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· collected 2026-09-06 · by AFP
Kimi Antonelli, a 20-year-old Mercedes driver from Emilia-Romagna, won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday after starting in 19th place on the grid. He claimed his seventh win of the season and extended his lead in the drivers' title race. The Italian crowd was thrilled by his victory, which came after Ferrari's disappointing performance, with Charles Leclerc crashing out on lap two and Lewis Hamilton finishing sixth. Antonelli beat his teammate George Russell by 3.857 seconds, who is now 66 points adrift in the championship with four races remaining.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Here's a summary of the news story:
Kimi Antonelli wins Italian Grand Prix from 19th place
At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Kimi Antonelli, the 20-year-old Mercedes driver from Italy, made history by winning the race from 19th place on the grid. This was his seventh win of the season and extended his lead in the drivers' title race. Antonelli's victory is all the more remarkable given that he started at the back of the grid due to a grid penalty and had to overcome several challenges throughout the race.
Russell finishes second, 66 points behind
Antonelli's teammate, George Russell, finished second in the race but was unable to prevent Antonelli from extending his lead. Russell is now 66 points behind Antonelli with only 10 rounds remaining in the season.
Ferrari suffers a disappointing flop
The Ferrari team suffered a dismal performance at their home grand prix, with Charles Leclerc crashing out on lap two and Lewis Hamilton finishing sixth more than 20 seconds behind Antonelli. The Italian crowd was left disappointed and despondent by the team's performance.
Antonelli becomes favorite to win title
With this victory, Antonelli is now firmly in the lead to become Italy's first Formula One world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953. He has won seven races this season, while Russell has only two victories. The momentum is clearly with Antonelli as he heads into the final stretch of the season.
This win will go down in Formula One folklore and cement Antonelli's reputation as one of the greatest drivers of all time.
Written for “F1 Monza Grand Prix Results” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 6149 · logged 2026-09-07
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has delivered one of the most sensational triumphs in the long history of the Italian Grand Prix by becoming the first home winner in 60 years after starting from 19th on the grid.
asserted
Antonelli → deliver → grid
The 20-year-old Mercedes driver, from nearby Emilia-Romagna, claimed his seventh win of the season on Sunday to extend his lead in the drivers’ title race as he seeks to become Italy’s first world champion since Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari in 1953.
He is the first domestic winner of the Italian GP since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.
asserted
He → claim → 1966
In a thrilling, helter-skelter race of wild overtaking moves, Antonelli came home 3.857 seconds ahead of his teammate and title rival George Russell, who is now 66 points adrift in the championship, with four-time champion Max Verstappen third for Red Bull.
asserted
Verstappen → come → Bull
For the impassioned Italian crowd, his win was some consolation for their disappointment in seeing Ferrari endure a disappointing flop with Charles Leclerc crashing out on lap two, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finishing sixth behind the McLaren pair of world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
asserted
Hamilton → see → Norris
Antonelli had started at the back of the grid after taking penalties for power-unit changes, but showed searing pace throughout as he carved through the field – benefitting from an early red flag stoppage – before outracing Russell to win.
asserted
he → start → Russell
“Unbelievable!” said an emotional Antonelli.
asserted
Antonelli → say → ?
“I’m so happy, I could never have imagined being here today, but we pulled it off.
“After the second restart, I knew I was up there and could have had a shot at the win.
uncertain
I → ’m → win
“I believed in it, especially when I was behind George, but it was really difficult to break away with the tow being so strong.”
asserted
tow → believe → George
Alpine’s maiden pole-sitter Pierre Gasly finished seventh ahead of Racing Bulls’ rookie Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto in the second Alpine, and Yuki Tsunoda of Racing Bulls.
asserted
sitter → finish → Bulls
” said Russell of Antonelli’s win.
asserted
Russell → say → win
“I knew he was going to be in the mix when I saw he was P5 and P4 on the leaderboard at the beginning…
asserted
he → know → beginning
I was struggling on the tyres, but I’d have loved to be P1 today.”
asserted
I → struggle → tyres
The race started in dramatic fashion when Hamilton was forced off by teammate Leclerc.
asserted
Hamilton → start → Leclerc
The Monegasque, who is a two-time winner at Monza, then lost control on the exit of the Parabolica at the end of lap two, going straight into the gravel and flying side-on into the tyre barriers.
asserted
who → lose → barriers
Leclerc stepped out of the car, looking winded but otherwise unhurt.
asserted
Leclerc → step → car
The race was red-flagged with Russell in the lead, having overtaken pole-sitter Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
asserted
Russell → flag → Alpine
Antonelli, who began at the back of the field in 19th after exceeding the permitted number of power-unit changes, had already moved his way up to 12th.
asserted
who → begin → 12th
Once the race restarted, he continued to pick his way through the field.
asserted
he → restart → field
On lap 18, he hit the front for the first time, but that was the start of a desperate dogfight with Russell.
asserted
that → hit → Russell
Antonelli benefited from a “free” tyre change during a virtual safety car on lap 29, coming out on a fresh set of mediums while Russell was left out on track with his hard tyres.
asserted
Russell → benefit → tyres
A 15-second lead quickly evaporated, and after a botched overtaking effort on lap 49, Antonelli finally slipped past Russell a lap later and eased his way through the final three laps to take the chequered flag.
asserted
Antonelli → evaporate → flag