Kimi Antonelli also wins in Monaco. His fifth consecutive victory—China, Japan, Miami, Canada, and now the Principality—has once again made the race more straightforward than it was.
Following him on the podium was Lewis Hamilton, second for Ferrari, then Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, who seized the opportunity left open by Verstappen's retirement to secure a result that also speaks volumes about the structural solidity of the Anglo-Austrian team, despite a far from easy afternoon.
Monaco is the shortest and most selective circuit on the calendar.
Narrow roads, low speeds, almost no margin for correction — this is not a track where you win by chance.
In the early stages, Antonelli and Hamilton battled for the lead with the patience of those waiting for their opponent to make the decisive mistake.
Then the race took shape, and everything turned in favor of the very young Bolognese, who did what champions do when they no longer have to defend themselves: he dominated the race.
Hamilton's second place, however, deserves more attention than a simple news item.
It's not a result built on the mistakes of others: it's the fruit of precise and determined driving, and of a Ferrari that finally seems to be allowing Hamilton to stay in the leading group for the entire race.
In Monaco, the Maranello team appeared more consistent and responsive than it had been in weeks.
Leclerc retired with a brake problem on lap 64, an ending he didn't deserve on this circuit, in front of his hometown fans.
Mercedes remains the team to beat. It has interpreted the new regulations introduced in 2026 better than the others: judicious use of hybrid power, braking stability, and tire management.
Antonelli's five consecutive victories confirm this.
There is then a detail that says a lot about the value of this driver: George Russell drives the same Mercedes—literally identical—but it is Antonelli who takes it to victory.
This detail sums up the characteristics of the Mercedes team in 2026: organized, ambitious, disciplined. It's not enough to have the right car; you have to know what to do with it, and Mercedes knows it.
The next round is in Barcelona, for the Spanish GP, on Sunday 14 June, at the Circuit de Catalunya.
It will be a different test from Monaco — faster, more technical, more readable in terms of direct comparisons between the cars.
If Ferrari confirms what it demonstrated in the Principality, it will have the opportunity to establish itself as a truly fearsome competitor for the Silver Arrows.
World Drivers' Championship, the standings
Kimi Antonelli 156
lewis hamilton 90
George Russel 88
Charles Leclerc 75
World Constructors' Championship, the standings
Mercedes 244
Ferrari 165
McLaren 118
For the cover image:
https://media.mercedesamgf1.com/marsF1/en/instance/ko/Landing-page-2026.xhtml?oid=195046174; "Wolfgang Wilhelm”
