For the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, Formula 1 teams introduced extreme aerodynamic packages and adapted to significant FIA regulation changes. These including the removal of DRS and active aero for the circuit, narrower car dimensions, and a specialized energy deployment mode. The FIA mandated that cars run with both front and rear wings continuously closed because the tight, twisty circuit does not have any straight-line mode zones meeting the minimum distance requirements. On the back of Formula 1 cars in Monaco, you will typically see the largest rear wings of the season and unique aerodynamic winglets. Because Monaco is a slow, twisting street circuit where high-speed straight-line efficiency does not matter, teams maximize downforce at the expense of drag.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe rear wing of a Mercedes, equipped with additional winglets
Teams like Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren have utilized complex, custom rear winglets and “cascade” designs. Because active aero actuators are not utilized in the same way on this circuit, engineers creatively exploit this open space to generate extra “local” downforce
Qualifying
Q1 saw early drama with a red flag for Gabriel Bortoleto, who clipped the wall at the famous Nouvelle chicane. When the session resumed, the top drivers, along with Lawson and Russell stayed in their garages, while everyone else continued to strive for improvements. Sainz delivered a stand-out lap, putting his Williams in P10, and resulting in the elimination of Esteban Ocon in 17th, Sergio Perez in 18th, Oliver Bearman in 19th, Valtteri Bottas in 20th, and Aston Martin teammates Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll at the back of the grid in 21st and 22nd, respectively. The red flag timing proved especially unfortunate for the two Haas drivers. When the session resumed following Bortoleto’s, the compressed timeframe left the Haas cars unable to get their tires up to the proper operating temperature for a final lap. Prior to the red flag, both drivers struggled to find clear air on the circuit, encountering traffic that compromised their build-up laps. Session 2 started, with drama early on as Bortoleto was unable to participate, and Williams was noted for an unsafe release after Sainz nearly caused a crash with Verstappen. The second segment, Q2, saw the elimination of Alex Albon in 11th, followed by his teammate Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg in the 13th position, Franco Colapinto in 14th), and Arvid Lindblad sitting in 15th, along with the unclassified Bortoleto, who will start in 16th. The final Q3 session featured intense, rapidly shifting provisional pole positions in the closing moments. Charles Leclerc, after briefly holding a fast pace, was pushing his car to the limit to try to restore pole. On his final run, however, he lost the rear end, hit the wall, and punctured his tyre, leaving the home hero in fourth position. Antonelli’s final, definitive lap surpassed Verstappen, who had just taken the top spot. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Mercedes’ George Russell took fifth and sixth, after both drivers complained about various issues over the length of the race.The top ten was completed by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri (7th) and Lando Norris (8th), followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (9th) and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson (10th). Kimi Antonelli secured his maiden Monaco Grand Prix pole position, edging out Max Verstappen by 0.043 seconds with a 1:12.051s lap in a dramatic final shootout. The Italian teenager overcame a challenging Friday to deliver a decisive performance, with Lewis Hamilton completing the top three.
Embed from Getty ImagesKimi Antonelli celebrates after taking home an exciting last-minute pole position
Ferrari’s second row position behind Verstappen and Antonelli was puzzling as Ferrari were the clear favorites during earlier practice sessions. When questioned, Lewis Hamilton described that the car felt completely different than it did during practice, resulting in a slight decline in performance. Meanwhile, the Mercedes garage was celebrating their first Monaco pole since 2019, with team boss, Toto Wolff celebrating with the team, remarking that a Monaco pole position “feels good.” Additionally, Antonelli’s teammate, George Russell congratulated the Italian teenager’s pole over the radio, contrasting the hostility of their on-track tension in previous rounds.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe top three qualifying finishers line up to celebrate their starting positions
The Race
As the Formula 1 cars line up on Boulevard Albert I, the fans await for the lights to go out. The lights go out, and it’s disaster. Verstappen’s car didn’t start as he ranges on the radio. Meanwhile, Russell and Perez are noted for gridbox violations. Russell is excused, while Perez was handed a drive through penalty. At the start, Gasly overtook Norris, squeezing in between the two papaya cars. Bortoleto then overtook Bearman for 20th place as Bearman continues to have a bad race in 21st. Hamilton reports tyre graining early on in the race, and Russell spots wear on Hadjar’s tyres ahead, which is unusual for Monaco, especially this early on. Antonelli, still in first, looses some time to Lewis as he is forced to lap cars who are further behind, as the grid spreads out. Further back in the grid, Bottas is forced to retire due to an overheating car, making it his second retirement of the season. As Hadjar’s tyre wear continues to impact his performance, Russell is told to mind his tyres to better take advantage of the Red Bull’s issues. To add insult to injury, Hadjar turns on the radio, panicked to report that he thinks “something’s going to explode.” Haas’s bad weekend gets worse as bearman is forced to retire in lap 32 following a collision with Ocon early on. Norris adds to the reported issues and he says that his car is “misfiring.” At the front of the pack, Kimi extends his lead to 17 seconds. Hoping for a performance improvement, Hadjar pits during lap 33 after sliding all over the track. After pitting, Hamilton is hit with a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, just as Lando complains that his engine issue has evolved to have “no power now.” Antonelli’s gap at the front extends to 34 seconds, and once he pits, that lead