Monaco Chaos: Kimi Antonelli Controls the Madness as Fernando Alonso Seizes the Opportunity to Score His First Point

There are times when the Monaco Grand Prix descends into chaos, and 2026 was one of them. Kimi Antonelli has delivered a true display of driving between Monte Carlo’s barriers, steering a race that, behind him, turned chaotic: two Safety Cars, a red flag, ten penalties and seven retirements that turned the Grand Prix on its head.

A chaos from which Fernando Alonso could have benefited. In fact, he still could. With a monstrous Aston Martin, the Asturian driver has climbed to eleventh, on the edge of the points. A post-race investigation into Sergio Pérez could grant him that unexpected reward as consolation after a terrible weekend.

Carlos Sainz loses points in an accident with Nico Hülkenberg

Kimi Antonelli is in another dimension. The Italian driver won in Monaco for the fifth consecutive time, delivering a driving masterclass in which he was close to lapping almost the entire grid, but essentially did not because mid-race chaos erupted behind him and neutralisations began to multiply.

From the start we were already without the first star, Max Verstappen, whose car stalled as the lights went out due to engine trouble. The Ferraris inherited a double podium, but with no pace to chase Antonelli. Then came problems with the speed limit in the pits.

Lewis Hamilton, Franco Colapinto, George Russell, Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly were penalised for speeding. But what ultimately unleashed the chaos was Lance Stroll’s accident that brought out the safety car. There, no one really knew how to react, and the teams improvised.

Ferrari opted for a double stop that prevented Charles Leclerc from overtaking Hamilton, a move he would have managed with the sanction. Gasly once again exceeded the limit, so he picked up a ten-second penalty. Yet the biggest mess involved Mercedes, who forgot to serve the penalty and Russell received a Drive-Through.

Of course, things got even wilder when, at the restart, Leclerc also hit the barrier, forcing a red flag for fear the asphalt could crumble. That moment sealed Russell’s fate, who had to serve the penalty with the field bunched together and finished without scoring. He’s not even second in the World Championship anymore.

Thus, Hamilton remains in second place and Isack Hadjar steps onto the podium, having battled mechanical issues in his Red Bull throughout the race, but the effort paid off. Still, the driver who crossed the line third was Pierre Gasly, though the ten-second penalty dropped him to seventh, behind even the two Racing Bulls.

Oscar Piastri sits fourth with McLaren, while Lando Norris also had to retire due to technical problems. Carlos Sainz was on track for points thanks to a strong Williams strategy, but everything was cut short by a crash with Nico Hülkenberg during the restart, which also cost ten seconds to the Audi driver.

A chaos from which Sergio Pérez benefited to claim the first point in Cadillac’s Formula 1 history, though that is still contingent. And that is because the Mexican has a pending investigation for departing the grid out of position. If penalised, the points will go to Fernando Alonso, who has endured and dragged his meagre Aston Martin to eleventh.

Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix 2026 results

Formula 1 World Championship Standings

1st. Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes-ITA), 156 points

2nd. Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari-GBR), 90 points

3rd. George RUSSELL (Mercedes-GBR), 88 points

4th. Charles LECLERC (Ferrari-MON), 75 points

5th. Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren-AUS), 60 points

Images | Cadillac, Mercedes