Antonelli's flawless drive

Kimi Antonelli delivered a masterclass performance to win the Monaco Grand Prix, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the iconic race at 19 years, 9 months and 13 days. The Mercedes driver led from pole position and built a commanding lead of almost half a minute before a late red flag wiped out his advantage. The stoppage came after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed at Turn 19 with 12 laps remaining, reporting a brake failure.

“It's been an incredible weekend and an incredible race. We had incredible pace and it all came so natural and that gave me the confidence to push.”

After a 40-minute delay for barrier repairs, the race resumed with a standing start. Antonelli held off Lewis Hamilton into the first corner and controlled the remaining laps. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff noted the lap times Antonelli was producing were two seconds faster than McLaren and over a second quicker than Ferrari.

“I wasn't super keen on re-starting but once the notification came out I just gathered my emotions and re-focused again. Once I got away and was P1 into the first corner I could enjoy the last few laps.”

Hamilton second, Leclerc out

Lewis Hamilton finished runner-up for the second consecutive race, equalling Ayrton Senna's record of eight Monaco podiums. The Ferrari driver congratulated Antonelli and Mercedes, acknowledging his team still lacks the aerodynamic load to match their pace. Hamilton also reported a temperature problem during the race. Leclerc's crash eliminated him from a potential double Ferrari podium while running third.

“It was like having no brakes, I couldn't do anything, it's all very frustrating. Nothing, I went into the wall.”

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar provisionally took third place. Max Verstappen retired shortly after the start.

Russell's penalty nightmare

George Russell's race unravelled through a sequence of penalties. He was first handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, one of five drivers guilty of the offence. He then received a drive-through penalty for failing to observe the initial five-second penalty during his pit stop. Forced to serve the punishment in the final laps after the restart, Russell dropped to 13th and out of the points.

“I don't know what to say. It's two races in a row — could have won the race last week, could have maybe been P3-P4 today, it's 40 points down the drain for things outside of my control.”

Russell has now fallen to third in the drivers' standings, 68 points behind Antonelli. Hamilton moved into second place, 66 points adrift. Alpine's Pierre Gasly was also caught by the pit-lane speeding rule twice, receiving a 10-second penalty that dropped him from third on the road to seventh.

Championship picture

Antonelli's fifth straight win extends a dominant start to the 2026 season. The Italian is the third driver from his country to win at Monaco, following Riccardo Patrese and Jarno Trulli, with each victory coming 22 years apart. Russell's second consecutive point-less race, following a retirement in Canada, leaves Antonelli with a commanding championship lead.

“The lap times he was pulling were two seconds faster than the McLarens and a solid second-plus faster than Ferrari. And it was like clockwork.”