Andrea Kimi Antonelli won an eventful Monaco Grand Prix which was interrupted by a red flag after the track broke up.
The Mercedes driver’s fifth consecutive grand prix moves him into a 66-point championship lead after his team mate George Russell failed to score for the second race in a row.
Charles Leclerc crashed out of third place while running behind his team mate. A spate of penalties for other drivers decided who took the final podium place behind Hamilton.
Pierre Gasly crossed the finishing line in third place but a 10-second penalty dropped him behind Isack Hadjar. However the Red Bull driver is also under investigation for an infringement during the red flag period.
At the start of the race, the immediate threat to Antonelli came from Hadjar’s team mate, who joined him on the front row of the grid. But that threat vanished as soon as the five red lights went out.
Max Verstappen crept away from the line, cursing his power unit as the field streamed past him. While Verstappen peeled into the pits to retire, Antonelli immediately drew two seconds clear of the pursing Ferraris, led by Hamilton. The Mercedes driver pulled away without difficulty over the following laps.
Fourth-placed Hadjar dropped back rapidly from the Ferraris, complaining about power unit problems as George Russell climbed over the back of the Red Bull. Russell reported Hadjar for cutting the Nouvelle Chicane at one point, but race control took no action.
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Russell eventually jumped ahead of Hadjar by making his pit stop before the Red Bull driver. But that proved the beginning of his problems as he collected a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He also caught the stewards’ attention for getting close to the white line at the pit lane exit, but they decided he was narrowly on the right side of the rules.
Pit lane speeding penalties became a theme of the day: Hamilton also collected one when he came in for his first stop on lap 29. He wouldn’t be the last, either.
Gasly got ahead of Lando Norris at the start and kept the McLaren contained over the opening laps. He was aided by a developing power unit problem on Norris’s car which ultimately forced him into retirement.
McLaren eventually resorted to using Norris to hold up Russell, in order to ensure Oscar Piastri ahead was able to pit and emerge ahead of the Mercedes driver. That done, McLaren called Norris in to retire.
Mercedes urged Antonelli to take care to avoid speeding in the pits when he came in for his tyre change, which passed without drama. But others continued to fall foul of the rule, including both Alpine drivers and Piastri.
As the race wore on, the line into the final corner began to wear out. On lap 60 Lance Stroll, who was struggling with engine braking problems in his Aston Martin, ran wide and skidded into the barrier. That triggered a Safety Car period which most drivers seized on to pit.
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Ferrari told Leclerc to follow his team mate in, but he was unhappy at being forced to wait while Hamilton served his penalty. Leclerc, who could have gained a place by staying out, made his feelings clear.
Mercedes did not tell Russell to come in, but he followed Antonelli in anyway. This provoked some confusion as his mechanics were not prepared to observe his five-second penalty. They changed his tyres, but the delay behind Antonelli cost him a place to Hadjar – and now he faced an investigation for failing to serve his penalty.
Leclerc’s ire rose when the race restarted. He had been complaining about his brakes all weekend, and copied Stroll by falling victim to the disintegrating surface at Anthony Noghes.
That prompted race control to red flag proceedings in order to clean and try to repair the damaged track. By now the penalty investigations were mounting up: Gasly had collected a second sanction for speeding in the pits, and Hamilton and Hadjar were under investigation for Safety Car infringements. The latter pair were cleared, but the stewards then noted Hadjar for breaking the red flag rules, and announced that would be investigated after the race.
The race resumed after two formation laps. This was more bad luck for Russell: he had now been issued a drive-through penalty, and the extra formation lap ate into the maximum of three laps he had to serve it.
So when the race restarted, while Antonelli took up the lead again, Russell nabbed third off Hadjar, then immediately threw out the anchor and began slowing down the field. His goal was to sprint at the last moment in the hope of building up enough of a gap to rejoin the field in the points places, but it was no to avail.
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The congestion did claim Carlos Sainz Jnr, however. He was knocked wide by Nico Hulkenberg in the Fairmont Hotel hairpin, then tipped into a spin by Franco Colapinto at Portier.
Antonelli shrugged off the attention from Hamilton and took the chequered flag 6.2 seconds ahead. He led by as much as half a minute earlier in the day.
Gasly took third on the road but his penalties dropped him to seventh. Hadjar was promoted to third, albeit under investigation. He was still grappling with power unit problems at the end of the race and Piastri finished less than a second behind, well-placed to take advantage of any penalty which might come the Red Bull driver’s way.
The Racing Bulls drivers took fifth and sixth. Arvid Lindblad was served well by the red flag, having not changed his tyres until that point, and being able to take a fresh set during the interruption without pitting, fulfilling his obligation under the rules.
Alexander Albon took eighth ahead of Esteban Ocon. Hulkenberg was penalised for his collision with Sainz, which prompted Sergio Perez to the final points place. That could give Cadillac their first point in F1, though Perez is also under investigation for lining up incorrectly at the restart.
He received a penalty for the same infringement earlier in the race. If he collects another, Fernando Alonso stands to benefit in his Aston Martin. Russell was classified 13th after another disastrous day for his championship chances.
Update: Hadjar kept his third place, Perez lost 10th to Alonso, Alpine brought a Right of Review request over Gasly’s penalty
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2026 Monaco Grand Prix
- Rivals’ moves were “borderline unacceptable” says Sainz after Hulkenberg’s penalty
- Cadillac lose first points finish after Perez penalised, Alonso scores for Aston Martin
- Alpine request Right of Review hearing over penalty which cost Gasly third place
- Russell blames software as five drivers penalised for breaking speed limit by 0.1kph
- Hadjar keeps podium after investigation for illegal work on car during red flag