Bonnington names Monaco, Monza and Austin as Antonelli’s standout races

Antonelli’s race engineer Pete Bonnington has named Monaco, Monza and Austin as the three races that stood out in the Italian’s 2026 title-winning season. Antonelli secured the championship with third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix after nine Grand Prix victories, becoming Formula 1’s youngest world champion.

Bonnington said Antonelli’s Monaco performance could earn him extra respect from his peers. For Monza, the engineer recalled turning around and thinking he was seeing the back of the grid; once they got going, he said, there was no stopping the Italian.

Austin was a different test. Bonnington highlighted the one-stop-versus-two-stop contest and the mental pressure of expecting to be caught or passed. Antonelli kept his head down, continued setting lap times and came out on top, he said, calling it a champion’s drive.

Bonnington also pointed to Silverstone and Barcelona: he said Silverstone could have produced a good result but for a failure, while Barcelona had looked promising. His broader praise was for Antonelli’s consistency across different tracks and his ability to handle challenges such as overheating and tyre warm-up.