The McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team secured a good points haul at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, making up ground from its starting positions to score a combined 22 points in the Constructors' Championship. This meant that the papaya team left Monza with the third fastest car, on a circuit that was expected to present a very different challenge to recent races.
Lando Norris produced an impressive drive from eighth on the grid to finish fourth, while Oscar Piastri, making his 81st race start, gained one position to take fifth. It was a busy, action-packed race, with plenty of on-track battles for the fans to get behind at the Temple of Speed.
Lando and Oscar both started the afternoon on Medium tyres and safely made it through the opening laps of the race despite an expected tight pack through the Prima Variante.
However, with just two laps on the board, a Safety Car and then Red Flag was called following Charles Leclerc's Ferrari going off and hitting the tyre barriers at Parabolica. As Oscar was the following car, the Australian driver had to lift for a moment, presenting an opportunity for Alpine's Franco Colapinto to pass through into P4 prior to the initial Safety Car being called.
With the race halted, this allowed the two MCL40s to be fitted with new Hard tyres in the pit lane, completing the mandatory change of compound required.
Following the required repairs to the crash barrier and an extra formation lap caused by Yuki Tsunoda being positioned incorrectly in his grid box, the race eventually got back underway with Oscar starting one position up in P5, followed by Lando in P6, who had climbed two positions in the opening laps.
Plenty of action-packed racing was witnessed on the restart before the order partly settled down with Oscar remaining in P5 and Lando dropping to P7. As the Hard tyre came up to temperature, Oscar was in condition to climb up to P3. The regular position swaps between drivers continued as the race developed.
On Lap 28, a Virtual Safety Car was caused by Aston Martin's Lance Stroll stopping on track. With multiple cars pitting under the conditions, Lando and Oscar remained out on track having already changed tyres earlier in the race, allowing them to move up to P2 and P4 respectively.
As the race continued, the order evolved as the different strategies played out with both Mercedes cars showing the leading performance they have had throughout the weekend, followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen in P3, who had stopped under the VSC alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
In the closing stages, Lando and Oscar showed good pace with the pair working hard to battle respectfully for fourth and fifth. Lando was able to use the boost from his power-unit on the final lap to gain a position on the Number 81 car. The Australian driver continued closely within striking distance, but Lando held the position to finish P4, just 0.137s ahead of his teammate in P5, securing a combined 22 points for the team.
The team will now take today's learnings and turn its attention to the next challenge at the new Madring circuit for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix. With Formula 1 preparing to race at the venue for the first time, the weekend will bring several unknowns, including how the track surface evolves and the demands it places on the car and tyres.
Andrea Stella: "First of all, congratulations to Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes on their victory today, they did a very good job and fully deserved the result. Overall, it was a positive and strong weekend for the team. The race was incredibly tense and entertaining, and both Lando and Oscar showed the same high level of performance throughout. What we saw today was good, hard racing that delivered an exciting spectacle for the fans. We let them race, and while Lando's moment on the grass looked dramatic live, our review suggests it was benign. This philosophy can be risky, and we'll assess it carefully, always prioritising the team's interests.
"Today's race was executed at a higher standard than Qualifying, where starting P6 and P8 left us paying a price in a field that's hard to overtake. The slipstream and energy management here mean even quicker cars struggle to pull away, and with Mercedes holding a clear step advantage, we weren't in contention for the victory. Looking ahead to the final 10 races, we aim to fight consistently for wins, with circuits like Malaysia, Austin, and Brazil suiting us better, and upgrades coming for Baku."
Kimi Antonelli won Sunday's Italian Grand Prix with team-mate George Russell P2. It was a thrilling drive from Kimi as he charged through the field from P19 to become the first Italian to win their home race since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.
It also marks Mercedes 250th Grand Prix victory as a power unit manufacturer and the marque's eighth victory at Monza; it's first since 2018 at the 'Temple of Speed'.
Starting out of position, Kimi started on the Hard tyre but was able to change to the Medium compound under an early race red flag. By that point, he had already gained seven places to run P12. George meanwhile ran the conventional one-stop from P2 by starting on the Medium and taking the Hard under the red flag, with the clear goal to run to the end on that tyre as he led. Kimi's progressed continued once the race restarted and cycled through to battle his team-mate for the lead. A mid-race Virtual Safety Car gave the team the option of pitting Kimi for a new Medium tyre, with signs suggesting that his original Medium tyre wouldn't have the life to get to the end of the race. He rejoined in P6 but made short work of cars ahead; in the final stages he closed the gap to George before making the pass for the lead with three laps left.
