50 grands prix wins for Italian drivers in the F1 world championship 🏁🇮🇹
Kimi Antonelli’s 7th career grand prix win sees him move up to be the Italian driver with second most wins in F1 history.
It won’t be long before he surpasses Alberto Ascari’s total of 13 the way things are going...
- Motor Sport Magazine
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| Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli.Photo: RacePictures |
Lando Norris has disputed Kimi Antonelli's claim that Mercedes are no longer the fastest car in Formula 1, after beating the Italian to victory at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Antonelli finished second at Zandvoort, after the championship leader was overtaken by the reigning champion, who went on to claim his second consecutive victory after his triumph in Hungary.
The Mercedes teenager, who only has one win in his last six races, after winning five back-to-back races prior to that, claimed after the race that he now only has the 'second or third best car'. However, Norris disagreed with his rival's assessment, arguing that Mercedes remain the benchmark despite McLaren's victory.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Antonelli told the media: "We're clearly not the fastest car anymore on the grid. We’re probably second or third, at least in today’s race, and McLaren has taken a huge step, especially since Hungary, since the big upgrade package they brought.
"But I’m confident with the team. You know, the team has been working super hard on this next package that is coming up, and they just want to make sure that it’s going to work out well once we put it on.
"So for sure, in this race, it’s going to be more difficult, it’s going to be challenging, but we’re ready to do our best and to maximise every opportunity. And then hopefully it’s going to be our turn to bring the package that’s going to give us a little bit of the upper hand again.
Norris, who showed up at the press conference later than the two Mercedes drivers who joined him on the podium, disagreed with Antonelli insisting they still have the 'better all-round performing car'. He also credited his own performance after his second consecutive victory.
Asked about Antonelli's comments, he responded: "Well, they’re not going to say themselves, are they? So, yeah, no, they’re not going to say themselves. So they’re the team to beat if they just got beaten today, so I don’t think it’s true."
He added: "But for once I would give myself a little bit of credit that I feel like I’m doing a better job than everyone, and I think that can also make a difference. We certainly have a car now capable of beating them. Even, like, we look at yesterday and in qualifying, but we didn’t win yesterday and we didn’t really change much.
"But I worked a lot on my driving. I want to believe more than everyone else again, and we turned things around today. So we certainly have a very similar car, I would say, all in all, to Mercedes, but I think they have a better all-round performing car than what we do. We are more specific in high speed."
- Kieran Lynch
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| Photo: Red Bull Content Pool |
Half the grid was noted for failing to follow the maximum delta time of 1:28.0.
They were: Esteban Ocon, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, Gabriel Bortoleto, Max Verstappen, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas.
The investigation took place after the session, with all of the drivers cleared.
The FIA said in a statement: "The Stewards thoroughly reviewed Marshalling/Positioning data, timing data, on-board cameras and CCTV cameras.
"All drivers concerned stayed at or above speeds necessary to stay below 1:28.0 around the vast majority of the circuit.
"However, in all cases the Stewards determined that the drivers took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers, and in all cases, they slowed down significantly to allow other drivers to pass while giving those drivers a clear track.
"The Stewards therefore determine that all drivers concerned did not drive 'unnecessarily slowly', and that they were above the maximum time because they took appropriate steps, and we therefore take no further action.
"Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 5 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.
"Decisions of the Stewards are taken independently of the FIA and are based solely on the relevant regulations, guidelines and evidence presented."
Russell, who was under investigation, took pole position for the sprint race, which will take place tomorrow at 12:00 PM CEST.
The investigation was Verstappen's second of the session after he was cleared for a potential impeding incident with long-time rival Lewis Hamilton.
The FIA stewards noted the potential infringement in SQ1 when Verstappen and Hamilton came close together at Turn 3.
Eventually, the stewards announced that no further action would be taken.
The full results from sprint qualifying are as follows, with the drivers who were under investigation in bold.
- Connor Andrews
At the halfway point of a thrilling F1 campaign, Mercedes have established a lead at the top of the constructors' championship, largely thanks to Antonelli's incredible form.
The 19-year-old has won six of the 11 Grands Prix, including nine podiums, with the teenager recording a third-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix last time out.
Despite leading throughout the opening months of the season, Mercedes' dominant streak did come to an end before the summer shutdown, with five different drivers tasting victory in the races leading up to the August break.
