With Andrea Kimi Antonelli on pole after a scintillating qualifying session, it was the question whether Max Verstappen could pose a challenge for the championship leader at the 2026 F1 Monaco GP. A race not normally known for its tension, would it be different this time around?
Versappen out after abysmal start
With plenty of bad starts between them, Antonelli and Verstappen were keen on getting away quickly at lights out. However, the Red Bull driver only managed to roll away just enough to get out of the way of the entire field behind him. No serious collissions happened, but the Dutchman’s race is over, as he limps his car to the pits.
Antonelli had a blasting start, immediately creating a gap to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. A bit further back George Russell looked out of position at the start, but eventually no further action was taken. Pierre Gasly managed to get past Lando Norris.
At the back Ollie Bearman is pitting for a new nose. Valtteri Bottas and Gabriel Bortoleto also stop, for tactical reasons. The Brazilian has nothing to lose as he started from pit lane, whereas the Cadillac driver tries to make something out of an underperforming car.
The remaining backmarkers follow suit, creating a train behind Sergio Pérez. The Mexican veteran is also penalised for being out of position at the start, so if any crazy shenanigans would happen, he no longer is in prime position to capitalise. It also gives Esteban Ocon the opportunity to swap to the hard tyres and maintain track position with respect to the other backmarkers.
Russell putting the pressure on Hadjar
Both Ferrari’s are unable to follow Antonelli at the front, with the young Italian keeping the gap around four seconds. Behind them, Russell is closing the gap to Isack Hadjar. The Briton is struggling all weekend, and hopes the new regulations make it a bit more feasible to overtake in Monaco.
Norris, Bortoleto and Bearman are in the same boat, as they are being held up by the drivers ahead of them. Alex Albon in the meantime cuts the Nouvelle Chicane, the only corner where track limits are being monitored this weekend.
Bottas is the second retirement of the race, as he is told to cool and box the car. A fitting conclusion to a difficult weekend for the Finn.
As Russell and his engineer are discussing the tactical options to overtake Hadjar, the Frenchman is struggling with his engine braking, and a little later with his engine breaking, as he complains that something is about “to explode”.
Pit stops don’t give Antonelli problems
Antonelli’s significant lead isn’t because the Ferrari’s aren’t pushing, as Leclerc goes straight through the chicane. It is however not enough to make the Mercedes driver break any sweat.
The gap to Hadjar has grown to over 40 seconds in the meantime, as the Red Bull driver does all he can to keep Russell behind. Cutting the chicane at one point, it is no surprise Russell complains that the position need to be given up.
Hamilton is the first of the leading trio to head to the pits, but with a gap over ten seconds to Antonelli, an undercut for the lead is unlikely. He does however speed in the pitlane, which gives him a five-second time penalty.
Bearman is the next driver to retire, and Nico Hülkenberg is the next one to cut the chicane. Russell is the next driver to make a planned stop, in an attempt to undercut Hadjar. Hadjar follows the next lap, but the lack of pace and slightly slower stop put him behind the Mercedes driver.
Leclerc is next up to box, and he comes back on track more than ten seconds behind his team mate. This means he has some work to do to capitalise on Hamilton’s penalty. With both Ferrari’s now pitted, Antonelli safely makes his stop, knowing he will get out ahead if all goes well.
Following his former team mate, Russell also picks up a penalty for speeding in the pit lane, something that could be interesting after Piastri has stopped.
Williams team games almost go south
Despite hearing some mechanical gremlins and cutting the chicane, Norris is back at the gearbox of Gasly. Unfortunately for him, Russell has also closed the gap, meaning he needs to watch his mirrors as well.
While Colapinto gets the next penalty for speading in the pit lane, Norris is told to play the team game, which means holding up Russell. A similar strategy is deployed by Williams to secure tenth place for Albon.
Russell recognises the threat and tries an overtake into the chicane, but Norris covers off the inside nicely. To add insult to injury, he is being investigated for crossing the white line at pit exit. He gets a little break when Norris has to retire the car, but the gap to Hadjar behind has shrunk. This prompts Gasly to pit immediately, having a nice gap to drop into.
With Albon stopped and Norris retired, Williams decides to swap the cars and try the strategy again, this time to the benefit of Carlos Sainz, who is now ninth. Albon however misses the chicane and then has to let Arvid Linblad past. Luckily for Albon, the rookie still has to pit.
Mentioning pitting, Gasly is the fourth driver who picks up a pitlane speeding penalty today. A busy day for the stewards, as Lance Stroll also gets a penalty. He gets one for cutting the chicane too often.
With Sainz stopping Williams strategy plays out, but Hülkenberg is keeping Albon close for the moment, meaning a swap between the two Williams drivers is being quite difficult at the moment.
Late safety cars spices things up
Antonelli has an almost 30 second lead over Hamilton, who is in turn a few seconds ahead of Leclerc. But it isn’t all smooth sailing for the young Italian, who hears all kinds of issues with his engine going up the hill.
Leclerc is clearly pushing to keep the gap within five seconds, as he clips the guardrail coming out of the chicane.
When everything has died down, the Williams swap has occurred and Piastri has also received a five-second penalty, Stroll decides the 2026 Monaco GP needs a safety car and plants his car in the wall at Anthony Noghes.
A pit stop bonanza occurs, giving all drivers with a penalty the option to cheaply take it. It does cost Russell a place to Hadjar. Replays however reveal Russell has not served his penalty.
At the restart, Leclerc decides to imitate Stroll, which brings out the safety car immediatly again. It gives Hadjar the final podium position for the moment, especially when both Russell and Gasly are looking at additional penalties. Russell for not serving his penalty correctly, and Gasly for speeding in the pit lane, again.
After a few laps behind Bernd Mayländer, race direction decides to throw the red flag. Apparently, the track condition in the final turn is questionable. As a result, Lindblad can freely change his tyres, making him the main beneficiary of the chaos, if the race continues. He is however under investigation for a safety car infringement.
Red flag causes frantic dash to the finish
While the organisers and race direction are contemplating whether the final corner is raceable, the stewards have yet another investigation to do, as Hamilton is looking at a safety car infringement as well.
The track is eventually cleared, and after two laps behind the safety car, a standing start is called. And with Hamilton cleared from any wrongdoing, there is a proper battle for the lead possible.
Antonelli and Hamilton have a good getaway, but Hadjar has a poor start and is passed by Russell and Gasly. The pack is then backed up by Russell, which results in a traffic jam in the hairpin. Sainz eventually gets tagged by Hülkenberg and hits the wall, breaking his suspension. Replay shows he is also tagged by Colapinto in Portier. Sensibly, he decides to park the car behind the barriers.
Penalty wise, Hadjar’s under investigation for a safety car infringement is swapped for a red flag infringement. This will be investigated after the race. Pérez is under investigation again for a false start, and a gaggle of drivers will have penalties added to their final race time.
Nothing of this fazes Kimi Antonelli, who goes on to win his fifth race in succession. Hamilton comes home in second from Gasly, who is demoted to seventh due to his penalty. That makes Hadjar third ahead of Piastri, Lawson and Lindblad. Albon is eighth, ahead of Ocon and Pérez. The Cadillac driver is promoted into the points as Hülkenberg gets a ten-second time penalty for causing a colission.
