Antonelli lights-to-flag at Monaco — five wins from six starts. Jett Lawrence swept Hangtown 1-1 on his full comeback. Two championships, two dominant statements, one issue.
Kimi Antonelli put Monaco in the bag before lights out. Pole by 0.043 seconds over Verstappen, a clean getaway at the start, and a race that was never in doubt from his perspective. He built a gap through the first stint, reacted perfectly to the safety car on Lap 60 and the subsequent red flag caused by Leclerc's crash, and then nailed the standing restart — holding Hamilton into Sainte Dévote and pulling away again. Five wins from six rounds. Fastest lap: 1:13.481. Driver of the Day by fan vote. The 2026 championship is beginning to look like a one-horse race.
The drama in Monaco was almost entirely behind him. Verstappen suffered an anti-stall at the start and was in the pits within a lap — his second retirement in six races. Norris followed with a power issue. Then on Lap 60, Stroll crashed at Antony Noghès, triggering a safety car and a chaotic pit window. Leclerc — fighting for a home podium from P4 on the grid — locked up at the same corner after the restart, hit the barrier and was done. Red flag. Standing start. Seven drivers failed to finish.
Hamilton took P2 for Ferrari despite a five-second pit lane speeding penalty — an infraction that caught multiple drivers on the day. Isack Hadjar completed the podium for Red Bull in P3, having started P5. George Russell finished 13th after penalties and strategy complications compounded a difficult weekend, conceding further championship ground to his teammate.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonelli | Mercedes | P1 | 25 |
| 2 | Hamilton | Ferrari | P3 | 18 |
| 3 | Hadjar | Red Bull | P5 | 15 |
| 4 | Piastri | McLaren | P7 | 12 |
| 5 | Lawson | RB | P10 | 10 |
| 6 | Lindblad | RB | P15 | 8 |
| 7 | Gasly | Alpine | P9 | 6 |
| 8 | Albon | Williams | P11 | 4 |
| 9 | Ocon | Haas | P17 | 2 |
| 10 | Alonso | Aston Martin | P21 | 1 |
DNFs: Verstappen (Lap 1 anti-stall), Norris (power), Leclerc (crash Lap 61), Stroll (crash Lap 60), Sainz (collision at restart), Bottas (brakes), Bearman (mechanical). Source: Jolpica / formula1.com
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q3 Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:12.051 | — |
| P2 | Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:12.094 | +0.043s |
| P3 | Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:12.279 | +0.228s |
| P4 | Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:12.351 | +0.300s |
| P5 | Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:12.434 | +0.383s |
| P6 | Russell | Mercedes | 1:12.445 | +0.394s |
Top six covered by 0.394s. Leclerc briefly held provisional pole before hitting the wall at Mirabeau on his final run, falling to P4. Verstappen's front-row start ended within seconds of lights out.
Monaco normally rewards a clean one-stop — track position is nearly impossible to recover once lost. The Lap 60 safety car changed everything, compressing the field and giving everyone a free pit window. Most front-runners converted to two stops. The pit lane speeding penalty became a recurring theme, with at least six drivers hit by the five-second sanction across the afternoon.
Antonelli, Hamilton, Hadjar, Piastri, Russell, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Pérez
Gasly, Lawson, Albon, Ocon, Colapinto, Stroll
Antonelli leads Russell by 68 points — equivalent to nearly three race wins. Hamilton's Monaco P2 lifts him to second in the championship for the first time in 2026, leapfrogging his Mercedes teammate. Mercedes lead Ferrari 244–165 in the Constructors'. McLaren have fallen to 118 after Norris's DNF — their first points-free weekend of the season.
After limping to third overall at Fox Raceway — still clearly hampered by a pre-season ankle injury — Jett Lawrence arrived at Hangtown a completely different rider. He topped qualifying, led Moto 1 from the restart after a first-turn pileup, and in Moto 2 deployed a calculated mid-race sprint to break his brother Hunter's rhythm before pulling clear. Clean 1-1 sweep. His 19th career sweep. His 25th overall win in just 29 starts in the 450 class. The ankle is now a footnote.
Hunter Lawrence went 2-2 for second overall — controlled, composed championship riding rather than forcing a battle he didn't need. The elder brother remains the points leader but the gap narrows. Haiden Deegan completed an impressive 3-3 for third — solid and consistent for a rider still finding his feet at outdoor intensity in just his second 450 Pro Motocross appearance.
