Monaco 2026 will be remembered for long time. Not because of beautiful racing through the streets of Monte Carlo, but because of chaos, crashes and broken dreams. Seven drivers failed to see the chequered flag, including some of the biggest names on the grid. Let us go trough everything that happened, one by one.
Max Verstappen, Lap 1 Exit, Engine Dead on the Grid
All eyes were on the front of the grid when lights went out. Kimi Antonelli made a perfect start from pole, but right next to him, in P2, Max Verstappen went nowhere.
The Red Bull simply died on the grid. While the rest of the field swept past him, Max managed to get the car barely rolling and steered it slowly to the left side of the track to avoid any contact. He completed the opening lap at a crawl, running almost entirely on what little battery power remained, before his team told him to bring the car in and retire.
Verstappen revealed exactly what happened after the race: “The formation lap was already not going very well. And then, after that, the pre-start was terrible, like there was just no consistency, and then the engine just dropped dead.” He added that once he got some power back, the engine sounded so bad that going flat out would have destroyed it completely.
The four time world champion did not hide his frustration over the radio, but perhaps the most memorable moment came after the race, when Max reminded everyone where he lives. “I’m going home,” he said, “I live only 500 meters from here.” Classic Verstappen. His second DNF of the season, and both caused by engine troubles.
Perez Penalty, Russell Escapes One
Before the drama really started, there was already controversy at the start line. Lando Norris reported George Russell to the stewards, claiming the Mercedes driver was not in his correct starting position. Russell escaped without punishment. Sergio Perez, however, was not so lucky, getting a penalty for the same kind of offense. A painful start to the day for Cadillac, before things got better at the end.
Valtteri Bottas, Brakes Again
On lap 18, Cadillac called Bottas in. The team radio said it clearly: “We need to cool the car and box this lap.” Bottas retired with a cooling and brake related issue, something that had been troubling the Cadillac all weekend long. Another frustrating day for the Finn, who has had a difficult 2026 so far.
Ollie Bearman, Haas Retires Early
Shortly after Bottas went out, Ollie Bearman also pulled his Haas into the garage and retired. The young British driver had already been frustrated in qualifying when a yellow flag cost him a chance at Q2. His car was retired in the Haas garage, adding his name to what was growing into a very long list of non-finishers.
Lando Norris, Battery Failure in the Tunnel
One of the most painful moments of the race came in the famous Monaco tunnel. Norris, the reigning world champion, was seen slowing down dramatically, losing all power. The team called him in immediately and that was the end of his race.
The McLaren suffered a battery failure, the same kind of problem that ended his FP2 session earlier in the weekend. Norris now has just 58 points from five rounds this season, while standings leader Antonelli is heading for 131. The title defence is in serious trouble.
“I always have faith in the team,” Norris said after, but you could hear the pain in those words. Three DNFs this season for the reigning champion. Things simply have to improve.
Stroll Crashes, Safety Car, Then Leclerc Does the Same Thing
With around 17 laps remaining, Lance Stroll lost the car at the final corner, Turn 19, and slammed hard into the barriers. Safety car was deployed. Stroll blamed engine braking issues that had troubled him all weekend: “Some corners it’s pushing me forward with the engine, some corners it’s pulling. On this lap it just pushed me into the wall.”
After a five lap safety car period, the race restarted, and what happened next was truly shocking. Charles Leclerc, running third and fighting for a podium at his home race, hit the exact same wall at the exact same spot on the very first lap of the restart. Carbon copy crash.
Leclerc was furious on the radio. “Honestly, I’m not even going to take the blame! These brakes!” he shouted. The home hero, who had already been annoyed when Ferrari pitted him behind Hamilton during the safety car, ending up in traffic, crashed out in front of his home crowd. Heartbreaking.
The reason for the red flag was the track itself. The FIA inspected Turn 19 and found the track surface was breaking up, it had been resurfaced before the weekend. Race control announced an official “inspection of track break-up at Turn 19.” Ironically, both Stroll and Leclerc denied the track was fully to blame, each pointing to their own car problems.
Red Flag, 30 Minutes Wait, and Kimi’s Lead Gone
The red flag suspended the race while marshals cleaned up and the FIA inspected the surface. Kimi Antonelli had built up a lead of over 30 seconds. All of that was wiped out with the standing start restart.
When the race finally resumed at 17:12 local time, two safety car laps were done first before a full standing restart from the start line. Suddenly Antonelli was nose to nose with Lewis Hamilton. All that hard work, all that gap, gone in an instant.
Hulkenberg Takes Out Sainz After the Restart
After the restart, in the chaos of the first laps back, Hulkenberg made contact with Sainz in the slowest corner of the race, tapping the rear left tyre of the Williams and sending Carlos into the barriers. Sainz was forced to retire, ending a good day for Williams, with only Albon surviving to score points.
Hulkenberg received a 10 second penalty for the incident and dropped out of the top 10. A costly move for the Audi driver.
Perez Points, Racing Bulls Shine, Russell 13th
At the end of all this madness, the race finished with Kimi Antonelli winning ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar in a brilliant result for Red Bull, even without Verstappen.
Sergio Perez managed to cross the line in P10, getting Cadillac their first points of the season despite the earlier penalty. Racing Bulls had an exceptional day, with Liam Lawson finishing fifth and Arvid Lindblad sixth, both picking up huge points for the team.
George Russell ended up 13th. Not what Mercedes or Russell would have wanted from his home region race, a weekend to forget for the British driver.
Final DNF List
- Max Verstappen, engine failure, Lap 1
- Valtteri Bottas, cooling and brake issues, Lap 18
- Ollie Bearman, mechanical retirement
- Lando Norris, battery failure, Lap 46
- Lance Stroll, crash at Turn 19, Lap 61
- Charles Leclerc, crash at Turn 19, Lap 66
- Carlos Sainz, contact with Hulkenberg after restart
Seven retirements. One broken track surface. One champion watching from 500 meters away at home. Monaco 2026 was absolutely crazy, and we are still processing it.
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