Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli claimed a dramatic pole position for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just 0.043s at the end of a tense and closely-contested qualifying session in Monte Carlo.
The championship-leading Italian delivered a superb final effort of 1:12.051 to secure his fourth pole position in five Grands Prix, completing an impressive turnaround for Mercedes after Ferrari had set the pace throughout Friday practice. The Scuderia had topped both opening sessions with one-two results, but momentum shifted on Saturday as Antonelli led final practice and then carried that good form into qualifying.
Antonelli’s first run in Q3, a 1:12.375, put him at the top of the timesheet, though with by the finest of margins, just 0.001s ahead of Verstappen, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton third at that stage, 0.177s away from provisional pole.
Home hero Charles Leclerc, who had looked hooked up throughout Friday practice, had a more difficult start to the final segment. The Ferrari driver abandoned his first flying lap after a moment at Massenet and was forced to build again, out of sync with his rivals and potentially facing traffic issues. After backing out of a second attempt, the Monegasque racer finally completed a representative lap to move ahead of Antonelli’s earlier benchmark by 0.024s.
However, with time still remaining, the order changed rapidly. Verstappen was the first to respond, producing a 1:12.094, bookended by purpler sectors, to take provisional pole. Hamilton then slotted into third, 0.185s behind the Dutchman, before Antonelli stiched together three personal best sectors, including a strong S2 where Verstappen struggled, to cross the line in pole position.
Behind the top three, Leclerc, who brushed the barriers in the final sector on his last attempt, is set to line up at in P4, while Isack Hadjar completed a strong session for Red Bull by taking fifth with a 1:12.434. By contrast, George Russell had a lacklustre Q3 and will start sixth in the second Mercedes, 0.394s off his team-mate’s pace. McLaren locked out the fourth row, with Oscar Piastri qualifying seventh ahead of Lando Norris, and row five is set to feature Alpine’s Pierre Gasly ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
At the end of Q2 Carlos Sainz narrowly failed to progress for Williams and will start 11th, ahead of Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg in 12th and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto in 13th. Yuki Tsunoda was 14th for Racing Bulls, while Gabriel Bortoleto completed the Q2 order in 15th after being unable to find the margin required to reach the top-10 shootout.
Earlier, Q1 was interrupted when the second Audi driver clipped the inside barrier on entry and brought out the red flags with around two minutes remaining. The stoppage led to a frantic conclusion to the opening segment, with Leclerc ultimately finishing fastest as drivers scrambled for track position on the narrow streets.
Sainz was among those to improve
late on, escaping the elimination zone and pushing Esteban Ocon down to 17th. It marked a difficult session for Haas, as Ocon was joined on the sidelines by team-mate Oliver Bearman, who qualified 19th. Cadillac’s Sergio Perez split the Haas pair in 18th, while Valtteri Bottas ended the session 20th. Aston Martin endured a bruising afternoon, with Fernando Alonso 21st and Lance Stroll 22nd on an all-Aston Martin final row.
2026 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:12.051 - -
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:12.094 0.043
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:12.279 0.228
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:12.351 0.300
5 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:12.434 0.383
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:12.445 0.394
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:12.624 0.573
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:12.765 0.714
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:13.226 1.175
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:13.412 1.361
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:13.787 1.736
12 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:13.815 1.764
13 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:13.902 1.851
14 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:13.995 1.944
15 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:14.248 2.197
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi - - -
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:14.722 2.671
18 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:14.747 2.696
19 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:14.814 2.763
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:15.283 3.232
21 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:15.349 3.298
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:16.061 4.010