Lewis Hamilton is enjoying a strong resurgence with Ferrari, and he's currently 50 points behind Antonelli in the race for the drivers' championship as he aims to win his eighth world title.
Ferrari have also closed the gap to 72 points behind Mercedes in the constructors' table, setting up a potentially thrilling second half of the season.
The seven-time world champion is the most likely to threaten Antonelli's dominance, and Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta has warned their drivers that they will face more "intense battles" once the action resumes in Zandvoort on August 23.
"History tells us that the championship always changes after the summer shutdown," Resta told Mercedes' Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show.
"The pressure increases on the teams that are leading, but equally it increases on the teams trying to catch up. The environment becomes more intense, and every result carries more weight. That's when you really see the strength and resilience of an organisation.
"It's where teams demonstrate whether they can handle the pressure and continue performing when the stakes become higher. I'm very interested to see that phase of the season unfold because it's often where championships are ultimately won or lost."
Mercedes have let a healthy advantage at the top slip in recent weeks, with reliability woes and a convergence in race pace allowing the chasing pack to close in.
But Resta is doing his best to keep the team grounded, as there is a long way to go before they can think about winning their ninth constructors' championship.
Antonelli's mesmeric performances across the F1 campaign have featured an aggressive style, and this fearlessness has played a huge part in his dominance.
Teammate Russell, on the other hand - currently 59 points behind the Italian - has been calmer rather than aggressive with his displays.
According to former F1 driver Thierry Boutsen, Antonelli's approach is no different from how Russell drove at the start of his career.
"I think if you take George from his first F1 season, he would have been as aggressive as Kimi," Boutsen said.
"But he’s learned a lot, he’s calmed down also, he’s got more maturity. He races a totally different way. I believe that Kimi will be the same in three, four years. He will drive very differently to today."
Antonelli has been tipped to adapt his style as he gets older, but right now, his assertiveness and bravery on the track has held the key to a stunning campaign so far.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
- Thomas Griffin
Mercedes driver won his sixth GP of 2026 as championship rival and teammate George Russell crashes out on first lap.
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| Kimi Antonelli celebrates winning the Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, July 19 [Andrej Isakovic/AFP] |
Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stretch his Formula One lead to 45 points over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on a bleak day for teammate George Russell, his closest title rival heading into the race.
Russell had been the 19-year-old Italian’s closest rival before the start at Spa-Francorchamps, but the Briton spun off into the gravel on the opening lap after a collision with Hamilton while trying to make up places lost at lights out.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second in the 44-lap race, 1.952 seconds behind after leading, thanks to a pit stop while a virtual safety car was deployed, with Max Verstappen third to give Red Bull their 300th Formula One podium.
Hamilton finished fourth, despite serving a five-second penalty for the collision with Russell, but remained under investigation for an unsafe release from a pit stop that could drop him to fifth and further stretch Antonelli’s lead.
It was Antonelli’s sixth win in 10 rounds this season, leaving him 50 points clear of Russell. Antonelli was first in qualifying, continuing Mercedes’ clean sweep of pole positions this season.
“It’s great to be back on the top step after a few difficult rounds,” said Antonelli, who had drawn a blank in two of the past three rounds.
“It was a hard-fought race. We lost first place with the VSC but then we managed to make our way back.
“The momentum was always there. It was just about getting the results,” he added. “Today we were a bit lucky with what happened in terms of the championship but you have to take every opportunity because we saw how much it can swing.”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished fifth, with Isack Hadjar sixth for Red Bull from last on the grid. Reigning champion Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren after starting 13th due to a 10-place grid drop.
Gabriel Bortoleto brought more points for Audi in eighth place, with Arvid Lindblad ninth for Racing Bulls and Argentine Franco Colapinto completing the scoring in 10th place for Renault-owned Alpine.
- Reuters
Championship leader Antonelli makes half-distance overtake on sprint polesitter Hamilton to claim first blood at Silverstone
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| Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images |
Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli beat Lewis Hamilton to win a frantic British Grand Prix sprint race at Silverstone for his first Saturday victory of the 2026 campaign.
The Mercedes driver crossed the line 2.7 seconds ahead of the seven-time world champion in a race where Antonelli and Hamilton had proven dominant over the rest of the field.
McLaren's Lando Norris completed the podium, but was seven seconds behind the Ferrari driver as two separate front-running groups quickly emerged during the 17-lap sprint contest.
