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The Live Sport Bible is here!Lawson equals career-best finish at F1 Monaco, Antonelli claims fifth straight
Ian Chadband, AAP • June 8th, 2026 7:33 am
Liam Lawson exits his car after finishing fifth at the Monaco GP | Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Formula One's new boy wonder Kimi Antonelli has won his fifth-straight race, and the biggest of them all, as he dominated a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix from start to finish.
The 19-year-old built a huge lead after starting from pole in his Mercedes but his 30-second advantage was wiped out after a late red flag to inspect a crumbling surface at the final corner on the celebrated street circuit which had taken out third-placed Charles Leclerc on Monday (NZ time).
Kiwi Liam Lawson had a day to remember, finishing in an equal career-best fifth, working his way up the field from 10th on a day where the chaos began as the lights went out - Max Verstappen suffered a mechanical issue at the start and watched his competition pass him by before limping to pit lane as the first driver to DNF.
The result sees Lawson climb to ninth in the F1 driver's standings.
Lawson was immediately followed by Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad.
“I'm very, very happy with today,” Lawson told Sky.
“It's a great result for the team ending in P5 and P6, particularly given where we started at the beginning of the weekend.
Liam Lawson in his Racing Bulls No. 30 during the Monaco Grand Prix | Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
“Races can feel pretty unpredictable at the moment, with cars being forced to retire, so it's important that we capitalise on those moments when they happen.
“I honestly enjoyed the race so much and the team worked incredibly hard to deliver a quick car today, so I'm super grateful to be ending the weekend on a high."
After a 40-minute delay while repairs were carried out, Antonelli proved just as supreme from another standing start, powering away to become the youngest ever winner of the great race from runner-up Lewis Hamilton, who enjoyed a record eighth podium finish in Monaco.
"It's been an incredible weekend and an incredible race," beamed the youngster, who wasn't even born when an Italian last won in Monaco - Jarno Trulli in 2004.
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar was a distant third, but for a while after the race, Piastri thought he might get promoted from fourth to third as the Frenchman was under under investigation by the stewards.
That had been wholly unlikely when Piastri was lying sixth after the late red flag, but among those ahead of the Aussie, George Russell had to serve a drive-through penalty which eventually left him out of the points, Pierre Gasly also faced a 10-second penalty and Hadjar was being investigated.
"When you gain three positions in Monaco, it's always a good day," smiled Piastri, who even went ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the overall standings after the world champion retired with a power unit problem.
Piastri is now on 60 points in fifth, ahead of sixth-placed Norris on 58. Leclerc is fourth on 75, with Russell on 88, Hamilton on 90 and Antonelli 156.
"We did a good job taking advantage of the opportunities that arose in front of us and being smart with the strategy," said Piastri, who couldn't quite make the podium to mark McLaren's 1000th race.
"Securing those 12 points was important, but our pace wasn't very strong and we need to figure out why we had so many difficulties this weekend.
Eventually, the Australian, who'd earlier also been among a swathe of drivers who got five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane, had to settle for fourth when Hadjar was cleared by stewards over the alleged red flag infringement.
His podium made some amends for Red Bull after Max Verstappen had earlier stalled on the front row at the start and retired after a lap with a power unit issue. As for Antonelli, even Hamilton could hardly believe his progress.
"He's only 19, so just imagine what the future holds for him, it's a real privilege to witness it," smiled the seven-time champion. "But I'm going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year."
Additional reporting by Sport Nation
