MONTE CARLO, Monaco— While billionaires fought to secure a spot for their yacht, drivers fought to secure glory in the 83^rd running of the most historic race in the Formula 1 schedule. While there may not have been close battles like we have seen in Canada, the Monaco Grand Prix provided no shortage of interesting storylines, as Kimi Antonelli took the checkered flag, as the first Italian driver to do so in Monaco since Jarno Trulli’s victory in 2004.

Kimi Antonelli Gets a Grand Slam

It is no secret at this point that Kimi Antonelli has been on a roll this year. His strong second season continued in Monte Carlo with a perfect weekend. The Mercedes driver took pole position in qualifying, just ahead of Max Verstappen, who has 2 previous Monaco victories under his belt. 

But with Verstappen’s car failing to launch, Antonelli was able to run off with the lead, setting an excellent pace to maintain the race lead for all 78 laps. The only time his lead was challenged came late in the race. A late red flag brought the field back together and set up a standing restart with Lewis Hamilton directly behind Antonelli.

And while Antonelli has struggled with starts in the past, that was not the case today, as he was able to break away with the race lead once more, beating his own fastest lap for the day, and securing his spot as the first teenager to win the historic Monaco Grand Prix. Overall, a phenomenal weekend for the young driver, who has won five races in a row, and now leads the drivers’ standings by 66 points. 

Hamilton Scores Second Consecutive Podium

Lewis Hamilton was very much looking forward to the Monaco Grand Prix, a race he has taken victory in three times in his career. The British driver was coming off a second-place finish in Canada, and qualified in P3. 

With Verstappen out early in the race, Hamilton was quickly able to take P2, but was unable to catch Kimi Antonelli. Even after a restart forced the grid back together, the Mercedes still proved too hard to catch, and despite a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, Hamilton finished P2, matching his best result for Ferrari. 

This marks Hamilton’s second consecutive podium, and third on the season. This is a pleasant turnaround from a stressful 2025 campaign. Hamilton has also matched his idol Ayrton Senna, with a record eight podium finishes in Monaco.

Penalties Plague the Field

The 83^rd running of the Monaco Grand Prix proved chaotic, but not in the same wheel to wheel action way as other races, nor was it the kind of chaos we saw in Monaco in Iron Man 2, but more so the chaos you get with a busy hall monitor, as the race officials found themselves busy handing out one penalty after another. 

An oddly large portion of these penalties came in the form of speeding in the pit lane penalties, which five drivers found themselves victims of, including Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.

These penalties proved most costly to Gasly, who had crossed the line in third, which would have been a valuable podium finish for Alpine if it weren’t for a pair of pit lane penalties which added 10 seconds to Gasly’s time. This dropped the French driver out of his podium position, opening the door for Isack Hadjar to secure his second podium in Formula 1. Alpine has, however, requested a right to review.

George Russell also struggled with penalties. He had initially been dealt a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Later, under a safety car, he came into the pits, but failed to take the penalty as required, which added an additional drive-through penalty late in the race for failing to serve his time penalty. This dropped Russell from P3 to P13, marking another frustrating weekend for the Mercedes driver, after he had been put out of the last race due to power unit failure.

The penalties cost Cadillac what would have been their first point in Formula 1. Sergio Perez crossed the line in P10, earning a point for Formula 1’s newest team. However, that point was ripped away like a dollar bill on a string after investigation found that Perez’s front right wheel had been outside of the starting box on the restart, which resulted in a 10-second penalty. This dropped him from P10 to P15, the last of the race finishers.

Crashes, Reliability Issues and Track Issues Cause Even More Chaos

Not only did the track break up late in the race, causing a red flag and a race restart, but the race also saw 7 drivers fail to cross the line.

Things got off to an early start, as Max Verstappen faced car troubles off the start, as his car failed to get off the line. This put Verstappen, who had qualified at P2, out of the race just as it was beginning. Throughout the race Valtteri Bottas, Oliver Bearman and Lando Norris would also find themselves retiring from the race due to car issues.

Then Lance Stroll crashed his Aston Martin into the barrier on lap 60, bringing a late safety car. Stroll later said that the crash was due to an engine braking issue. Despite the disappointing finish, Stroll did make mention of extensive upgrade packages that look to improve the struggling AMR26, and provide some relief for him and his teammate Fernando Alonso.

However, not long after the first safety car, there came another. On the safety car restart, Leclerc faced an issue with his brakes, and wound up in the barrier. This marked the end of the race for the hometown hero, who had been in position to finish on the podium just behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Not long after the yellow flag came out, there came a red flag as track breakup, and piling up “rubber marbles” had caused concern. However, with just 10 laps to go, the race was restarted, and once again someone was facing trouble. That came when Nico Hulkenberg came into contact with Carlos Sainz, putting a penalty on Hulkenberg. And then Franco Colapinto… also came into contact with Carlos Sainz, this time putting Sainz out of the race, and marking the first time he has failed to finish the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Monaco Grand Prix didn’t offer the same battles as Canada or China, but there was no dull moment, and it proved to be an interesting shakeup. Now 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli pads his lead in the drivers standings, as Lewis Hamilton rises to second place.

Race action picks up again next week in Barcelona, as some drivers look to capitalize on a strong race weekend, and others hope to bounce back from a frustrating race, and everyone hopes for fewer penalties.