– One of the most important news ahead of the Italian Grand Prix is the grid penalty for Kimi Antonelli. The championship leader has reached the limit allowed by the regulations (four combustion engines) and will use a completely new power unit this weekend. This means he will have to start from the back of the field on Sunday.
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Everything indicates that this will not be the last penalty of the season. Including Monza, there are still ten races left on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar – taking into account the cancellation of the events in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, which will be officially confirmed soon, as well as the inclusion of Imola.
The teams are therefore calculating the kilometers still to be driven and checking on which types of tracks a penalty has the least impact. Mercedes has chosen Monza for Antonelli, probably the track on the entire calendar where positions can be regained most easily.
However, the fifth power unit that Antonelli will use does not include the updates planned as part of ADUO. Mercedes has received permission from the FIA to introduce an updated power unit, but its debut is scheduled for the trip to America in October – either at the track in Austin or alternatively in Mexico City.
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This means Antonelli and teammate George Russell will use a total of six power units to complete the entire season. The main reason for Mercedes choosing Monza for installing a new power unit in Antonelli’s car was primarily the situation of his “pool,” i.e., the total stock of available components.
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Antonelli had some defects in earlier power units that were final, without the affected parts being salvageable. This results in the necessity to introduce a new unit, especially with regard to the next four races, three of which take place on street circuits.
In the case of a grid penalty, Baku would still be a track where positions can be regained, while starting from the last row in Madrid and Singapore would almost completely ruin the chances of scoring good points. Monza allows Antonelli not to squander his chances of a good result and at the same time noticeably improves the situation of his pool for the rest of the season.
The situation is somewhat better for Russell. Although he has used the same number of components as Antonelli – in fact, he has already homologated the fourth turbo, one more than Kimi – the Briton can rely on a larger stock because he has had fewer final defects than his teammate.
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