15:53
Less than two laps remain, and Antonelli is cruising to the flag.
Monza start
© XPB Images
LIVE
F1 Monza LIVE: Antonelli leads Italian GP after astonishing fightback
Live coverage of Sunday at the F1 Italian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Gasly starts from shock maiden pole
- Antonelli and Lawson face back-of-the-grid starts
- Hamilton seeking Ferrari home win
The 13th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Temple of Speed will be bathed in Ferrari Rosso for the weekend, but this colouring is likely to be broken up by fans sporting home hero Kimi Antonelli's merchandise.
The Mercedes driver arrives at Monza with a 59-point advantage over both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, but faces a tough task on Sunday, as an engine penalty, confirmed by his team, will see him start from the back of the grid.
Ferrari has brought its upgraded power unit to the track for the first time, in a bid to close the gap on front-runners Mercedes and McLaren, with Lando Norris having triumphed on the last two weekends for the latter. McLaren has also debuted its rotating rear wing, which it has called the H-Wing.
Super-clipping is expected to be a significant issue this weekend, especially on the run to Turn 1 in the race, with energy being spent down the back straight, no heavy braking for the Parabolica, and the main straight immediately following. How drivers manage their energy will be more crucial than ever this weekend.
Despite Russell having the pace for most of qualifying, it was Pierre Gasly who stunned on Saturday with a late effort to secure his first F1 pole position. The Alpine driver won at Monza in 2020 with AlphaTauri, and is keen to repeat the feat.
2026 Italian Grand Prix Sunday schedule
Grand Prix: 2:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
06 Sep 2026
15:52
A huge moment for Norris as he tried to pass Piastri. Norris complains of being pushed off, but it's very debatable whether the gap was ever there in the first place.
15:51
Lap 50 of 53, Antonelli makes the move into the Ascari chicane, and pulls over a second clear within moments. This will be one hell of a reaction from the Tifosi if he can see this one out.
15:49
That was a very odd one. "What the **** happened there," asks Antonelli. He was not impressed at Russell there.
He went onto the broken-up piece of track and simply slid off the road. He's closing right back again.
15:48
Antonelli holds fire into the Parabolica, but he picks up overtake mode, closes on the pit straight and IS IN THE GRAVEL!
15:47
Antonelli is just waiting to pick his moment, on lap 48 of 53. There is no hurry here.
15:47
The two Mercedes are nose to tail.
15:45
Another fastest lap for Antonelli with a 1m23.861s. He's within two seconds of Russell. This will be like taking candy from a baby.
15:44
A new fastest lap of the race for Antonelli with a 1m24.037s.
Russell has been told to 'take no risks and bring it home' with Mercedes seeing the tyre damage.
15:42
Drivers are reporting that the track is breaking up at Turn 2. We'll keep an eye on that one. We're on lap 44 of 53.
Russell leads only by 3.9s now.
15:41
"The tyre is opening up" reports Russell. That is not good news for the Mercedes driver.
15:40
Attempting to fightback on Piastri, Verstappen locked his front tyres into Turn 1. Using the escape road, he dropped back behind the McLaren driver.
The sparks from Verstappen's Red Bull will be a cause of concern there.
15:38
Hello there! Piastri fights back against Verstppan and retakes the final spot on the podium.
Further back, Norris has taken Hamilton for fifth place.
15:37
Russell penalty decision
"No further action", say the stewards. Antonelli is now 7.2s back on Russell. We're on lap 41 of 53. The last few laps will be tense for Mercedes.
15:36
Piastri makes more of a fight about it against Verstappen, but the Dutchman climbs to third place.
15:34
Even by Ferrari's standards, this has been a woeful performance.
15:33
Antonelli catches Piastri and it's not even a competition. P2 for Antonelli now, just as Russell's yellow flag infringement is upgraded to a full investigation.
15:29
Hamilton goes straight on at Turn 1 after missing his braking point. It allows Norris and Antonelli through. Verstappen is falling back on Antonelli by a few seconds now.
15:27
20 laps remain, and Antonelli has closed by 4 seconds on Russell since his stop.
15:26
The day might be about to get immeasurably worse for Russell, as he has been noted for a yellow flag infringement.
15:25
P2 and P5 now for McLaren, but it'll soon be P6 for Norris as Verstappen steams onto his gearbox.
15:23
Antonelli closes on Norris, and it's not even a competition into the della Roggia chicane. Verstappen is following him through, as the pair close rapidly on Russell.
15:22
Perez has a five-second penalty for failing to adhere to the race directors' instructions with regard to using the escape roads.
15:22
Antonelli sets a new fastest lap of the race with a 1m25.203s.
Russell complains of "massive derating at the end of the straights." He questions if Mercedes is doing the right thing.
15:20
Antonelli is back out in sixth place, just behind Gasly. The VSC ends, and Russell has missed his chance. This could be the moment that decides the race.