is still maintained with 14 seconds between him and second place. His teammate, meanwhile is handed a 5 second penalty, as Gasly continues to defend from Norris, and Colapinto is also given a 5 second penalty. Lando Norris is forced to retire on lap 46, proving his start to his defending season to continue to be poor. In the midfield, Williams has their drivers swap places, causing Albon to loose a place to Racing Bull’s Arvid Lindblad due to how bunched together the cars were. The penalties continue as Gasly is also given a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The order at the front is Antonelli, Hamilton then Leclerc, but with a +3.7s gap to second, and a 5 second penalty hanging over Hamilton’s head, Leclerc is virtually in second place. The theme of penalties continue as Lance Stroll, and Oscar Piastri are given another 5 second punishment. Antonelli, still leading the race remarks on the radio that “There’s something weird with the engine up the hill.” His team reassured him that there is nothing wrong, but he needs to focus on pace, not on setting fastest laps. By 58, Kimi lapped teammate Russell, adding to George’s challenging race, just as Albon and Sainz carry out a planned swap for Williams. ON lap 61, Stroll crashed into the wall, bringing out a safety car, and eroding Antonelli’s lead. A handful of cars take advantage of the safety car and pit, but when Ferrari stacks their pit with Hamilton first, Leclerc expresses his anger that he basically served Hamilton’s podium as well. Race control allows lapped cars to overtake. Race control then instructs that all cars must go to the pit lane, however when Russell does not fulfill his penalty during his stop, he is handed an additional penalty. The safety car ends on lap 65, but the green flag is short lived as Charles Leclerc immediately crashed up on safety car restart, stating that he wouldn’t take the blame, yelling that the crash was due to “these f****** breaks.”
Embed from Getty ImagesCharles Leclerc coming back to the pits following his home race crash
The yellow flag turns into a red as all cars are corralled into the pit lane. Gasly is handed another 5 second penalty as everyone waits in suspense for the restart. Many people gather on the track to investigate the road following Stroll and Leclerc’s crash in the same corner. The track is determined to have an excessive amount of marbling, which is swept up.
Embed from Getty ImagesOn track Marshalls and a sweeping truck clean up the debris
The resumption order is established, and a ten minute countdown timer was set. The lights went out and away we went, for the second time. Sainz was out on restart as a pair of race ending collisions during the restart. He was tapped by Nico Hülkenberg, sending him into the wall, and was then involved in another contact incident with Franco Colapinto’s car before the tunnel, forcing him to retire. Antonelli continues to strive for improvement in the final laps, beating his own record for the race’s fastest lap as the gap to Hamilton behind extended to +6.4 seconds. In the last few laps, Antonelli had re-secured his win. With a significant lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the Italian was set to be the youngest ever winner at Monaco. The Mercedes driver crossed the line in first, following an extremely chaotic race. The podium was completed with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. Oscar Piastri finished in fourth, being promoted following Pierre Gasly’s penalties, which left him in P7, one spot behind 2026 rookie Arvid Lindblad. George Russell finished outside the points in P13, behind Gabriel Bortoleto in 12, Fernando Alonso, and Sergio Perez in 10th, bringing home Cadillac’s first points. Antonelli’s win in Monaco extended his win streak to 5 in a row since his maiden win. Winning in Monaco is something most F1 drivers strive to do, as the glam and history comment it as one of the most prestigious tracks. Not only does Kimi now have a Monaco trophy, but his point lead has been extended to 62 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton, and his teammate drops to third place in the standings.
Embed from Getty ImagesAntonelli celebrates his 5th race win, draped in the Italian flag
Post-race, Sergio Perez’s 10 second time penalty was confirmed after a false start. This dropped the Cadillac driver from 10th to 15th, stripping the American based team of their first ever point, and awarding it to Fernando Alonso, the Aston Martin driver, earning them their first point of the season instead of Cadillac. In addition, Alpine requested a formal right of review from the FIA, hoping to turn over a series of pit-lane speeding penalties that heavily altered the leaderboard, most notably demoting Pierre Gasly from a podium finish to 7th place.
Embed from Getty ImagesRace Result
| Rank | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +2:23:31.243 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +6.271s |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +23.394s |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +24.261s |
| 5 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +26.553s |
| 6 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +29.01s |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +30.369s |
| 8 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +33.413s |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +37.14s |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +41.899s |
| 11 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +42.748s |
| 12 | George Russell | Mercedes | +43.353s |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +44.102s |
| 14 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +48.964s |
| 15 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | +39.153s |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | DNF |
| 17 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | DNF |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | DNF |
| 19 | Lando Norris | McLaren | DNF |
| 20 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | DNF |
| 21 | Valteri Bottas | Cadillac | DNF |
| 22 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | DNF |
The Monaco podium is complete following a challenging race. Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar stand on the steps, accompanied by Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff
The Race Insider 
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