Kimi Antonelli has beaten Max Verstappen by just under half a tenth to take pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Italian stanched pole away from the Red Bull as he set his fastest time in the closing moments of Q3 to take pole. Antonelli and Mercedes appeared to turn the weekend around to continue the team’s run of pole positions.
Antonelli keeps raising the bar in the second season of his career, and this was as impressive as it has been so far. Another huge statement in his bid to be only the third driver to win the championship in his second season, after the first run he was only a hundredth ahead of Verstappen before producing what he called a “magic lap” to beat the Dutchman.
Russell has largely trailed Antonelli this weekend as the Italian teenager keeps delivering under the highest of pressure and is showing no signs of cracking.
That was despite the Mercedes driver not setting a fastest sector on his final attempt in Q3 to take his fourth pole of the season as the challengers faded at the end of Q3. Verstappen was another to make a big jump in qualifying as he went nearly two tenths faster than the favourites Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton nearly two tenths behind his former title rival.
Antonelli said, “It was one of those laps that we call a magic lap. I was able to put it all together. It was such a close qualifying with Max. The first run of Q3, there was just one millisecond between us.”
“But I knew the last lap was good and I was just hoping that it would be enough. It was very close, and I’m very happy with that. Massive thanks to the team because yesterday we struggled a little bit and today we were able to improve massively.”
Verstappen added, “If you would have told me yesterday I would be on the front row, I would have taken it. This morning, I think we had some difficulties with the car, so heading into qualifying and being up there was extremely positive. Overall, of course very happy with how qualifying went, how all the laps went, even though you have to deal with the traffic and of course the walls, but I’m happy.
Hamilton, who will start third in Monaco: “Congrats to Kimi. Mega, mega job. Having your first pole here is so special. We’ve got such a great crowd here, such a beautiful day.”
“It was tough for us. We were looking so strong in practice, and we barely changed anything, but the car was drastically different once we got to qualifying for some reason, so we have to take a deep dive into that.”
Ferrari had been quick through practice, and their caution was right as they struggled to find that last little bit to challenge for pole. Charles Leclerc looked to have a chance to challenge for pole, but on his final attempt, having just lost provisional pole, he locked up and broke the front suspension, banging the wall at Tabac.
Pressure had got to Leclerc in Q3; he aborted his first two attempts, one after nearly crashing at Massenet, and his second made a tiny error; his third attempt was only good enough for second, a quarter of a second off.
Isack Hadjar put his Red Bull seven hundredths behind Leclerc and ahead of George Russell by a tenth and three-quarters. Russell starting sixth will give his teammate Antonelli the perfect opportunity to extend his championship lead. Already after retiring in Montreal, he admitted the championship may be starting to slip away, and this could be another difficult race for the Englishman.
Russell never looked in the fight with Antonelli, Verstappen, and the Ferraris as he appeared to struggle throughout qualifying with grip, which left him nearly four tenths off his teammate.
McLaren also struggled to find the competitiveness they expected in Monte Carlo, Oscar Piastri nearly two tenths behind Russell as he out-qualified last year’s race and championship winner, Lando Norris. Pierre Gasly put himself ninth, going nearly two tenths ahead of Liam Lawson as they completed the top ten.
Alex Albon missed out on Q3 by a quarter of a tenth, and the British-Thai driver also outqualified his Williams teammate Carlos Sainz by the same margin, as the duo both made it through to the second part of qualifying for the second time this season. Nico Hulkenberg had to settle for thirteenth. Audi had shown potential to get into Q3 earlier in the weekend, but was nearly a tenth off the Williams.
Hulkenberg’s teammate, Gabriel Bortoletto, made it through to Q2, but a crash during Q1, where he clipped the barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane, left him with suspension damage and out of qualifying. Franco Colapinto put his Alpine fifteenth a quarter of a second ahead of Arvid Lindblad.
The Audi driver was having a strong weekend up to then, but then clipped the inside barrier upon entry and caused a red flag with approximately two minutes left in the session. Following Bortoleto’s crash, there was an opportunity for others to improve. The only one who did was Sainz, but the Brazilian, on paper, made it through to Q2.
It was a disappointing session for Haas with their first double Q1 knock-out of the season. Esteban Ocon missed out on Q2 by a tenth and three-quarters, as he went a quarter of a tenth faster than former teammate Sergio Perez, while his current teammate Ollie Bearman was nearly half a second faster than Valtteri Bottas.
The two Aston Martin’s completed the field, Fernando Alonso seven tenths faster than teammate Lance Stroll.
Related
- MONACO GP – Kimi Antonelli three tenths faster than Ferrari duo in third practice
- MONACO GP – Lewis Hamilton leads Charles Leclerc by a tenth in second practice as Ferrari appears to hold advantage
- MONACO GP – Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two, a quarter of a second faster than teammate Lewis Hamilton in first practice
- Welcome to the Monaco Grand Prix – 04/06/2026
- PRIXVIEW – Monaco Grand Prix
