Ferrari arrived at Monza with a new engine upgrade, two drivers occupying the top three places in our championship and tens of thousands of Tifosi hoping the Italian Grand Prix would be the weekend the Scuderia stopped McLaren's growing momentum but instead, the afternoon belonged to an Italian, just not one driving a Ferrari.
Kimi Antonelli produced one of the performances of the 2026 Formula 1 season to win his home Grand Prix from 19th on the grid, becoming the first Italian driver to win at Monza since 1966. George Russell completed a Mercedes one-two, Max Verstappen finished third, and behind them McLaren enjoyed another important afternoon in the Snus Vikings Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship.
Lando Norris finished fourth and Oscar Piastri fifth, while Ferrari's home race unravelled spectacularly. Lewis Hamilton recovered to sixth after a difficult afternoon, but Charles Leclerc crashed out almost immediately.
The result means Hamilton still leads our Drivers' Championship. But Norris has closed the gap again, while McLaren and VELO have taken another sizeable chunk out of Ferrari and ZYN's advantage.
After three consecutive weekends in which that gap has shrunk, Ferrari's once-comfortable position is beginning to look considerably less secure.
Antonelli Wins from 19th at His Home Grand Prix
Although Antonelli isn't one of the five drivers competing in our Nicotine Pouch Championship, there is simply nowhere else to begin.
The Mercedes driver had already established himself as the man to beat in the actual 2026 Formula 1 World Championship, but an engine penalty meant he started his home Grand Prix in 19th position.
Antonelli was already climbing rapidly through the field when Leclerc's early accident brought out the red flag. Once racing resumed, the Italian continued working his way forwards, picking off cars seemingly every few laps. He passed Norris, Gasly and Piastri as he moved towards the front before joining Russell and Verstappen in the fight for victory.
What followed was an entertaining battle between the two Mercedes drivers, with Antonelli and Russell repeatedly exchanging positions as the unusual characteristics of the 2026 power units created a slipstreaming contest along Monza's enormous straights.
A Virtual Safety Car later gave Antonelli a vital opportunity. While Russell had taken on hard tyres in the expectation of making it to the end of the race, Antonelli was on mediums and becoming increasingly worried that he'd be vulnerable to attack from Verstappen in the final laps. Instead, the VSC meant that he had effectively a free stop and could get some fresh medium tyres while Russell remained out, leaving the younger Mercedes driver with the task of chasing his team-mate down.
Antonelli briefly ran through the gravel while attacking in the closing laps, recovered, caught Russell again and finally made the decisive pass with only a handful of laps remaining. He crossed the line 3.857 seconds ahead of his team-mate, with Verstappen 14.718 seconds behind the winner in third.
From 19th to first at Monza, the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza for 60 years and there wasn't much Ferrari could do to compete with that particular storyline.
Ferrari's Dream Home Weekend Unravels Almost Immediately
Unfortunately for Ferrari and ZYN, there wasn't much to celebrate elsewhere either.
After all the anticipation surrounding Ferrari's engine upgrade and the possibility of a home victory, the team's Italian Grand Prix began to fall apart almost as soon as the lights went out.
Hamilton and Leclerc had started together on the second row following Oscar Piastri's grid penalty. Both Ferraris began on soft tyres, giving them an opportunity to attack immediately but instead, the two team-mates ended up fighting each other.
Hamilton complained over the radio after Leclerc forced him into the gravel at the opening chicane, costing the championship leader several positions but then things got considerably worse.
On the following lap, Leclerc lost control exiting the Curva Alboreto, Monza's famous final corner, and hit the barriers heavily ending his Italian Grand Prix almost before it had started and ultimately resulted in the race being red-flagged while repairs were carried out.
While Leclerc climbed out of the car unaided, it was a disastrous result for his Nicotine Pouch Championship challenge and with Norris finishing fourth, Leclerc has now lost further ground to both his championship-leading team-mate and the rapidly advancing McLaren driver.
Hamilton Salvages Something for Ferrari and ZYN
With Leclerc gone, responsibility for rescuing Ferrari's home race fell entirely on Hamilton but it wasn't straightforward.
Having dropped down the order following the opening-lap incident, Hamilton began fighting his way back after the restart. He returned to the top five and passed Piastri, at one stage moving into fourth before a mistake at the chicanes cost him positions again.
He eventually crossed the line sixth, 24.655 seconds behind Antonelli and eight points isn't what Ferrari would have envisaged when it arrived at Monza with an upgraded power unit and hopes of fighting for victory. However, in terms of Hamilton's personal championship, those eight points were extremely important.
While Norris closed the gap slightly, Hamilton at least prevented the McLaren driver from making the sort of enormous gain he managed in Hungary and at Zandvoort.