Tomac was absent again at Hangtown, continuing his recovery from injuries sustained at Fox Raceway Round 1. The defending champion now sits on zero points after two rounds. Hunter Lawrence's six-point lead over Jett already feels more meaningful than it would in a normal year — Tomac's absence is creating a gap that will be very difficult to close later in the season.
| Pos | Rider | No. | Bike | Moto 1 | Moto 2 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jett Lawrence | #1 | Honda | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| 2 | Hunter Lawrence | #96 | Honda | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| 3 | Haiden Deegan | #38 | Yamaha | 3 | 3 | 38 |
| 4 | Dylan Ferrandis | #14 | Ducati | 4 | 6 | 36 |
| 5 | G. Marchbanks | #19 | Kawasaki | 6 | 5 | 32 |
| 6 | R.J. Hampshire | #24 | Husqvarna | – | – | – |
| 7 | Chase Sexton | #4 | Kawasaki | 11 | 4 | – |
| 8 | Cooper Webb | #2 | Yamaha | 9 | 9 | – |
Source: promotocross.com / cyclenews.com / dirtbikemagazine.com. Eli Tomac (KTM #3) — DNS both motos.
First-turn pileup forced a restart. Jett led from the restart and was never headed.
Jett used a calculated mid-race sprint to break Hunter's rhythm, then pulled clear. Webb holeshot credited after restart, finished P9.
The 250 class delivered exactly the kind of unpredictability that keeps Pro Motocross entertaining. Levi Kitchen went 2-2 for the overall — his first win since the 2024 season, ending a 13-race winless run. KTM's Julien Beaumer claimed his first career podium with a 4-3 scorecard. Points leader Seth Hammaker dominated Moto 1 but was caught in a first-turn pileup at the start of Moto 2, finishing ninth — his overall fell to third on a 1-9 split despite winning the opening race. Cole Davies ran away with Moto 2 following the chaos but a Moto 1 crash left him fourth overall.
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Moto 1 | Moto 2 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levi Kitchen | Kawasaki | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| 2 | Julien Beaumer | KTM | 4 | 3 | 38 |
| 3 | Seth Hammaker | Kawasaki | 1 | 9 | 38 |
| 4 | Cole Davies | Yamaha | – | 1 | – |
| 5 | Jo Shimoda | Kawasaki | 3 | – | – |
Hammaker leads Kitchen by 7 points after Round 2. Beaumer moves to third, 14 points out of the lead. Davies' Moto 2 win showed dominant speed — the 250 title fight is wide open.
Hunter Lawrence holds six points over Jett after two rounds — but Jett's Hangtown performance just reset the championship narrative entirely. When fully fit and at his best, the reigning champion is the fastest rider in the class. Two rounds in, Tomac's absence is already mathematically significant. The question is whether he can return before the gap becomes insurmountable. Thunder Valley next Saturday will be the third data point in what is shaping up to be a genuinely compelling title fight.
| Rd | Date | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 May 2026 | Fox Raceway — H. Lawrence wins | Pala, CA |
| 2 | 6 Jun 2026 | Hangtown — Jett Lawrence wins | Rancho Cordova, CA |
| 3 | 13 Jun 2026 | ▶ Thunder Valley MX Park | Lakewood, CO |
| 4 | 20 Jun 2026 | High Point Raceway | Mt. Morris, PA |
| 5 | 4 Jul 2026 | RedBud MX (4th of July) | Buchanan, MI |
| 6 | 11 Jul 2026 | The Wick 338 (Southwick) | Southwick, MA |
| 7 | 18 Jul 2026 | Spring Creek MX Park | Millville, MN |
| 8 | 25 Jul 2026 | Washougal MX Park | Washougal, WA |
| 9 | 15 Aug 2026 | Unadilla MX | New Berlin, NY |
| 10 | 22 Aug 2026 | Budds Creek MX Park | Mechanicsville, MD |
| 11 | 29 Aug 2026 | Ironman Raceway ■ FINALE | Crawfordsville, IN |
Brap & Circumstance is free, weekly, and covers both Formula 1 and Pro Motocross with the same data-led lens. No ads. No fluff.
Subscribe Free →