Formula One Gradebook: Italian Grand Prix
For Round 13 of the 2026 season, Formula One returned to the old circuit on the calendar: the Autodrome Nazionale di Monza. Nicknamed the Temple of Speed for having recorded the top speed ever achieved in a F1 car, the Italian Grand Prix is one of the most renowned homes for motorsports and the home of Ferrari.
Taking his maiden home Grand Prix victory, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli recorded his seventh Grand Prix victory of the season. With this win, the Italian driver has extended his championship lead to 66 points over second place.
Elsewhere on the grid, there was a range of battles between the midfield drivers with a mixed up grid after a surprise pole-sitter on Saturday. Here’s how all 22 drivers performed on race day:
Mercedes
George Russell: B+
Lining up in second for his eighth front-row start of the season, Russell took the lead of the race on Lap 2. Despite retaining the lead of the race on the restart, the British driver initially lost his position at the front on Lap 12. After the other Mercedes driver found his way to the front on Lap 18, it was continuous back and forth between the pair.
When Virtual Safety Car (VSC) conditions were implemented, Russell opted to stay out while his teammate opted to go into the pits for a fresh set of tyres. With no answer to the pace of his teammate behind, Russell was overtaken for the final time on Lap 50 and crossed the line in second. The result gave Mercedes their first 1-2 finish since the opening two Grands Prix of the season.
Kimi Antonelli: A+
With news confirming that Antonelli would be taking a penalty due to a new power-unit, the Italian driver was set to start the Grand Prix in 19th. After an excellent start where he put himself into 12th, he had an even more successful restart where he quickly found himself in the podium positions. On Lap 18, the home hero took the lead of the race.
When the VSC was called on Lap 29, Antonelli opted to pit for fresh tyres; he emerged out in sixth. Once racing conditions were reinstated, he was quick to make his way back through the order. Despite an excursion into the gravel, Antonelli made his 26th overtake of the Grand Prix on Lap 50 for the lead of the race and the eventual win. As a result, the Italian recorded his seventh win of the season and became the first Italian driver since 1966 to win their home Grand Prix.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc: B
Starting in third, there was every opportunity for the Ferrari driver to give an excellent result in front of the Tifosi. However, an early incident with his teammate set the tone of the race and the Monegasque driver’s race was brought to an early end on Lap 2.
Having accidentally crossed over the drain at the Parabolica, Leclerc slid out and found the tyre wall; his crash had a reported impact of 60Gs. After the race, he was reportedly also dealing with dizziness and blurred vision however was cleared having visited the medical centre.
Lewis Hamilton: B+
For an all Ferrari second-row, Hamilton started the race in fourth but things soon fell apart from there. Dropping down to 11th after an opening lap incident with Leclerc, he was quick to recover ahead of the red flag. Upon the restart, much of his race was determined by the battle with the McLaren ahead.
Despite the back and forth with the McLaren ahead, Hamilton was eventually passed on-track and so the possibility of a podium was quickly diminished. Having changed tyres under red flag conditions early in the race, Hamilton began to feel the effects on his new tyres which he reported to his race engineer. Despite letting his team know the tyre degradation levels, he was not brought in for a new set. Eventually, the seven-time former world champion lost touch with the other front-runners and crossed the line in sixth.
McLaren
Lando Norris: A
Arriving into this weekend from back to back race wins, Norris’ pace seemed diminished with the McLaren unable to produce the same level of straight line speed as the others. Starting the race in 9th, both the start and the restart gave little promise to the reigning world champion.
With his teammate battling with Hamilton ahead, Norris was preoccupied with his fight against Gasly whom he eventually passed as well as passing Hamilton as well. When the hard compound tyres came up to temperature, the British driver was able to find some pace to catch up to his teammate; the pair battled in the closing stages of the race and Norris eventually crossed the line in fourth.
Oscar Piastri: A
Despite qualifying third, Piastri was the victim of a three-place grid penalty for an impeding incident during qualifying so the Australian was set to line up in sixth. In the early stages of the race, having battled with the Red Bull for position, it was Piastri’s battle with Hamilton which dominated his first stint especially after the restart.
