Kimi Antonelli makes F1 history as Ferrari falter at Monza - Italian GP winners and losers

Monza delivered everything it usually promises: chaos, strategy, heartbreak and a result that nobody quite saw coming.

A red flag, a virtual safety car and a 20-year-old Italian driving the race of his life made the 2026 Italian Grand Prix one of the most memorable in recent memory.

Here are RacingNews365's winners and losers from a dramatic weekend at the Temple of Speed.

Winner - Kimi Antonelli

Starting 19th on the grid after a power unit penalty, the championship leader turned the Italian Grand Prix into his personal coming-of-age moment.

A perfectly executed comeback drive concluded with a late move on Mercedes team-mate George Russell for the lead, becoming the first Italian in 60 years to win on home soil. Only John Watson, in the 1983 United States GP West, has won from lower on the grid - 22nd.

For a 20-year-old Italian to win at Monza, in a championship-leading car, while recovering from the back of the grid to stretch his advantage to 66 points, the title is very much his to lose.

Winner - Mercedes

A one-two finish at Monza - remarkably, the team's first since the season-opening grand prix in Australia - is about as good as it gets, and Mercedes earned it.

Russell was quick all weekend and led for most of the race, while the team's apparent decision to split strategies under the VSC proved crucial in shaping the result.

The W17 was simply the fastest car around Monza's low-downforce layout. With their lead in the constructors' battle now looking increasingly comfortable, 2026 is shaping up to be a dominant year for the Silver Arrows.

Winner - Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly delivered a maiden pole position with a stunning lap in Q3 that edged out Russell by six hundredths of a second, a result that underlined just how competitive the team's low-drag package was over a single lap.

The result even had Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff thumping his television screen; such was his frustration.

Seventh in the race, though, was always the realistic ceiling once race pace came into play, but just under three seconds behind Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari is a result that speaks for itself. A genuinely positive weekend for a team that needed one.

Loser - Charles Leclerc

Of all the places for it to go wrong for Charles Leclerc, it had to be Monza.

Leclerc lost the rear of his SF-26 exiting Parabolica on the second lap, burying the car in the barriers at an estimated 60G in a crash that brought out the red flag.

He walked away unhurt, which is the only positive to take from a nightmare afternoon at his team's home race.

Ferrari had genuine pace, and Leclerc was in the mix before it all unravelled. The championship picture has not moved in his favour.

Loser - Aston Martin

Zero points from Monza is damaging at the best of times. In the context of 2026, it is another blow for Aston Martin to a season that has consistently promised more than it has delivered.

Fernando Alonso started from the pit lane after power unit changes, ran wide at Turn 7 and sustained damage that ended his race after 23 laps.

Lance Stroll made it a double retirement when a hydraulic failure brought out the VSC around half-distance. Adrian Newey's first full season with the team is not going to plan, and there is still a long way to go.

Loser - Ferrari

Leclerc's early crash was damaging enough, but the deeper story of Ferrari's Italian Grand Prix was one of a team that does not yet know what it wants to be. The rules of engagement between Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc remain frustratingly unclear, and Monza did little to resolve that.

It is a dynamic that cost the team at Zandvoort, where Hamilton sat behind Leclerc on fresher tyres while Mercedes executed a clean swap between their drivers without hesitation. Ferrari hesitated then, and the uncertainty has not gone away.

Hamilton's sixth-place finish, on worn tyres after Ferrari chose not to act under the VSC, felt like a consequence of the same indecision rather than a considered strategic call.

With two strong drivers who have differing views on the car and contrasting setup preferences, the risk is that Ferrari ends up serving neither particularly well. At their home race, in front of the tifosi, that is a problem they can no longer afford to leave unresolved.