F1 news: Kimi Antonelli dominates Monaco GP as Lewis Hamilton achieves back-to-back podiums
Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix as he extended his lead in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Mosaddek Abu discusses the biggest takeaways from a chaotic Monaco GP.
Antonelli dominates chaotic race
For many, Ferrari were the favourites going into the weekend as Monaco would suit their drivers.
Instead, it was yet more domination from young Italian Antonelli, who perfected his start off the line to gather a 2.9-second lead after two laps before growing that buffer to more than five seconds after 10 laps.
Antonelli kept his cool thereafter despite all the chaos that unfolded, and nailed the second start after the safety car and red flag.
Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc had an answer for the 19-year-old’s driving masterclass in the principality, with Antonelli continuing to cement himself as the championship favourite.
Hamilton continues recent successes
It’s safe to say that 2026 is going better for the seven-time world champion after a P2 finish on Sunday made it three podiums for the season.
After a P2 finish in Canada, Hamilton made it back-to-back podiums and once again beat out his team-mate Leclerc.
The new regulations have clearly suited Hamilton, with the Briton growing more confident as the season goes on.
He had one of his best weekends in a while in Montreal on a track he was familiar with – and that motivation, that belief, carried through to Monaco.
Although Hamilton couldn’t turn it into a race win, he still managed to make the most of the Scuderia’s advantage, grabbing an eighth Monaco podium for a career total of 205.
READ MORE: F1 news: Four takeaways from Ferrari’s Monaco Grand Prix, a tale of mixed fortunes
Racing Bulls leave delighted
For all the drama and chaos that comprised the Monaco GP, there will be one team delighted by proceedings – Racing Bulls.
Arvid Lindblad scored the best result of his rookie season, finishing P6, while Liam Lawson ended up in P5.
It looked like Lawson wasn’t going to be able to start the race due to a technical issue an hour before the race start, but the team managed to sort the issue out and get the 24-year-old moving.
Lindblad, meanwhile, started 15th on the grid yet found himself in the points after driver retirements and penalties, producing a spectacular overtake of Alex Albon’s Williams at one stage.
Those two incredible performances ultimately gave Racing Bulls their best grand prix result since 2021.
Curse strikes Leclerc again
The weekend started alright for Leclerc as he was fastest in FP1, second-fastest in FP2, and going well until the final moments of Q3, when he slid wide into the entry of Tubac and hit the wall.
Leclerc then started the race from P3 and seemed certain of a podium, but during the second safety car restart on lap 66, the Monegasque went into the wall on the last corner much like Lance Stroll did earlier.
Once again, bad luck strikes the 2024 Monaco GP winner in his home race.
Monaco provides the drama
It was an eventful Monaco GP in the end, with penalties and retirements aplenty – you name it, the race had everything.
Max Verstappen stalled at the start, Lando Norris had to retire his car, and at least half the grid ended up with penalties for speeding in the pit lanes.
In that, it can be considered an old-school Monaco GP, where you had car retirements, driver incidents, and penalties every time you looked at the timing tower.
And given all the drama, including a few overtakes that are always a nice surprise on such a tight circuit, it was definitely a news-worthy grand prix.
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