2026 Italian Grand Prix Race Review

Linus O'Howell
16 hours ago
4 min read

Antonelli Storms Through for Iconic Italian Victory

Despite starting from 19th, there was seemingly no stopping Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the 20-year-old Italian stormed through the field to take victory on home soil! A disheartened George Russell could do nothing but watch his teammate win in a Mercedes 1-2, whilst Max Verstappen managed to round out the Podium for Red Bull!

The Biggest Talking Points

After Pierre Gasly kept the lead into Turn 1, tensions would brew once again at Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc forcing Lewis Hamilton into the gravel! Hamilton dropped a ton of places, whilst things would only get worse for Ferrari at the end of Lap 2 as Leclerc went spinning off into the barrier! This incident was so big that a Red Flag needed to be called out, with this allowing the large majority of teams and drivers to make their one and only pit stop during the stoppage! When the Race got back underway, it was George Russell who led now from Pierre Gasly (after overtaking him at the start of Lap 2), whilst Franco Colapinto was getting feisty with Max Verstappen for the final spot on the Podium! Sadly, for Colapinto, a mistake at Lesmo 1 saw him tumble down the order, whilst Gasly started to get swallowed up as the laps progressed! By this point, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was already up into the Top 5, whilst Verstappen now found himself ahead of Russell and in the lead of the Grand Prix! This cost George big time, as Max defended so hard that Kimi found himself on the back of his Mercedes teammate! Both Mercs would ultimately dispatch Verstappen’s Red Bull, with us then getting a bit of “yo-yo racing” between the two “Championship protagonists”!

However, this is when the key turning point of the Grand Prix occurred, as Lance Stroll’s conked-out Aston Martin brought out a Virtual Safety Car, with Mercedes deciding to split the strategy by bringing Kimi Antonelli in for a cheaper pit stop! Max Verstappen also followed Antonelli in, with the two charging their way through the field, which included the two McLarens, Lewis Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly! Whilst Antonelli made it through to second pretty easily, something must have gone wrong with Verstappen’s Red Bull as he lost a ton of time over the space of a couple of laps, finding himself right in the fight against Piastri, subsequently bringing Norris into play! Back out front, it seemed almost impossible for Russell to keep Antonelli behind, which is what caused a ton of surprise when Kimi went off into the gravel at Turn 2! This seemingly came from the track breaking up at the opening chicane, as Kimi would make sure to make the inevitable move on George before the Ascari Chicane on the next lap! A defence-less Russell simply had no chance, whilst the scrap brewed on at McLaren, with Lando pipping Oscar to P4!

The Standout Drives in the Race

I’ve given out two 10’s for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, and the first one is obviously for Andrea Kimi Antonelli! Whilst he definitely had some luck with both the Red Flag and the VSC, Kimi looked absolutely inevitable today, and at this point, you may as well just hand him the World Championship trophy! Now, the other driver I’ve given out maximum points to is Pierre Gasly, and I know what you’re thinking; he went from 1st to 7th, but there’s a reason that that Pole Position was so special! Not only did Pierre manage to finish best of the rest, but he still ended up finishing closer to the Podium than his rival behind! Also, I think Gasly deserves a Perfect 20 from this weekend, don’t you?! Elsewhere, my heart once again goes out to George Russell, who did everything right to win today, but in similar fashion to the entire season, the stars just wouldn’t align! Max Verstappen also did a great job to finish on the Podium, whilst Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto, and Yuki Tsunoda brought home valuable points in the battle for 5th in the Constructors’!

Drivers Who Had a Shocker

I’ve given out one 1 for today’s Race, and it unfortunately has to be for Charles Leclerc! Not only did Charles shove his teammate off the track, but Leclerc also crashed on his own! Doesn’t get much worse than that! Elsewhere, Liam Lawson had a bit of a shocker to finish all the way down in P14; he wants his VCARB car back immediately, whilst an Aston Martin double DNF felt like a return to usual programming as far as Aston’s 2026 season is concerned!