antonelli's incredible climb to Charles Leclerc's early crash, Monza gave us a very exciting race on Sunday.
An Italian F1 driver winning in Italy. The home team's "favorite son" crashing early in the race. It was a rollercoaster of events for the Tifosi watching at the grandstands, but fortunately, the 2026 F1 Italian Grand Prix had a storybook ending.
The happy surprises
Antonelli makes a strong statement
It was improbable, but these days, it seems that nothing's insurmountable for the 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes driver started from 19th (due to a grid penalty for power unit changes), made boatloads of overtakes in his first stint, and passed teammate George Russell to win the Italian GP.
More importantly for the Italian driver, he extended his championship lead to 66 points over Russell. At this point, you've got to say that he fully deserves to win the championship this year.
Verstappen's podium finish
Seemingly lacking in pace in qualifying, Max Verstappen found his groove on Sunday and salvaged third for Red Bull. He lost several places early on, but a brilliant recovery drive saw him overtaking McLaren's Oscar Piastri and keeping in touch at the front.
He and Russell had a tussle out front, but ultimately, the Mercedes car just had more pace in the race. Still, Verstappen's drive was one of the pleasant surprises at Monza.
Yuki is back scoring points
Yuki Tsunoda put his Racing Bulls car in the points, finishing P10 at Monza. It was a test of adaptability for the Japanese driver, who finished only his second race this season.
However, an alleged infringement of the start might cloud Tsunoda's points finish in the Italian GP. It didn't lead to a penalty during the race, but Audi has reportedly lodged an appeal against the stewards' decision. Audi drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg crossed the checkered flag right behind Tsunoda.
Alpine's double-points finish
We all knew that Pierre Gasly would find it difficult to keep his P1 spot on Sunday. Still, a seventh-place finish for the Frenchman is a huge boost in their midfield race against the Racing Bulls.
And despite Franco Colapinto sliding and tumbling down several places after making a mistake in the restart, the Argentinian driver still salvaged a ninth-place finish. Keep your head up, Franco.
The underwhelming busts
The fallen home hero
Similar to Verstappen's fate in his home race at Zandvoort, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed on his own early at Monza. The Monegasque driver spun out at the Parabolica and hit the barrier hard, triggering a red flag.
It was a hard crash, with everyone concerned about Leclerc's status. Fortunately, he escaped injuries and was doing okay after the marshalls checked in on him.
And the fallen home team
A Leclerc DNF and a Lewis Hamilton sixth-place finish. Safe to say that this wasn't the home race that Ferrari was hoping for.
Prior to Leclerc's early crash, he and Hamilton battled it out at the start, resulting to the latter dropping several places. Hamilton openly questioned Ferrari's race management afterward and indicated that his championship hopes had effectively disappeared following the Monza setback. His points deficit to Antonelli has now grown to 76 points.
Russell's disappointing Sunday
Despite losing out on pole position to Alpine's Pierre Gasly on Saturday, George Russell started strong and overtook Gasly early. But he was unable to keep the streaking Antonelli behind, especially when the team opted not to pit him during the Virtual Safety Car laps.
Unfortunately for the British driver, he has fallen back even more in the championship.
