F1. Italy 2026 Review

Aiden: It can only be Italy’s favourite son, Kimi Antonelli. Two years after his high speed crash in free practice at Monza (Kimi all good, all good Kimi), the championship leader turned 19th on the grid (following a planned penalty) into a win for the ages. It was also the first for an Italian driver at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti back in 1966. At the moment, the question isn’t will he win the drivers championship, it’s how much will he win it by.

Graeme: Wow what an amazing drive from the 2026 World Champion Kimi Antonelli.  To win from the back of the grid on his home track is the stuff of fairytales.  But that’s what he did.  Antonelli had engine penalties which meant he started at the back of the field, 19th in this case, but that didn’t bother him.  When Charles Leclerc stacked his Ferrari on lap 3, the home driver was already up to 12th and by lap 18, he was in the lead.  And then questionable strategies from Mercedes meant he pitted under a VSC while his teammate didn’t.  From then on, it was only ever going to end one way.  That was truly outstanding to watch.

Chelsea: Kimi, obviously! So young, so curly of tress, so bedazzled in good fortune. Facetiousness aside, winning from 19th is no joke, and the young man genuinely seems unstoppable at the moment. Stunning performance. George Russell seems numb to it all these days, poor lamb.

Gavin: Kimi Antonelli. I am not sure what happened to Kimi during the offseason but whatever he did it is working. Not even a grid penalty can stop him. Spare a thought for George Russell in an identical car, but starting on the front row and still not winning the race. And factor in that George will also need to take a grid place penalty for an engine sometime this season too – and no I really do not believe George could come from the back of the grid to the front. How many races before the end of the season will it be before Kimi is crowned?

Talking Point

Aiden: Plenty of cliches over the weekend about Ferrari being a religion in Italy, and they are valid. But there was also commentary about the fact that more and more younger Italians (in particular) are following Antonelli a bit closely than the team in red. The recent Football World Cup also showed that the likes of Messi, Ronaldo etc are more popular than specific teams. The way people are following sport is changing for sure and this is another example of that.

Graeme: What a fun race that was.  There were overtakes galore, plenty of lead changes and battles throughout the field.  Until today, I’d never heard the term slingshotting, but in the world of F1, we’re all about making up terms for things.  The term came up when both Mercedes drivers were 1 & 2 with Max Verstappen right up them.  The thought was they could slingshot each other for a few laps to gradually get ahead of the magic 1 second buffer and leave Max in their dust.  They didn’t do it, but it was nice to talk about.  Meanwhile in Lance Stroll news, he managed to get to lap 28 before retiring this week.  Ka pai Lance.

Chelsea: Whomp-whomp for the Scuderia as Charles Leclerc goes whomp-whomp into the wall, but not before going bump-bump into Lewis Hamilton and causing no end of tension in the Ferrari garage. Special mention to vite-vite Pierre Gasly for an exceptional single lap performance that granted him his first ever pole position.

Gavin: Ah Ferrari, how we have missed the self-inflicted chaos and mayhem. Earlier this season we were saying how good their strategies were becoming and how they were all working together, and now two races in a row the two sides of the garage appear to be on different planets. What exactly did Lewis Hamilton think was going to happen as he tried to overtake team mate Charles Leclerc into that first corner where everyone was bunched up on cold tyres? And then under the Virtual Safety Car why did they not bring Lewis in for a change of tyres? Madness! Honourable mention to McLaren where Oscar Piastri appeared to want to take out his team mate, and current World Champion, Lando Norris on the straight!

Gossip Time

Aiden: Has the door finally opened for Gianpiero Lambiase to join McLaren in 2027, rather than 2028? Red Bull have announced the signing of Tom McCullough from Aston Martin to replace him as head of racing, but Max will still need a race engineer as GP covers both roles. Watch this space.

Graeme: I’d love to be a fly on the wall of the Mercedes & Ferrari debriefs after Monza.  Former teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will have plenty to say, I’m sure.  They were reasonably diplomatic in the media pen afterwards and were holding back on what they really wanted to say.  Especially Russell and that tactic to keep him out for all but 4 laps on the same tyres and leaving him a sitting duck until his teammate inevitably hunted him down.  Once they made that choice, he was never going to win.

Chelsea: If you were to ask any boy in my Form 2 class at Wellsford Primary what their dream car was, it would have been a resounding chorus of “Ferrari F40”. Now Lewis Hamilton has one via a romanticised barn find, with engine #44 no less. He would have been the coolest kid on the track if he hadn’t been wearing a wool trench coat in 35 degree weather.

Gavin: According to the memes I have been sent over the weekend, Lance Stroll scored his 100th Qualifying 1 knock out. That is some statistic from the nepo baby. Look, I get it, he wants to be in F1, and his dad has built (it’s pronounced “bought” but in a Canadian accent) the team to give his son every chance, but no matter how good or bad the car is it seems Lance is destined to be at the back of the grid. Surely at some point someone needs to have a word with Daddy Warbucks or Lance and end this misery for everyone.

Looking Ahead

Aiden: Liam Lawson gets a third Red Bull outing in a row this weekend in Madrid, one more than he managed when he was their full time driver in 2025. Funny how things turn out, isn’t it…

Graeme: I do like a new track and this week we get one at the new Madring Circuit in Madrid.  Watch out for the local man Carlos Sainz to have a big one, although Williams haven’t exactly produced a good car this year, so my dreams will most probably not become reality.  Still though, no one really knows what to expect, so it’ll be fun.

Chelsea: The final call on the remaining rounds of this season is due to be made over the next couple of weeks. It’s difficult to imagine the races returning to the Middle East this season, no matter how much moolah is on offer, so I’m excited to see what the super-sub tracks have to offer. Personally, I’m keen on a return to Portimão. Nothing to do with Lewis Hamilton having a 100% winning record there of course…

Gavin: Next up is Madrid, a new track that we know nothing about so theoretically anything can happen which is probably why they named it “Madring” but, honestly, all I can see right now is another win for Kimi. Ferrari and McLaren need to spend the week doing some corporate trust exercises (I am reliably told this is the way to get everyone on the same page otherwise why would every corporation do it). Will Isack Hadjar be back (and now it is announced he won’t be ready so Lawson and Tsunoda continue with their promotions)? Will Alpine show up the other teams again in qualifying? All I know is that the two Spaniards racing in Spain won’t be mentioned much once the lights go out.

Bonus Picture(s)