Monaco GP: Kimi Antonelli wins fifth F1 race running with Lewis Hamilton second after dramatic, chaotic finish to Grand Prix
A flawless performance from Kimi Antonelli either side of a late red flag sees Mercedes youngster open 66-point world title lead; Lewis Hamilton moves ahead of George Russell in standings after another second place; Russell finishes 13th after penalty peril; Charles Leclerc crashes out
Sunday 7 June 2026 17:49, UK
Kimi Antonelli stretched his winning run to five races by overcoming a late-race restart to see off Lewis Hamilton for a supreme Monaco Grand Prix victory amid wild late scenes at F1's most-famous event.
And with Mercedes team-mate and chief title rival George Russell finishing outside the points completely after a late drive-through penalty compounded his troubled weekend, the 19-year-old Antonelli now leads the Drivers' Championship by 66 points after six rounds of what stands as a 22-race campaign.
Hamilton moves ahead of Russell into second in the standings after finishing second to Antonelli for the second race weekend running for Ferrari.
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The Briton and team-mate Charles Leclerc both jumped Max Verstappen immediately at the start - the Dutchman's Red Bull hitting race-ending power unit problems - to run second and third, but they could not keep up with the flying Antonelli, who led by almost 30 seconds before the first of two late-race Safety Cars were called.
A crash for Lance Stroll at the final corner was soon followed by one at the same spot for home hero Leclerc, just as the field was gearing up to restart, and saw officials red flag the race to assess what had become track break-up issues at that point of the circuit.
The racing eventually resumed 40 minutes later for the final eight laps with a second standing start from the grid.
Again, Antonelli made no mistake at the lights for the second time in the afternoon - with Hamilton this time next to him on the front row - to ensure his first victory in F1's most legendary race at just the second attempt.
"You can be in no doubt you are looking at a generational talent in Formula 1," declared Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle.
On a day when an unusually high number of drivers - including Hamilton and Russell - were handed five-second penalties for pit-lane speeding, Alpine's Pierre Gasly dropped out of what would have been a stunning third due to two such sanctions being applied to his final race time. He was instead classified seventh.
That promoted Isack Hadjar to the podium for the first time since his winter arrival at Red Bull, although the Frenchman's top-three finish is also in doubt owing to a post-race probe for an alleged red-flag infringement.
McLaren's difficult weekend ended with a flattering fourth place with Oscar Piastri but a second successive technical retirement for world champion Lando Norris, last year's race winner.
With Russell, Leclerc, Norris and Verstappen all failing to score, Racing Bulls cashed in for their best result since 2021 with Liam Lawson equalling the best result of his career with fifth and British rookie Arvid Lindblad claiming his hitherto highest finish in sixth.
Alex Albon took eighth for Williams ahead of Haas' Esteban Ocon.
As it stands, the all-new Cadillac team have their first point in F1 after Sergio Perez finished 10th, although the Mexican is also under a post-race investigation after he allegedly jumped the second start.
Should Perez be punished, then Fernando Alonso would be promoted from 11th to open struggling Aston Martin's points account for 2026.
How flawless Antonelli mastered Monaco in a league of his own
If the narrow, barrier-lined Monaco serves as the ultimate test of a driver's speed and precision in qualifying, and then a driver's concentration levels across the 78 racing laps on a Sunday, then Antonelli passed both tests with flying colours.
While Verstappen's failure to get away from second place on the front row certainly helped Antonelli's cause to ensure a Mercedes driver finally converted pole position into a first-lap lead this season, the Italian made no mistakes with his own getaway - and then quickly unleashed prodigious pace.
While the Monaco GP is often about tyre conservation before eventually pushing in the lead up to the usual single pit stop, Antonelli blasted away from the Ferraris immediately.
He was four seconds ahead of Hamilton by lap five and, while the seven-time world champion briefly came back at him to suggest there could yet be a battle for the win, Antonelli's lead was up beyond 12 seconds by the time the lead Ferrari pitted on lap 29.
"It's unbelievable what he's able to deliver," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff afterwards.
"Having control, he's at times 1.5 seconds quicker than anyone else."
Antonelli's lead stood at a staggering near-30s by lap 60 when the Safety Car was first called, when Stroll found the barriers at Antony Noghes.
And while that advantage was completely wiped out, with Leclerc's subsequent crash at the same turn setting what proved an eight-lap dash from the finish, Antonelli still won by six seconds.
"It's been an incredible weekend, an incredible race," he said.
"It was one of those days we had incredible pace. It was all so natural.
"The car was feeling incredible and giving me the confidence to push. It was a very enjoyable day."
More to follow…
Formula 1 heads straight to Spain for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with live coverage on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