As Hamilton fell away and Verstappen slowly moved out of reach given the Red Bull’s superior straight-line speed, Piastri had to contend with Norris’ quick McLaren behind. With a radio message from the pit-wall reminding Piastri to keep the battle clean, the Australian was eventually passed by his teammate and finished the race in fifth. Despite finishing behind his teammate, there can be no doubt that this was one of his better weekends so far this season.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: A+
Starting the race in sixth, Verstappen was involved in plenty of the action at the front from the initial race start and again on the restart as well. Taking the lead of the race on Lap 12, a position that no one at Red Bull would’ve anticipated being in at the start of the weekend, Verstappen was involved in a close battle with Russell who eventually took the lead back.
When VSC conditions were announced, the Dutch driver made his way into the pit-lane and emerged behind Antonelli in seventh. Unable to keep up with the Mercedes ahead to continue to challenge for the race win, defending his podium position from the two McLarens behind became the key part of Verstappen’s second stint. In the end, for his fifth podium of the season so far, Verstappen crossed the line in third.
Liam Lawson: B
Having dealt with an impeding incident in qualifying, Lawson was set to start the race in 14th however, due to taking power-unit parts outside of his allocation and making changes under parc ferme conditions, Lawson’s race began in the pit-lane. With a good start with a few places made up, it seemed that the substitute Red Bull driver would be on course for a top 10 finish.
However, this hope was quickly undone as early contact with one of the Audis on the restart meant that Lawson was carrying a damaged front-wing. As he had to come into the pit-lane to change his front-wing and opted for a new set of tyres, there was too much ground to cover in a race where few others opted to come into the pit-lane again. Ultimately, despite demonstrating good pace, Lawson scored no points and crossed the line in 14th.
Haas
Ollie Bearman: C
For his highest grid start since China, Bearman lined up in 11th and made an excellent start on the soft compound tyres prior to the red flag. The British driver, having put himself into the top 10, showed the potential for points which Haas have not scored for a while.
However, it was clear after the restart that Bearman’s Haas, even with the upgraded Ferrari power-unit, did not have the pace to stay in touch with the other points contenders, eventually crossing the line in 15th.
Esteban Ocon: C
Like his teammate, Ocon had an especially impressive opening lap by making his way into the top 10 from 14th. However, the French driver was less successful on the restart where he was unable to hold onto the points scoring position.
With his position firmly secured in the non-points scoring positions in the latter half of the grid, it was a fairly lonely race for Ocon, crossing the line in 16th, one position behind where he initially started.
Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad: A
For his sixth Q3 appearance with a starting position of ninth, it was set to be a good afternoon for 2026’s only rookie driver. Having started in the top 10, points were always on the table for Lindblad who has scored 29 points so far this season.
For Lindblad, who utilised a straightforward strategy of starting on the medium tyre and swapping onto the hard during the red flag, keeping out of trouble was key and that was exactly what he did. Although there was little on-track action for Lindblad, he held off the cars behind and came home in eighth for valuable points needed in the developing midfield battle.
Yuki Tsunoda: A
Unlike his teammate for this weekend, Tsunoda had a more difficult qualifying session and was set to start in 15th which is crucially outside of the points. On the restart, there was confusion for the Japanese driver who accidentally pulled into the wrong box on the starting grid which caused an additional formation lap. Once the mistake had been cleared up, the Japanese driver made quick work of the cars ahead.
However, Tsunoda could not hold off everyone, having been overtaken in the latter stages of the race by an Alpine. With the final overtake complete ahead of the chequered flag, Tsunoda came home in 10th for his first points of 2026. With the confirmation that he will be with the team next weekend, he will be looking to add to his tally.
Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto: B
It was a life on the fringes in qualifying for the Brazilian driver who qualified in 11th but started in 10th. Early on, the tone of the race was set after Bortoleto struggled on both starts which hampered the progress that he could have made.
Given the nature of the circuit, Audi expected to struggle which was seen in their lack of pace which stopped their ability to fight with the other midfield runners. Although he had an excellent run on the medium tyres, making them last much longer than was initially anticipated, catching and passing Tsunoda was not on the cards. In the end, finishing on the fringes of the points in 11th was all that he could manage.
Nico Hülkenberg: B
Further representing the potential of the Audi this weekend, Hülkenberg qualified in 13th and started in 12th. Like Bortoleto, he had a difficult start but the restart was much better where he made up a few positions to give himself a fighting chance. However, the German driver’s hard-work was undone after a tangle with Lawson.
