Starting Grid 2026 Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix
Event: Italian Grand Prix
Track: Monza Circuit
Formation lap starts at: 15:00 Local | 15:00 CEST | 14:00 UK | 06:00 LA | 22:00 Tokyo
Pierre Gasly will start the 2026 Italian Grand Prix from pole position after producing the lap of his career at Monza, while a series of post-qualifying penalties has significantly reshuffled the grid behind him.
The Alpine driver beat George Russell by just 0.060s in Q3 to secure the first Formula 1 pole position of his career. Russell joins him on the front row after Mercedes had looked like the team to beat throughout much of the weekend.
Oscar Piastri originally qualified third for McLaren, but the Australian has received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Liam Lawson at Turn 2 during Q2. The FIA stewards accepted that Piastri had few options once the situation developed, but ruled that Lawson had nevertheless been unnecessarily impeded and imposed the standard three-place penalty.
That penalty promotes Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen ahead of Piastri in the starting order, giving Ferrari an even stronger position for its home Grand Prix.
The grid is further complicated by major power unit penalties. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh but has accumulated enough power unit penalties to be sent to the back of the grid, while Alex Albon is also facing a back-of-the-grid start following his own power unit changes.
Ferrari came remarkably close to missing Q3 altogether. Leclerc survived Q2 by only 0.008s, while Hamilton scraped through by an extraordinary 0.001s over Gabriel Bortoleto. Both recovered strongly in Q3, and Piastri's subsequent penalty has now improved their starting positions further.
Gasly, meanwhile, needed no such escape. Alpine had genuine pace throughout Saturday, with Franco Colapinto also reaching Q3, and the Frenchman converted that speed into a superb pole lap at the same circuit where he scored his maiden Formula 1 victory.
With Gasly on pole, Russell alongside him, Piastri dropping three places and multiple power unit penalties reshuffling the field further back, Sunday's grid looks considerably different from the raw qualifying classification.
Below you can find the final starting grid for the 2026 Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Monza, including the confirmed post-qualifying and power unit penalties.
F1 Starting Grid 2026 Italian GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Pole gap |
| 1 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:21,786 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:21,846 | +0,060s |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:22,004 | +0,218s |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:22,011 | +0,225s |
| 5 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:22,070 | +0,284s |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:21,966 | +0,180s |
| 7 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:22,220 | +0,434s |
| 8 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:22,256 | +0,470s |
| 9 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:22,286 | +0,500s |
| 10 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:22,517 | +0,731s |
| 11 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:22,756 | +0,970s |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 1:22,779 | +0,993s |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:23,453 | +1,667s |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:23,466 | +1,680s |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1:23,755 | +1,969s |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:24,364 | +2,578s |
| 17 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac | 1:24,595 | +2,809s |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:25,222 | +3,436s |
| 19 | 12 | *Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:22,093 | +0,307s |
| 20 | 23 | *Alex Albon | Williams | 1:24,356 | +2,570s |
| PL | 14 | *Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:25,150 | +3,364s |
| PL | 30 | *Liam Lawson | Red Bull | 1:22,821 | +1,035s |
*Penalties:
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes W17 #12 - 30 place grid penalty, due to using additional power unit elements.
- Alex Albon, William FW48 #23 - 20 place grid penalty, due to using additional power unit elements.
- Liam Lawson, Red Bull RB22 #30 - 35 place grid penalty, due to using additional power unit elements.
- Liam Lawson, Red Bull RB22 #30 - Required to start from the pit lane, due to car modified whilst under Parc Fermé conditions.
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL40 #81 - 3 place grid penalty, due to impeding another driver
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR26 #14 - Required to start from the pit lane, due to car modified whilst under Parc Fermé conditions and additional power unit elements have been used
What's Your Podium Prediction for the upcoming F1 Grand Prix?
Singapore Grand PrixSingapore · round 17 of 23The Predictor F1-Fansite data model
Championship form and recent form. The starting grid joins in after qualifying, then the chances update.
Kimi AntonelliMercedes · #1240%to win
George RussellMercedes · #6312%to win
Max VerstappenRed Bull · #38.2%to winPredict the podium
You need a free F1-Fansite account to make your podium prediction and climb the season leaderboard.
Log in or sign upAll 22 drivers: win, podium and points chances
| # | Driver | Win | Podium | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi AntonelliMercedes | 40% | 82% | 100% | P1 in the championship · 4 podiums in the last 5 |
| 2 | George RussellMercedes | 12% | 41% | 97% | P2 in the championship · 3 podiums in the last 5 |
| 3 | Max VerstappenRed Bull | 8.2% | 30% | 93% | P5 in the championship · 4 podiums in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 4 | Lewis HamiltonFerrari | 8.2% | 29% | 93% | P3 in the championship · 1 podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 5 | Charles LeclercFerrari | 7.2% | 26% | 90% | P4 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 6 | Lando NorrisMcLaren | 6.7% | 24% | 89% | P6 in the championship · 2 podiums in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 7 | Isack HadjarRed Bull | 3.9% | 14% | 72% | P8 in the championship · 1 podium in the last 5 |
| 8 | Oscar PiastriMcLaren | 3.6% | 14% | 72% | P7 in the championship · no podium in the last 5 |
| 9 | Liam LawsonRacing Bulls | 1.8% | 6.9% | 44% | P9 in the championship · no podium in the last 5 |
| 10 | Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls | 1.5% | 5.5% | 38% | P11 in the championship · no podium in the last 5 |
| 11 | Pierre GaslyAlpine | 0.9% | 3.7% | 26% | P10 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 12 | Nico HülkenbergAudi | 0.9% | 3.3% | 25% | P16 in the championship · no podium in the last 5 |
| 13 | Franco ColapintoAlpine | 0.8% | 3.1% | 24% | P12 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 14 | Oliver BearmanHaas | 0.7% | 2.5% | 20% | P13 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 15 | Esteban OconHaas | 0.7% | 2.5% | 19% | P18 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 16 | Gabriel BortoletoAudi | 0.6% | 2.5% | 18% | P14 in the championship · no podium in the last 5 |
| 17 | Carlos SainzWilliams | 0.5% | 2.1% | 16% | P17 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 18 | Fernando AlonsoAston Martin | 0.5% | 2.1% | 17% | P15 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 2 DNFs |
| 19 | Sergio PérezCadillac | 0.4% | 1.6% | 13% | P21 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF |
| 20 | Alex AlbonWilliams | 0.4% | 1.4% | 12% | P19 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 2 DNFs |
| 21 | Lance StrollAston Martin | 0.3% | 1.3% | 11% | P23 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 4 DNFs |
| 22 | Valtteri BottasCadillac | 0.3% | 1.4% | 11% | P22 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 2 DNFs |
Podium = chance of a top-three finish, Points = chance of a top-ten. Rounded; the win column adds up to 100%.
Season standings · 2026
How the Predictor works
No bookmakers, no odds: every number comes from the F1-Fansite results database. Each driver gets a strength score from the factors below; the race is then simulated 10,000 times and we count how often each driver wins, finishes on the podium or scores points. It does not know about weather or reliability, and it says so. Grid penalties count as soon as the official starting grid is in.
Before qualifying the model is honest about the odds: three or four candidates share most of the chance. After qualifying the grid takes over and the call sharpens.
Calibration this season: when it said 7%, it happened 0% of the time; when it said 15%, it happened 8% of the time.
✅ Don't forget to check out our 2026 Italian F1 Grand Prix preview info.
One F1 fan comment on “Starting Grid 2026 Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix”
💬 Join the conversation — see the latest comments from F1 fans →
Russell's victory to lose.