This was evident right from the start as pole man Hamilton and Antonelli bolted clear at lights out and built a four-second buffer across the opening three laps, with a scrappy battle behind emerging over third place.
That was a five-way tussle between Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, who all continuously traded places in the return of yo-yo racing at the high-energy Silverstone.
Drivers were running with different levels of energy through the lap and this led to overtakes at various parts of Silverstone, whether it be Verstappen's move on Russell at Abbey, or Leclerc on Piastri at Brooklands.
The battle for third started to die down come the halfway mark and, ultimately, it was Norris who emerged victorious, but as he locked down his podium, the battle for the lead finally heated up.
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| Getty |
That came after Hamilton had built a steady one-second advantage over Antonelli, who closed in come lap eight and made his first attack on the home favourite down into Brooklands.
Hamilton held firm but not for too long, as the 19-year-old eventually moved by into the lead on Hangar Straight before soon boasting too much pace for the Ferrari to keep up.
It was around this point on lap 10 when the fight behind Norris intensified once more, as Verstappen dropped into sixth behind Russell and Leclerc before a steady final seven laps.
Russell therefore took fourth behind Norris, finished a second behind the McLaren, ahead of fifth-placed Leclerc and Verstappen in sixth, with Piastri taking two points for coming seventh.
The final points position went to the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson, who moved into the top eight Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar fell out of the points-paying positions at the start. Lawson defended the point from his former team-mate late, on but in contentious circumstances as he squeezed his former team-mate under braking at Stowe.
This all leaves Antonelli with a 43-point championship advantage over second-placed Russell ahead of Sunday’s grand prix, with third-placed Hamilton now four behind his fellow Briton.
- Ed Hardy
David Coulthard has defended Kim Kardashian after criticism over her Monaco Grand Prix appearance
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| Kim Kardashian on the grid. Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images |
Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has weighed in on the comments surrounding Kim Kardashian's appearance at the Monaco Grand Prix, defending the reality television star after she didn't speak to Martin Brundle.
Kardashian became a big talking point of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend after she turned down an interview with Brundle during his famous Sky Sports F1 grid walk and was later seen picking up race winner Kimi Antonelli's towel after the race.
The incident led to widespread online criticism, but Coulthard believes the online hate was unwarranted.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, the 13-time grand prix winner revealed that Kardashian had been very polite to him during his own broadcasting duties on the grid.
"Well, I'll go first as the least following of any of that social thing. I do a grid walk with Viaplay, which is I guess like Sky but more in the northern European countries, and she spoke to me," he said.
"So it feels a little bit like it's a set-up because Martin is as famous for people not talking to him as he is for people talking to him. So it actually helps perpetuate that. Taking a towel, that's maybe a bit not correct but does she actually understand that that's for the driver? She might have just thought it was a Monaco freebie."
When pressed on what he spoke to Kardashian about, Coulthard explained: "I said, 'Having a nice time in Monaco? To which she said, 'yes.' I wasn't going to ask, 'Who are you supporting?' because that would be quite clear. It would be funny if she said Kimi."
Coulthard added that the championship could be a new interest for Kardashian, so it would be unfair to assume she knows the ins and outs of the series.
"I think also what we've seen when you've got big American celebrities coming into the sport, I think the worst thing you can do is put them on the spot," he continued.
"Obviously, it would be easy for her to say she was supporting Lewis, but why would we assume just because we're embedded in Formula 1 that this is anything other than just a new interest?"
- Lydia Mee
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| Photo: Race Pictures |
Charles Leclerc crashed out of the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of the Safety Car restart. After the drivers did a couple of laps on the circuit, the race was stopped with a red flag for tarmac inspection.
That is for inspecting a track break-up at Turn 19, with 10 laps to go. Kimi Antonelli currently leads ahead Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar.
The race will restart at 17:12 local time (16:12 GMT). Follow the Monaco Grand Prix with GPblog's liveblog here!
The Ferrari driver was in third place ahead of the Safety Car restart following Lance Stroll's incident, but crashed into the barrier in the last corner. Over the radio, the home favourite was fuming. He said: "I'm not even going to take the blame! These brakes!"
George Russell could also lose further positions after failing to serve his five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his second stop of the day. The Briton is now under further investigation.
- Kada Sarkozi
