Kimi Antonelli admits Monaco GP fear as Lewis Hamilton threatened restart upset

Kimi Antonelli has revealed his frustration at the late-race red flag that threatened to derail his dominant Monaco GP performance.

Antonelli won the race from Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar but was made to sweat with a late standing start following a red flag.

Kimi Antonelli reveals Monaco GP frustration amid Lewis Hamilton restart threat

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Joined by Hamilton on the front row for the restart, Antonelli was concerned the fast-starting Ferrari might beat him in the run to Ste Devote.

The young Italian has a patchy record when it comes to race starts, while Ferrari has proved especially rapid off the line throughout F1 2026.

Having qualified on pole and led every lap of the race up to that point, the restart threatened the outcome of what had been a dominant performance from the championship leader.

“Big time I was frustrated, because Lewis was starting next to me this time,” Antonelli said.

“Knowing how good they start, I was like, well, I cannot say, I’m going to say a bad word, but I was like, “Oh man.”

“But luckily, the start went okay.

“Also, he had a lot of wheel spin, so that also made my life a little bit easier into Turn 1.

“But yeah, it was not easy to refocus after the red flag.”

Such had been Antonelli’s pace that he’d lapped up to fourth place by the time the safety car emerged when Lance Stroll crashed out at the last corner.

Leclerc’s crash at the same corner on the restart prompted the red flag so track officials could clean up the crumbling track surface.

The delay proved the sternest test Antonelli faced all afternoon as he was left to sit idle during the stoppage, before facing a standing restart.

In addition to Antonelli’s own battles with race starts, the design of the Ferrari power unit, specifically its lighter turbo, has made it a potent threat from a standing start.

Part of that has been blunted by revised start procedures, while Mercedes itself has made progress since the season start to level the playing field further.

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“Well, definitely Canada was a big step forward on that side,” Antonelli said.

“There’s still work to do.

“I think the first start today was the better one. The second start was still not amazing, but definitely a good step forward.”

Having won the race to Ste Devote, Antonelli quickly built up a commanding 6.3 second advantage as he won the Monaco Grand Prix.

It marked his fifth consecutive win and moved him 66 points clear at the top of the championship, with Hamilton now second in the drivers’ standings.

“The job’s not finished,” he insisted.

“It’s still a long season and we’ve got to keep pushing, keep raising the bar.

“The goal is to keep performing like this.

“The team is doing an incredible job.

“It’s a really good moment so far.”

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