Kimi Antonelli Wins a Chaotic Monaco Grand Prix as Seven Drivers Retire

MONTE CARLO, Monaco. Kimi Antonelli won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, his fifth straight victory, in a race that lost seven drivers and was stopped by a red flag. The Mercedes driver beat Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari by 6.271 seconds, and Isack Hadjar took his first podium for Red Bull Racing.

Antonelli started from pole, set the fastest lap and stretched his championship lead, while teammate George Russell failed to score.

"It's been an incredible weekend, an incredible race," Antonelli said. "It was one of those days where we had incredible pace and it was just coming all so naturally. The car was feeling incredible and it was just giving me the confidence to push, so it was a very enjoyable day."

Verstappen stuck at the start

Antonelli made a perfect launch. Max Verstappen, who started alongside him, appeared to go into anti stall and watched all 21 rivals go past before Red Bull retired his car. The Ferraris moved up to second and third.

Antonelli built a lead of more than 10 seconds by Lap 26 and was close to 30 seconds clear late in the race. Hadjar held fourth for a long stretch despite radio reports of an engine issue and no first gear, with Russell stuck behind him.

A wave of penalties

Pit lane speeding penalties hit Hamilton, Russell, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri. Russell was also noted for crossing the line at the pit exit.

About 20 laps from the end, Lance Stroll crashed at the final corner, Antony Noghes, and the Safety Car came out. Many drivers made a second stop, and Hamilton and Piastri used it to serve their penalties. A slow left rear tyre change cut into Antonelli's lead.

At the restart, Charles Leclerc crashed in the same place as Stroll, and the race was red flagged so officials could inspect the track surface. During the stoppage, Gasly received a second five-second penalty and Russell a drive through for failing to serve his first penalty.

Hadjar holds the podium

Antonelli led again after the restart. Russell served his drive through and fell out of the points, his second straight Grand Prix without a score. Hadjar kept third after the stewards took no further action over a red flag infringement. Gasly crossed the line ahead of him but dropped to seventh with his penalties.

Piastri was fourth as McLaren's only finisher, after Lando Norris retired with a power problem, his first race without points this season. Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were fifth and sixth for Racing Bulls. Alex Albon was eighth for Williams, Esteban Ocon ninth for Haas, and Fernando Alonso gave Aston Martin its first top 10 of the season.

Sergio Perez had crossed the line in the points for Cadillac, but a 10-second penalty for a false start after the red flag dropped him to last. Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi was 11th.

Carlos Sainz retired after contact with Nico Hulkenberg and Colapinto at the restart. Ollie Bearman also retired, as did Valtteri Bottas with brake problems.

Formula 1 moves straight on to Barcelona the following weekend.

For more, see Formula 1's race report (opens in a new tab).

This was Round 6 of the 2026 season. It came after Antonelli's win in Canada and before Lewis Hamilton's first Ferrari win in Barcelona. For the full title picture, see our 2026 F1 standings breakdown.

Sources: Formula 1. More Formula 1 coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Sebastian Kawka / Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team