Norris' Winning Run Ends but His Championship Charge Doesn't
After consecutive victories in Hungary and the Netherlands, Norris couldn't make it three in a row but fourth place at Monza may still prove to be a very useful result.
McLaren simply didn't have the performance advantage it had enjoyed during the previous two Grands Prix. Norris started well outside the front rows and spent much of the afternoon fighting through traffic rather than challenging for victory.
Antonelli passed him during his remarkable charge towards the front, while Norris later became involved in a much more familiar battle with his own team-mate.
Piastri and Norris ran close together during the closing stages before Norris made his move to take fourth. The two McLarens were separated by just 0.197 seconds at the finish, with Norris fourth and Piastri fifth.
It wasn't another victory but from the perspective of McLaren and VELO, a fourth-and-fifth finish was arguably more useful for the Teams' Championship than another Norris win accompanied by a poor result for Piastri.
For once, both McLarens took a significant number of points out of Ferrari.
The Nicotine Pouch Championship After Monza
Hamilton remains at the top, but his advantage over Norris has fallen again.
Nicotine Pouch Drivers' Championship
| Position | Driver | Team / Brand | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari / ZYN | 191 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren / VELO | 171 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari / ZYN | 155 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren / VELO | 116 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac / 77 | 0 |
Hamilton's lead over Norris is now down to 20 points but perhaps even more significantly, Norris has opened a 16-point advantage over Leclerc, who only two Grands Prix ago was sitting second and appeared to be Hamilton's principal championship rival.
McLaren and VELO Take a Big Bite Out of Ferrari's Lead
The Teams' Championship provides an even clearer indication of what happened at Monza.
Ferrari scored just Hamilton's eight points while McLaren collected 22 through Norris and Piastri.
That gives us:
Nicotine Pouch Teams' Championship
| Position | Team / Brand | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari / ZYN | 346 |
| 2 | McLaren / VELO | 287 |
| 3 | Cadillac / 77 | 0 |
Ferrari's lead is now 59 points with McLaren taking 31 points out of Ferrari's lead across the last three Grands Prix and suddenly, this really does look like a championship fight.
The particularly encouraging development for VELO at Monza was Piastri's fifth place. We've repeatedly said throughout this series that Norris cannot realistically overturn Ferrari's Teams' Championship advantage on his own and finally at Monza, he didn't have to. Norris scored 12 points and Piastri added 10 while Hamilton was Ferrari's sole scorer which was precisely the type of weekend McLaren needed.
Bottas and 77: Still Zero
Unfortunately, there was no breakthrough for our third sponsored combination.
Valtteri Bottas finished 19th, two laps behind the winner, with Cadillac team-mate Sergio Perez immediately ahead of him in 18th. Perez was also given a five-second penalty for failing to follow the Race Director's instructions concerning the escape road.
The consequence for our championship is familiar.
Cadillac / 77: 0 points.
Ferrari and McLaren are now locked in an increasingly competitive championship fight with 346 and 285 points respectively while Cadillac are still waiting to get started.
Monza Belonged to Antonelli
Ferrari came to Italy with enormous expectations; Hamilton and Leclerc had an upgraded power unit, the team was racing in front of the Tifosi and there was a special weekend of celebration surrounding Ferrari's history with Michael Schumacher, yet the image that will define the 2026 Italian Grand Prix is Antonelli standing on the top step.
His drive from 19th to victory would have been exceptional anywhere. Doing it at Monza, as an Italian driver, while already carrying the pressure of leading the World Championship made it something else entirely.
Mercedes took first and second, Verstappen took third, McLaren quietly put both cars into fourth and fifth and Ferrari managed sixth and a DNF.
For the Tifosi, that wasn't the script but for McLaren and VELO, it was another very useful chapter in a championship that is moving steadily in their direction.
Straight on to Spain
There isn't much time for anyone to think about what happened at Monza with Formula 1 now heading straight to Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix, the second half of this European double-header and that means Ferrari have an immediate opportunity to respond.
Hamilton still leads our Drivers' Championship and Ferrari and ZYN still lead the Teams' Championship but compare the situation now with where we were just a few races ago; Norris has gone from distant challenger to sitting just 20 points behind Hamilton.
McLaren and VELO have reduced a 90-point Teams' Championship deficit to 61 and Ferrari have now seen their championship advantage shrink at Hungary, Zandvoort and Monza. Madrid therefore becomes more than simply the next race, it is an opportunity for Ferrari and ZYN to stop a trend.
Because although Antonelli was unquestionably the star of Monza, the biggest story for our Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship is what happened immediately behind him.
McLaren and VELO are getting closer and this weekend in Spain, we'll find out whether Ferrari can finally push them back.