Our duo took the flag comfortably ahead of the rest of the field to secure the win, and the 50th for an Italian in F1. Deputy Technical Director Simone Resta represented the team on the podium at his home race. The team now leads the Constructors' Championship by 122 points with Kimi heading the Drivers' standings by 66 points from his team-mate George.
Toto Wolff: That was a phenomenal race by the team and both drivers. To take a 1-2 in Monza is a special feeling and victory will obviously be particularly sweet for Kimi at his home race. Both Kimi and George drove brilliantly and were comfortably faster than the rest of the field. Even though they were battling at moments, they kept it clean and brought home a big points haul which is incredibly valuable at this stage in the championship.
Kimi's drive was methodical from the very start. He kept his head down, took no risks on both starts and just one-by-one began picking off the cars ahead of him. We didn't think his first set of Medium tyres would go to the end, so the Virtual Safety Car gave him a cheaper stop; his pace was superb to make the strategy work. For George, he ran the conventional strategy but was suffering with some vibrations on his front tyres in the closing stages. That limited his pace slightly, but he still drove strongly throughout to take P2.
Andrew Shovlin: Today was a well-executed race by the whole team and overall, a strong weekend throughout. Even with Kimi starting near the back, we were confident that he could move forward and potentially fight for the podium. We had done a lot of work to optimise our race pace on Friday and that showed in the Grand Prix. Both Kimi and George were significantly faster than their competitors and that was brilliant to see.
The decision to either pit or stay out under the Virtual Safety Car was a close one. Ultimately, we decided to split strategies across cars to give ourselves the best chance of victory. Pitting Kimi was different to what most of the top 10 did but enabled us to cover threats from the opposition. At that point, the one-stop looked like the slightly stronger strategy, but Kimi's pace really made the two-stop work. He carved past cars we thought he may struggle to pass; both Kimi and George were incredibly quick but once Kimi had caught, the tyre age offset meant he was able to pass quickly.
Our pace this weekend has been encouraging. We know we are out of sync with our rivals in terms of updates so to take a 1-2 and increase our lead in the championships is pleasing. We know that Monza is an outlier as a track though and we cannot expect this form to continue into Madrid next week. That will be a much tougher fight; we will once again focus on executing a clean weekend, maximising the package we have and bringing home good points.
Laurent Mekies: "Today was a well-deserved podium for Max and the whole Team. It was an intense weekend, but the race showed that our pace was fairly strong. Mercedes was a bit too fast for us but we were strong enough to beat Ferrari and McLaren on merits. It was probably our best race pace in a few weeks and a step in the right direction. We won't be happy until we have that ultimate speed and we clearly still have some challenges to overcome, which may unlock more performance once we get to the bottom of them.
"Max has been incredible on track today. He made several very spectacular overtakes and defensive manoeuvres and drove an aggressive strategy which led us to the podium. Liam showed good pace after a challenging start of the race from the back of the grid following his PU penalties. Contact with Nico meant we had to change his front wing and ultimately killed his chance for points.
"We take the improved pace and many learnings from Monza, and look forward to the very new circuit of Madrid in a few days."
Scuderia Ferrari HP driver Lewis Hamilton finished the Italian Grand Prix in sixth place while Charles Leclerc retired in the early stages of the race. The Englishman spent a long time fighting in the leading group, but found it particularly difficult to compete with his main rivals on the straights at a circuit as power-sensitive as Monza. As for Charles, he went off track on the second lap while battling in the top four. He crashed very heavily into the barriers at the Alboreto corner, but fortunately he was unhurt. After undergoing precautionary checks at the Medical Centre, he returned to the team's motorhome. Therefore, for the Scuderia, the result at its home race did not live up to expectations, on a weekend made special nonetheless by the celebrations dedicated to Michael Schumacher, 30 years on from his first victory at Monza.
The two SF-26s started from third and fourth on the grid. At the first chicane, the two cars came very close together and, to avoid making contact, Lewis ran slightly into the gravel, losing several positions. On the second lap, following a series of battles, Charles dropped from second to fourth and then lost control of the car on the approach to the Alboreto corner, hitting the barriers, which brought out the red flag. At the second start, Hamilton, lining up eighth on Medium tyres, produced an impressive recovery drive that took him as high as fourth. As the race progressed, Lewis continued to fight with the cars in the leading group, but he struggled on the straights and, towards the end, he was losing tyre performance which meant that he was unable to defend his position. Hamilton gave it everything he had to finish the Grand Prix in sixth place.
The team will analyse in detail the data gathered over the Monza weekend and continue working on the areas where improvements are needed. The next round of the season is already next week, with the Spanish Grand Prix taking place at the new Madrid circuit from 11 to 13 September.
