Sixty Years Later: Kimi Antonelli Wins at Monza and Ends Italy’s Longest Home Victory Wait

From 19th on the grid to victory at the Temple of Speed, Kimi Antonelli produced one of the defining drives of the 2026 Formula One season. The Mercedes driver fought through the field, survived a red flag, passed Max Verstappen, battled George Russell and ultimately won the Italian Grand Prix in front of his home crowd. Sixty years after Ludovico Scarfiotti’s Ferrari victory in 1966, an Italian driver stood at the top of Monza again.

By Open Chronicle Formula One Magazine

MONZA, Italy, 6 September 2026 — There are Formula One victories measured in points, seconds and championship consequences.

And then there are victories that become part of a country’s sporting history.

Kimi Antonelli achieved the latter at Monza.

Starting only 19th after a power unit related grid penalty, the Italian championship leader completed an extraordinary recovery through a chaotic Italian Grand Prix, twice fought his way towards the front, and passed Mercedes teammate George Russell in the closing stages to take victory.

He completed the performance by setting the fastest lap on the final tour.

The result ended an extraordinary 60 year wait.

Before Sunday, the last Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix had been Ludovico Scarfiotti, who drove a Ferrari 312 to victory at Monza on 4 September 1966. Scarfiotti finished ahead of Ferrari teammate Mike Parkes and Denny Hulme, and his victory remained the last home Grand Prix triumph by an Italian driver for six decades.

On 6 September 2026, Antonelli finally changed that history.

Not in a Ferrari, but in a Mercedes.

Not from the front row, as Scarfiotti had done.

From 19th.

Round 13 | Italian Grand Prix

Circuit: Monza Circuit
Date: 6 September 2026
Winner: Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Second: George Russell, Mercedes
Third: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Fastest lap: Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli starting position: 19th

A Home Grand Prix That Began With a Penalty

The scale of Antonelli’s achievement becomes clearer when considering where his Italian Grand Prix began.

Pierre Gasly had produced the surprise of qualifying by putting Alpine on pole. Russell joined him on the front row, while Ferrari occupied the second row with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Antonelli was nowhere near them.

A penalty associated with power unit components sent the championship leader down to 19th on the grid.

His original tyre choice reflected the challenge. While Gasly, Russell, Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Lando Norris and several others started on mediums, Antonelli joined Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso on the hard compound.

The intention was clear. Extend the opening stint, create strategic flexibility and find a way back into contention.

Conditions were punishing. Ambient temperature was around 33°C and the track eventually reached approximately 57°C. With no realistic prospect of rain, a conventional one stop race appeared the most likely scenario.

Antonelli would make the afternoon anything but conventional.

Five Positions in One Lap

Gasly defended the lead when the lights went out, but behind him Monza immediately erupted.

The two Ferraris made contact during the opening lap, sending Hamilton through the gravel and down the order.

Antonelli needed no invitation.

From 19th, he gained five positions on the opening lap alone.

It was the first indication that the penalty had not removed him from the race.

Russell soon passed Gasly for the lead, while Verstappen also began moving forward. At the front, the race was already changing shape.

Then, on lap three, everything stopped.

Leclerc’s Crash Changes the Grand Prix

Piastri attacked Leclerc approaching the Parabolica. There was no contact, but the Ferrari lost rear stability and crashed heavily into the tyre barrier.

Leclerc climbed from the car, but the damage to the barrier required substantial repairs.

The Safety Car was initially deployed before race control stopped the Grand Prix with a red flag.

For Ferrari and the tifosi, it was a devastating moment.

The incident also carried an uncomfortable historical echo. Leclerc had suffered another major accident in the same part of Monza during the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

More importantly for the race itself, the red flag transformed the strategic landscape.

Drivers were able to change tyres during the interruption. Most moved to the hard compound, while Verstappen, Hamilton, Gabriel Bortoleto, Antonelli, Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas selected mediums.

For Antonelli, there was a significant downside.

Starting on the hard tyre had been designed to give him strategic range later in the race. The interruption effectively allowed rivals to change tyres without paying the normal pit stop cost.

