The Monaco Grand Prix 2026 hosted both Formula 2 and Formula 3 alongside Formula 1. As always, the streets of Monaco produced plenty of drama throughout the feeder series races, as well as memorable moments. With the weekend now in the books, let’s look back at the biggest moments from the Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3 in Monaco.
Formula 3: Badoer takes maiden victory in Monaco
Formula 3 returned after a long break. During Friday qualifying Theophile Nael took pole position while Hiyu Yamakoshi started first for the Sprint Race.
Sprint race: a race of interruptions
The Sprint Race barely made it through its opening lap before chaos erupted. While the field negotiated Sainte Devote without major drama, a multi-car incident at the Fairmont Hairpin eliminated several drivers.
Ho and Taponen retired on the spot, with Benavides and Badoer also caught up in the collision. A Safety Car was initially deployed, but the race was red-flagged as marshals had to recover Taponen’s car from the tunnel. The Finn had run wide at the Hairpin, triggering the incident. Benavides was later diagnosed with three broken vertebrae and ruled out of Sunday’s Feature Race.
The race resumed behind the Safety Car with the clock already counting down, after race control shortened the scheduled distance by 15 minutes. The field completed one more lap under caution before returning to green flag conditions. The restart quickly unraveled. Slater, Rivera, and Nael were involved in another incident at the same corner that had already caused earlier issues, bringing out a second yellow flag and another Safety Car period.
Slater attempted a move on Rivera but made contact, while Nael got stuck behind them. Marshals quickly cleared the incident allowing the Safety Car to get back to the pits.
Racing resumed with 14 minutes remaining. The stewards later handed Slater a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. And a brief Virtual Safety Car was then needed to clear debris from the circuit.
Yamakoshi crossed the line first on track, ahead of Xie and Del Pino. However, post-race penalties changed the final classification. Officials disqualified Yamakoshi for a technical infringement, promoting Xie to victory.
Feature race: a race winning move
The Formula 3 Feature Race got Sunday’s on-track action underway. Brando Badoer started on the front row of the grid alongside pole-sitter Théophile Nael. He got a strong start and immediately went past the Campos driver, taking control of the race.
From there, Badoer settled into the lead and never looked back, managing the pace at the front. It proved to be the defining move of the race, as the early overtake ultimately shaped the outcome of the entire race.
The start was clean for the entire field, with a good launch from everyone. Race control neutralized the race after Tuukka Taponen ended up in the barriers at Rascasse. The incident brought out the Safety Car which rentered the pits on lap four.
From there, the race settled into a long green-flag run with little action in the midfield or at the front. Brando Badoer took his maiden Formula 3 win, while Théophile Nael and Freddie Slater completed the podium.
Formula 2: Tsolov wins amid chaos
Multiple red flags disrupted qualifying, resulting in a messy session overall. Bennett had his flying lap cancelled following one of the interruptions, while another red flag came after an incident involving Laurens van Hoepen and Kush Maini.
Race stewards later deemed Kush Maini responsible for the incident and handed him a three-place grid penalty, adding to a difficult weekend for the driver. Championship leader Gabriele Mini also endured a tough qualifying session, failing to replicate his strong previous form at Monaco. Rafael Camara went on to take pole position while Leon started first in the Sprint Race.
Sprint race: another processional affair
Leon made a strong start from reverse-grid pole position. Several drivers cut Sainte Dévote on the opening lap, while contact between Goethe and Miyata disrupted the order. Goethe lost several positions by Lap Two and dropped to the back of the field. He was forced to pit, changed tyres, and rejoined the race. Camara also had a strong launch, gaining two positions off the line.
Little happened during the race, apart from Van Hoepen receiving a 10-second penalty for cutting Turn 1 at the start and gaining multiple positions, marking a difficult weekend for the Dutch driver.
The podium was led by Noel Leon, ahead of Roman Bilinski and championship leader Gabriele Mini.
Feature race: Late chaos hands Tsolov the win
The race featured an early lock-up for Dunne and a slightly compromised start for Stenshorne, but the order remained largely stable in the opening stages. Strategy began to unfold after Lap 22, with a series of pit stops shaping the race.
Mini lost time in the pits and dropped behind Bilinski, while Montoya gained positions through an effective undercut. Tsolov emerged in fifth after his stop, with Camara and Dunne pitting late as the field shuffled on strategy.
Late drama came when Camara locked up at Sainte Devote and triggered a brief Virtual Safety Car. The VSC procedures caught out several drivers, leading to penalties and further position changes in the final classification.
Tsolov ultimately took the win ahead of Dunne in second and Beganovic in third.
Formula 1: Antonelli remains calm amid a chaotic race
Qualifying in Monaco 2026 was heavily disrupted by a red flag in Q1 after Bortoleto hit the barriers at the Nouvelle Chicane, with multiple drivers losing crucial laps. Antonelli ultimately secured pole position ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton, with Leclerc also featuring near the front.
The race began with a shock as Max Verstappen remained stuck on the grid while the rest of the field sped past him. He eventually got going but soon headed to the pits and retired. Bearman and Bottas also pitted immediately, triggering the first wave of stops.
At the front, Antonelli pulled away early, followed by Hamilton and Leclerc. Unlike the usual Monaco strategy of backing up the pack, Antonelli pushed hard from the start to build a gap.
Valtteri Bottas retired on Lap 18, and engine trouble for Isack Hadjar allowed George Russell to close in. Hamilton pitted on Lap 29 for hard tyres and rejoined in third.
Bearman also retired on Lap 31 after a difficult weekend. Russell stopped on Lap 33 to rejoin in clean air and successfully undercut Hadjar, who responded one lap later but lost the position.
Leclerc eventually pitted, while Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He was not the only one, joined later by George Russell.
Antonelli, still leading, came in on Lap 37 for a clean pit stop and rejoined still in first place. Meanwhile Russell got stuck behind Norris and Gasly. He finally overtook Lando Norris who retired after yet more reliability issues.
Arvid Lindblad moved ahead of Alex Albon for 10th after the Thai driver cut the Nouvelle Chicane, while penalties continued for both Alpine drivers and George Russell.
A Safety Car came out on Lap 60 after Lance Stroll hit the barriers. Ferrari pitted both cars, cancelling out Hamilton’s penalty and leaving Leclerc disadvantaged. Antonelli also stopped a lap later with the field.
Race direction later allowed all cars to unlap themselves, with Antonelli controlling the restart on Lap 66. Leclerc then hit the barriers just before the start/finish line, triggering another Safety Car. The race direction red-flagged the race on Lap 68.
After a short restart and standing start, Antonelli got away cleanly while Gasly passed Hadjar. Russell recovered towards the podium but had to serve a drive-through penalty, and Sainz retired after contact with Bortoleto and Colapinto.
Antonelli took his fifth consecutive win at the Monaco Grand Prix 2026 ahead of Hamilton and Hadjar.
Feature Image Credit: Formula 1
Edited by Leslie.
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