Story perspectives

Antonelli wins Italian GP from 19th, extends Mercedes lead

9/7/2026

Summary

Antonelli Wins

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix after starting 19th on the grid.
The victory gave Antonelli a 66-point lead over teammate George Russell with ten races remaining.
Mercedes split strategies, keeping Russell on hard tyres while pitting Antonelli for medium tyres during the VSC.
The VSC enabled a cheap pit stop that allowed Antonelli to pass Russell in the closing laps.

Summary

Verstappen Embraces

Max Verstappen embraced Kimi Antonelli’s father Marco in a hug on the Monza podium.
Sebastian Vettel drove Michael Schumacher’s 2002 Ferrari F2002 around Monza as an emotional tribute.
Disney’s Lightning McQueen made a cameo appearance during the Monza celebrations.
Reddit users praised Verstappen’s sportsmanship, calling the hug a “class act”.
Charles Leclerc crashed on lap two, ending Ferrari’s hopes early.

Summary

Leclerc Crash

Race control red-flagged the event after Charles Leclerc’s Parabolica crash and repaired tyre barriers.
George Russell faced a stewards’ inquiry for a suspected yellow-flag breach during the virtual safety car, receiving no penalty.
Lance Stroll’s hydraulic failure on lap 28 triggered the virtual safety car, reshuffling Mercedes and Red Bull pit strategies.
Mercedes engineers told both drivers to stop “yo-yo” racing and urged Russell to build a gap to Verstappen.

1 of 3

Antonelli Wins

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix after starting 19th on the grid.
The victory gave Antonelli a 66-point lead over teammate George Russell with ten races remaining.
Mercedes split strategies, keeping Russell on hard tyres while pitting Antonelli for medium tyres during the VSC.
The VSC enabled a cheap pit stop that allowed Antonelli to pass Russell in the closing laps.

1 / 3