His original strategic advantage had largely disappeared.

He simply started overtaking again.

The Second Start, The Second Recovery

The restart came from a standing start.

While Bortoleto suffered badly and fell towards the rear, Antonelli launched another attack on the classification.

By lap seven, the driver who had started 19th was already sixth.

Verstappen moved past Gasly and began challenging Russell. Hamilton passed the Alpine. Piastri followed.

Then Antonelli arrived.

He passed Gasly.

He passed Hamilton.

He caught Piastri and passed the McLaren.

Suddenly, the Italian who had started on the penultimate row was third.

Ahead were only Verstappen and Russell.

Antonelli Takes On Verstappen

Verstappen briefly took the lead from Russell before the Mercedes driver recovered first place on lap 15.

That brought Antonelli directly onto the Red Bull.

One lap later, the Italian attacked.

Antonelli went to the inside at Turn 4 and completed the pass.

From 19th to second in 16 laps.

There was now only one car ahead of him.

The other Mercedes.

From 19th to First

Antonelli reached Russell rapidly.

On lap 18, he attacked his teammate around the outside under braking for Turn 1 and completed the move.

Kimi Antonelli was leading the Italian Grand Prix.

The significance was already enormous, but the race was far from settled.

Russell attacked again on lap 20 and reclaimed first place at Turn 1. Antonelli responded at Turn 4 and immediately took it back.

The Mercedes drivers continued trading pressure.

Russell finally established himself ahead again on lap 23, and Mercedes attempted to manage the situation while Verstappen remained close enough to represent a threat.

Antonelli had reached the front.

Now he would have to win the race all over again.

The Virtual Safety Car Opens Another Strategic Battle

Lance Stroll stopped with a hydraulic problem on lap 28, prompting a Virtual Safety Car.

Antonelli used the neutralisation to pit.

Verstappen followed.

Russell remained on track.

That decision divided Mercedes strategically and created the conditions for the final phase of the Grand Prix.

Once racing resumed, Antonelli again began moving forward.

Gasly was passed on lap 30.

Norris followed.

Then came Hamilton.

The Ferrari driver made an error at the chicane, Antonelli closed rapidly and another position disappeared.

Once again, the Italian was heading towards Russell.

Bortoleto’s Race Swings Back and Forth

Behind the leaders, Gabriel Bortoleto experienced almost the opposite kind of afternoon.

The Audi driver started tenth and initially lost a position before fighting back, but the second start after the red flag was disastrous.

From 11th, Bortoleto fell as low as 19th.

He recovered again.

Colapinto was passed. Carlos Sainz became part of a prolonged battle. Bortoleto eventually climbed back towards the points, overtaking Esteban Ocon and Audi teammate Nico Hülkenberg.

At one stage he was again around 11th and closing on the top ten.

Then the Virtual Safety Car arrived moments after Bortoleto had passed the pit entrance.

Several rivals were able to exploit the reduced pit stop cost. Bortoleto could not.

The Brazilian eventually finished 11th, one place short of a point after a race defined by repeated recoveries and unfortunate timing.

Russell Versus Antonelli

By lap 49, the Italian Grand Prix had become a direct Mercedes contest.

Antonelli was on Russell’s gearbox.

They arrived at the opening chicane together. Russell missed his braking point, while Antonelli also ran too deep and crossed the gravel.

The opportunity had gone.

Temporarily.

The gap was approximately seven tenths of a second, and Mercedes was understandably concerned about two teammates fighting for victory with a one two finish at stake.

Russell was instructed not to take unnecessary risks.

Antonelli closed again anyway.

The Pass That Ended a 60 Year Wait

Lap 50.

Antonelli arrived once more.

This time there would be no mistake.

The Italian positioned the Mercedes for another attack and passed Russell to take the lead.

The reaction around Monza told the story.

The grandstands were filled with the red traditionally associated with Ferrari, but the driver generating the celebration was wearing Mercedes colours.

