#F1 #Qualifying: #Antonelli pips @Max33Verstappen to #MonacoGP pole by 0.043s.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, #12, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, F1 W17, celebrates in Parc Ferme after scoring his fourth-career pole position, Qualifying, Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix De Monaco 2026, Circuit de Monaco, Monte-Carlo, Monaco. Image credit to Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images. Antonelli Monaco GP Pole, 2026 Monaco GP Qualifying, F1 Monaco GP Qualifying Results, Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying Results.
Antonelli Monaco GP Pole – Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli pipped four-time world champion Max Verstappen to take pole position in a thrilling qualifying session at the Monaco GP as Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton completed the top three.
This was the Bologna-born Italian’s fourth-career pole position as he looks to clinch his fifth-consecutive victory and extend his World Driver’s Championship lead.
In Q3, the initial flying laps saw McLaren’s Oscar Piastri the first to set the benchmark of a 1:19.982, which was beaten by team-mate Norris’s 1:18.350 as Leclerc reached a 1:16.662 on their warm-up tours.
Piastri’s proper flyer saw the Aussie set a 1:12.916, as his team-mate Norris pipped him with a 1:12.765 with a purple sector three.
Hamilton was next with two purples and hit a 1:12.553 to go even quicker.
Antonelli took P1 setting a 1:12.375 with three personal bests as Verstappen just missed out on provisional pole by a very narrow 0.001 seconds off the Mercedes driver.
The final hot-laps saw home favourite Leclerc out first and the Ferrari driver posted a 1:12.351 to take provisional pole off Antonelli by 0.024 seconds.
Piastri was next and the Australian set a 1:12.624 to go fifth as Verstappen with a purple opening sector grabbed P1 with a 1:12.094.
Hamilton slotted into second to be 0.185 off Verstappen as Russell ended up sixth and 0.351 down.
Antonelli with three personal best blasted to pole on a 1:12.051 as Leclerc hit the wall and suffered suspension damage.
Replays showed Leclerc lost the rear out of Tabac and hit the wall damaging the rear suspension as the home favourite ended up fourth.
The other Red Bull of Isack Hadjar improved to fifth on his final flyer ahead of Russell who was sixth and the two McLaren’s of Piastri and Norris who were seventh and eighth respectively.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and RB’s Liam Lawson rounded out the top ten.
In the second qualifying stage, which was topped by Verstappen, the Williams pairing of Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz ended up outside the top ten despite their small improvements in 11th and 12th respectively.
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg ended up 13th and in-front of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto who took 14th and RB’s Arvid Lindblad who finished Q2 in 15th.
The other Audi R26 entry of Gabriel Bortoleto was unable to take part in the middle segment after his shunt in Q1 damaging his front suspension.
In the opening segment, which was topped by Leclerc, with two minutes and eleven seconds remaining Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto brought out the red flag after hitting his front-left wheel into the barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane and went straight into the wall after damaging his front suspension from the whack.
When the session resumed for the final flyers of Q1, a late improvement by Sainz saw Haas’s Esteban Ocon knocked out by a slim 0.037 seconds meaning the Frenchman will start tomorrow’s Monaco GP 17th.
Cadillac’s Sergio Perez took 18th and in-front of the other Haas VF-26 entry of Oliver Bearman who was 19th and the other Cadillac MAC01 of Valtteri Bottas who placed 20th in the classification.
The two Aston Martin’s of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll brought up the rear.
You can see the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix De Monaco 2026 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: FORMULA 1 LOUIS VUITTON GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2026 – QUALIFYING
2026 Monaco GP Qualifying – The Top Three
2026 Monaco GP Pole Position – Andrea Kimi Antonelli, #12, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, F1 W17 – 1:12.051:
“It was one of those laps we call the magic lap, I was able to put it all together. It was so close with Max, the first run there was just one millisecond. Massive thanks to the team as yesterday we struggled a little bit and today we improved massively. The most intense Qualifying of the year. I felt great and I am happy we could finish the job.”
2nd Place – Max Verstappen, #3, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Ford-RBPT – 1:12.094:
“If you would have told me yesterday front row, I would definitely have taken it. It is extremely positive, so overall very happy with how the laps went. I’m happy, happy to be on the front row and let’s see tomorrow. These cars are complicated to start, and I have two cars behind me that start quite well.”
3rd Place – Sir Lewis Hamilton, #44, Scuderia Ferrari HP, SF-26 – 1:12.279:
“Congrats to Kimi, mega, mega job – first pole here is so special. It was tough for us, we were looking so strong in practice, we hardly changed anything, but the car was completely different in Qualifying. But what a privilege to be one of the 22 drivers here able to do this. I think it great to see how close all the cars are. We lost something going into today, so we need to try and figure that out.”