While the rest of the grid were able to make their tyres last after swapping them under red flag conditions, Hülkenberg was forced into making another stop which brought him down the order, with 12th being the maximum that could have been achieved.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly: A-
On the six year anniversary of his first win around this very circuit, Gasly started on pole position however things soon fell apart as he lost the lead of the race on Lap 2. Although he retained his front position upon the restart, remaining in a close battle with the front-runners, Alpine’s one-lap pace failed to translate to race pace.
With the beginning part of his race dominated by his battle with Norris, Gasly soon found out that the hampered McLaren was still a step beyond the Enstone-based team. After Norris passed him, Gasly became the top driver for the midfield and crossed the line in seventh to score valuable points in his team’s fight with Racing Bulls.
Franco Colapinto: A-
Compared to Gasly, Colapinto’s starting position of seventh was a little bit further down the order. However, with a crucial move on Piastri just before the red flag was called, the Argentine driver showed that he was still in the battle. On the restart, he found himself in the gravel which cost him positions and saw him drop down to 11th.
To bring himself back into contention, Colapinto steadily made his way through the field and made a crucial overtake to bring himself back into the points. Eventually, in the closing stages of the race on Lap 41, Colapinto made one final move to add to his points tally and finished in ninth.
Williams
Carlos Sainz: C
Having started in 13th for the second year running on soft compound tyres, there was an opportunity for Sainz and Williams to bring themselves into the top 10. However, with their pace deficit clearly showing itself to the cars around them, it became very clear that scoring points was not on the cards on this occasion.
Despite having swapped tyres under the red flag conditions like the rest of the grid, Williams experienced a higher level of degradation on their tyres and were forced to stop again. Ultimately, Sainz could do no better than 13th to continue a difficult run of performances. With the Madring up next, the circuit for which Sainz is the official ambassador, they will no doubt be hoping for a better result.
Alex Albon: C
Like Antonelli, Albon also started at the back of the grid in 20th after taking engine parts outside of his allocation allowed for the season. Unlike his teammate, he started on the medium tyre and followed the rest of the grid in swapping under red flag conditions.
However, like Sainz, the high levels of degradation meant that Albon was forced into another stop. Soon after the second stop, Williams made the call to swap their cars and as a result, Albon finished in 17th. Despite Williams’ strong showing around this circuit in the past, their recent run of bad form has continued as they have yet another weekend without points.
Cadillac
Sergio Pérez: C
At the back of the grid, the battle between Cadillac and Aston Martin continued with the American outfit emerging ahead on this occasion. For Pérez, having qualified in 20th but starting in 17th, the course of his race was determined under red flag conditions. Unlike the rest of the grid, the Mexican driver took to the grid for the restart without having changed his tyres.
On the restart, given the Cadillac’s pace deficit, Pérez was unable to make too much of an impression. The most important bit of on-track action that Perez was involved in was finding himself ahead of Russell after his pit-stop under VSC conditions. That battle between the two drivers did not last very long and in the end, the Mexican driver crossed the line in 18th.
Valtteri Bottas: C
Having been on the front foot compared to teammate again, Bottas qualified in 19th and was set to start in 16th. Unlike his teammate, Cadillac changed Bottas’ tyres under the red flag conditions which allowed him to have a very positive first stint where he demonstrated good pace.
Although the Finnish driver was not involved in many on-track battles and was caught up in a line of blue flags, seeing the chequered flag was a big accomplishment for the team. Crossing the line in 19th, Bottas put an end to the string of reliability issues that he has been facing recently.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: C
Although the two-time former world champion was set to start on the back row of the grid, he lined up in the pit-lane having made changes to his car under parc ferme conditions. With little progress to be made in the opening lap and the restart lap, Alonso had a quiet race for the most part prior to retiring due to car damage.
Lance Stroll: C
Despite being the slowest car in the hour of qualifying and becoming the first driver to reach 100 Q1 eliminations, Stroll lined up in 18th for the Grand Prix. Like his teammate, it was a quiet and uneventful race before retiring due to an unconfirmed hydraulics issue.
Looking Ahead
For the first time, all 11 teams and 22 drivers will take to the brand-new street circuit built in Madrid. With the unknown ahead of them and championship battles heating up across the grid, only time will tell who comes out on-top.
Edited by Meghana Sree
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