Monaco Grand Prix: Three Key Takeaways From Monte Carlo

For how iconic the Monaco Grand Prix is, it rarely delivers chaos on track. But what you can expect is for it to almost always reshape the narrative of a Formula 1 season.

This year’s race was no different. Between Kimi Antonelli’s continued emergence as Formula 1’s next dominant force, Lewis Hamilton's surprise title challenge while George Russell's title ambitions fade away, Monaco felt less like another round of the championship and more like a turning point.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the weekend in Monte Carlo.

Another win, another record for Kimi Antonelli

At some point, Formula 1 has to stop talking about Kimi Antonelli as a teenage prodigy and start treating him as the championship favourite.

Following his fifth consecutive win in Monaco, Antonelli became the youngest driver to win at Monaco, claiming another record in what could be a record breaking season for the young Italian..

Impressively claiming pole position at Monaco was already a huge statement. Winning from there, under pressure on one of the sport’s most unforgiving circuits, confirmed something bigger; Antonelli looks completely at home at the front of Formula 1.

What makes his rise even more impressive is the manner of it. There is no sense of recklessness or youthful overdriving. Evident by his Monaco performance, it was defined by precision, calmness and control, qualities usually associated with champions in their peak years, not a 19-year-old in his second F1 season.

Mercedes now appears to have the fastest driver-team combination in Formula 1, and Antonelli is increasingly driving like somebody who expects to win rather than hopes to. That mentality shift matters because once a young driver starts treating victories as normal, championships tend to follow.

Is Lewis Hamilton back?

This weekend was a mixed bag for Ferrari. On one hand, hometown hero Charles Leclerc crashed due to brake error, following a week where he had signed a new contract with Ferrari. Leclerc's scathing criticism of his car's brakes, where he described it as 'borderline dangerous' has now opened up a dispute between the iconic car brand and its brake supplier Brembo, according to Sky Sports. This is something that Ferrari will want to move on quickly from.

However, his teammate had a much better weekend. Following his P2 finish at Canada, Hamilton secured a second straight second-place in Monte Carlo. The result saw the seven time World Champion move ahead of George Russell into second place in the Drivers' Championship, his highest position since 2021.

It would sound like the plot of movie if the 41-year-old Hamilton goes on to challenge 19-year-old Antonelli for the Drivers Championship, the driver who replaced Hamilton at Mercedes. Think about it, an aging legend of the sport goes for one last historic championship against the young hot shot who replaced him at his old team. Sounds like it could be the plot of the rumoured F1 sequel (F1 2? F1 Part II?).

After no podium finishes in his first 24 races for Ferrari in his debut season after his move from Mercedes, Hamilton now has three from six starts in 2026. Antonelli wasn't the only who set a record in Monte Carlo as Hamilton matched Ayrton Senna's record eight podiums in Monaco.

The best thing about it? He's not in this by chance, he is arguably driving his best since the 2021 season.

If Hamilton can carry this form for the rest of the season, we could see a title race for the ages.

George Russell's 'weird state of mind'

This year was set up to be George Russell's year. Mercedes had designed the best car and the Brit was set up to be the face of the title charge, and after a dominant display in the first race of the season, it looked like the script was already set for Russell to win his first championship.

But since finishing second to Antonelli in China, Russell has since failed to land a podium, coming fourth in Japan and Miami, retiring from the lead due to a technical failure in Canada, and then dropping out of the points in Monaco after a pair of unfortunate penalties and finishing in 12th place.

Speaking to reporters after the race Russell said, as per Sky Sports: "I still very much believe in myself and know what I can do.

"I am in a very, very weird state of mind because I've had very low moments in my career where maybe I've had a run of two or three bad races on my own personal performance, but I've never had a run of bad luck such as this."

He later added that it's 'very painful' that now he's got the car he wanted, but the results aren't translating.

The season is just over a quarter of the way through, but while his teammate continues to break records, Russell is looking for a stroke of luck to save his season.

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