For the first time in 60 years, an Italian driver was heading towards victory in the Italian Grand Prix.

Russell could not respond.

Verstappen remained third but was no longer in position to challenge the Mercedes pair.

Antonelli was finally clear.

Norris Wins the McLaren Fight

Behind the podium battle, Norris and Piastri fought intensely for fourth.

Piastri moved ahead on lap 49, but Norris remained close and attacked again on the final lap.

The British driver reclaimed the position before the chequered flag.

Norris finished fourth, Piastri fifth.

Hamilton salvaged sixth for Ferrari on a difficult home afternoon, while pole sitter Gasly fell to seventh.

Arvid Lindblad took eighth, Colapinto ninth and Tsunoda completed the points positions.

The Final Lap

Antonelli began lap 53 with the victory under control.

But there was still one final statement to make.

He set the fastest lap.

Then came the chequered flag.

Kimi Antonelli had won the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.

He had started 19th.

Russell crossed the line second to complete a Mercedes one two, with Verstappen third.

The result alone would have made this one of Antonelli’s greatest performances.

Its historical context made it something more.

From Scarfiotti to Antonelli

On 4 September 1966, Ludovico Scarfiotti won at Monza for Ferrari.

Scarfiotti had started from the front row and drove the Ferrari 312 to the only World Championship Grand Prix victory of his career. Mike Parkes finished second, completing a Ferrari one two. Scarfiotti also recorded the fastest lap.

He became only the third Italian to win the Italian Grand Prix during the World Championship era, following Giuseppe Farina in 1950 and Alberto Ascari in 1951 and 1952.

Then the victories stopped.

Italian drivers continued to win elsewhere. Riccardo Patrese, Michele Alboreto, Alessandro Nannini, Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella were among those who carried Italian hopes through subsequent generations.

Some came close at Monza.

Alboreto finished second for Ferrari in both 1984 and 1988. Patrese took pole in 1983. Teo Fabi did the same in 1986.

But nobody repeated Scarfiotti’s achievement.

Until Antonelli.

Monza’s Italian Winners in the World Championship Era

The 60 year gap between Scarfiotti and Antonelli is therefore not merely a statistical curiosity.

It connects two completely different eras of Grand Prix racing.

Scarfiotti won in the first season of Formula One’s three litre regulations, driving Ferrari’s V12 powered 312. His 1966 triumph was his first and only World Championship Grand Prix victory.

Antonelli’s victory comes in another period of profound technical transformation, during Formula One’s new 2026 era.

Six decades apart, Monza became the stage for both.

And He Did It From 19th

That is what separates Antonelli’s victory from a simple historical coincidence.

He did not inherit the race.

He did not control it comfortably from pole.

He started 19th because of a power unit penalty.

He gained five positions on the opening lap.

His original hard tyre strategy was compromised by a red flag.

He climbed through the field again after the restart.

He passed Piastri.

He passed Hamilton.

He passed Verstappen.

He fought Russell for the lead.

He used the Virtual Safety Car strategically.

Then he had to fight back towards Russell again.

When his first late attempt went wrong, he recovered and attacked once more.

Then he passed.

And on the final lap, with the victory essentially secured, he recorded the fastest lap.

This was not merely the afternoon on which an Italian finally won at Monza again.

It was a drive worthy of ending the wait.

Italian Grand Prix 2026 Result

A Day Monza Will Remember

There is a particular weight attached to winning a home Grand Prix.

For an Italian driver, Monza magnifies it.

The circuit has witnessed Ferrari triumphs, championship turning points, extraordinary celebrations and some of the defining episodes in Formula One history.

Yet for 60 years, one thing had been missing.

An Italian winner.

Scarfiotti crossed the line on 4 September 1966.

Antonelli crossed it on 6 September 2026.

The first victory came in a Ferrari.

The second came in a Mercedes.

But the grandstands, the flag and the significance were Italian.

Sixty years later, Monza finally had one of its own at the top again.

And Kimi Antonelli did not merely end the wait.

He came from 19th to do it.