Fred Vasseur: We knew that this race would be challenging, especially in terms of our top speed, and that made it difficult for Lewis to fight and overtake the cars around him. Regarding Charles, on the second lap he was side by side with Oscar (Piastri) going into the last corner and went slightly onto the dirty side of the track, which was enough for him to lose the car and hit the barriers. It was a big impact, so the most important thing is that Charles is okay.
Of course, we are disappointed that we could not give our tifosi the result we wanted after the incredible energy and support they have shown us throughout the weekend. I'm very happy for Kimi (Antonelli): this is a very important moment for him, and he deserves it. Our focus now immediately switches to next weekend and the new Madrid circuit.
James Vowles, Team Principal: "It was nice to see we had some pace in the race to be able to move up the order. We lost a few positions on the opening laps before the restart, which may have proved costly for our ability to score points today. But definitely some more clues coming out of the race about where we need to be looking, and working hard and diligently to keep finding performance.
With Carlos, he drove a good race from start to finish, and that was about the best we could have achieved after the restart. With Alex, solid pace all day. We were unable to stop him under the VSC without significant loss of time, so we had to keep him out to the end, but we noticed some concerning vibrations on the front left, and given we weren't fighting for points, the priority at that point is making sure we have no issues.
"Congratulations to Kimi - a very impressive result to come from the back to the front.
"Now looking forward to Madrid in just a few days' time."
Alan Permane: "It was a solid weekend for us. It's always special to race in our home country and see the passion of the fans and have the support of our friends and families who joined us today in the grandstands. It wasn't perfect, but we certainly maximised what we had and ended up with both cars in the points. A great job by both drivers and a special mention to Yuki who scores on only his second time in the car. We've got a quick turnaround, so we'll head back to Faenza tonight, spend tomorrow debriefing and turn our attention to Madring which is approaching fast."
Mike Krack: "An early finish for both cars in Monza today. A hydraulic issue forced Lance to retire, while Fernando picked up some car damage running wide through turn seven. This circuit may not have suited our package, but we will take the data and learnings forward and hope to be more competitive in Madrid next weekend."
TGR Haas F1 Team finished with Ollie Bearman 15th and Esteban Ocon 16th at Round 13 of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Italian Grand Prix, held Sunday at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Bearman took the start from 11th on the grid, with Ocon 14th, both on Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires. Bearman cycled through to ninth position, with Ocon 11th, before the race was suspended after three laps due to barrier damage following Charles Leclerc's accident in his Scuderia Ferrari at Parabolica.
Both drivers switched to White hard tires for the standing restart, which Bearman took from ninth, and Ocon 10th. Bearman held position, before losing out to Yuki Tsunoda, while Ocon settled into a rhythm in 13th.
Bearman battled with Tsunoda but slipped back through the midfield, while Ocon pitted on lap 28 for Yellow medium tires - during a virtual safety car period caused by Lance Stroll's Aston Martin coming to a stop. Bearman took the checkered flag in 15th place, with Ocon 16th.
TGR Haas F1 Team sits seventh overall in the Constructors' Championship on 21 points.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "Obviously a very disappointing Sunday after what was a positive Friday and Saturday. Our fundamental issue was a much higher tire degradation on both cars in comparison to our competitors, the deg-mechanism is very, very different. We've been quite honest about our parts inconsistency issues this weekend. Yes, the upgrade is working on both cars, it's really much better, but in terms of, let's say, across the car we still have inconsistency. It's something we really need to get to the bottom of. I believe that's why it's leading to this different mechanism of degradation. We have to focus on that but at least the foundation of the car is good. So, if we understand those issues we can set up the car properly for the race and we can fight close to the points. Up until the last race we were nowhere near to fighting Audi - so that's a positive from today. We stick together, work on our issues, and we move forward."
Audi Revolut F1 Team narrowly missed out on points at the Italian Grand Prix, with both Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto recovering from difficult opening laps to finish just outside the top 10.
The team expected Monza to be one of the more challenging rounds for its package, but well-timed strategy decisions, solid race pace and the fastest pit stop of the race helped to make the most of the opportunities available. Now, the focus shifts to Madrid in one week's time, with the new Madring circuit making its long-awaited debut as the final European race on the calendar.
Allan McNish, Racing Director: "We knew Monza would be one of the more difficult circuits for our car, so to come away with both cars finishing just outside the points is a solid effort. The starts made life difficult for both Nico and Gabriel, and with such a long run to Turn 1, losing positions early meant we were always fighting back.
"I think everyone did a good job to maximise what was available today. Both drivers recovered well, the strategy calls were strong, particularly around the Virtual Safety Car for Nico, and the pit crew once again delivered an excellent stop. The execution across the team was very good, and that's something we can take with us as we head to Madrid."
Flavio Briatore: "This weekend has been a positive one for the team, with some highs with the pole position yesterday and good points picked up for the team. We have narrowed the gap to Racing Bulls in the Championship and the performance we have brought to the car in recent races has put us in a more competitive position to fight on track. We were realistic of what was achievable today and ultimately the result was a fair reflection of our pace over a Grand Prix distance. Both drivers did a fantastic job over the weekend. It was great that Pierre had his moment to enjoy with the team yesterday, and Franco drove a brilliant race to recover and earn valuable points for the team."
The Cadillac Formula 1® Team secured a double finish in today's action-packed Italian Grand Prix. Checo Perez took the checkered flag in P18, with teammate Valtteri Bottas just behind in P19 ahead of both Aston Martins, after a blisteringly hot 53-lap race.
The result is a positive step forward and improvement on some reliability issues from the last race in Zandvoort.
The next round of the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship™ will take place at the brand-new Circuito de Madring as the Cadillac Formula 1® Team prepares for the Spanish Grand Prix next weekend.
Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal: "It was a hot and demanding race, but it was important to get both cars to the checkered flag, finishing P18 and P19. There are lessons for us to take away from today, and we know where the main weaknesses are. Congratulations to Kimi on a historic victory in front of a home crowd."
"Checo had a good fight with Fernando, which gave us some positive moments, while Valtteri had to contend with multiple blue flags toward the end of the race to bring the car home. We will take the learnings from Monza, regroup quickly and look forward to Madrid next weekend."
Kimi Antonelli won the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia. The Mercedes driver secured victory in his home race thanks to a spectacular recovery drive after starting nineteenth on the grid as a result of a penalty. Team-mate George Russell finished second, while Max Verstappen took third place. The three of them, together with Simone Resta representing the Stuttgart-based team, therefore lifted the FRAGILE trophy.
A red flag after the third lap allowed all drivers to replace the tyres on which they had started the race. Antonelli, who had started on the Hard compound, switched to Mediums during the stoppage. Russell did exactly the opposite, but completed the race on the C3 fitted at that time. Antonelli, meanwhile, adopted a different strategy, taking advantage of the Virtual Safety Car on lap 29 to pit and fit a fresh set of Medium tyres. Verstappen also stopped during the neutralisation period, switching from Mediums to Hards. The Dutchman had started on Softs.
The Grand Prix took place in particularly hot conditions, with air temperatures reaching around 34°C and track temperatures exceeding 50°C. All three compounds were used during the race. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez completed the highest number of laps on a single set of Soft tyres, covering 24 laps. Yuki Tsunoda, Lewis Hamilton and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the highest number of laps on a single set of Mediums, reaching 50 laps. Seven drivers covered the same distance on a set of Hard tyres.
Thanks to his victory at Monza, Antonelli extended his lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship over second-placed George Russell. The Italian now leads the standings with 267 points, while the Briton is second on 201, 66 points behind.
Dario Marrafuschi: "We expected a race in which all three compounds would be viable strategic options and that proved to be the case. Teams had the opportunity to adopt different approaches, so much so that the starting grid presented a particularly varied picture. We saw drivers start on each of the available compounds, with different strategies unfolding throughout the race. Those who switched early to the Hard or Medium compound were able to complete most of the race distance comfortably thanks to extremely low degradation levels.
The data collected confirmed what we had observed over the previous days. Even during the most intense battles, with numerous overtakes and a few lock-ups, no significant wear-related issues emerged. We did observe some graining, with differing behaviour from team to team, demonstrating just how much the phenomenon was influenced by individual car characteristics and stint management.
The Virtual Safety Car inevitably limited the opportunity to gather further information on the C5 in long-run conditions, but the sets used by the drivers who completed the longest stints on the Soft compound showed low degradation in line with expectations. The rear axle undoubtedly benefited from Monza's long straights, which helped contain tyre overheating under traction despite the high track temperatures.
Overall, the performance of the entire range was extremely positive, allowing drivers to push throughout the race while promoting close battles and numerous overtaking opportunities. We witnessed an action-packed race characterised by varied strategies, exactly the type of scenario we aim to help create.
Congratulations to Kimi Antonelli who, after climbing through the field from the penultimate position on the grid, managed to secure victory with an extraordinary recovery drive, completing 26 overtakes and taking advantage of a Virtual Safety Car period to fit a fresh set of Medium tyres that enabled him to catch and pass his team-mate before the chequered flag. His success brought an Italian driver back to the top step of the Monza podium for the first time in sixty years."
