Antonelli edges Verstappen with sensational Monaco pole

After topping FP3 earlier in the day, the world championship leader claimed his first Monaco pole at the death, setting a 1m12.051s on his final push lap to pip Max Verstappen by just 0.043s.

The lap from the Dutchman had looked good enough to secure his first pole of the year, after he delivered an incredible effort of his own to deny hometown favourite Charles Leclerc in the dramatic closing stages.

But it ultimately wasn’t enough, with Antonelli taking his fourth career pole and becoming the first Italian to secure pole in Monaco since Jarno Trulli in 2004.

Leclerc ended the session in fourth, one spot behind teammate Lewis Hamilton, with his final lap eclipsed by all three drivers ahead of him in the closing seconds.

To compound the disappointment for Leclerc, he hit the barrier at Tabac with his right rear after appearing to suffer oversteer as he attempted one final push lap for pole, breaking the hearts of the home crowd.

Isack Hadjar was impressive in securing fifth for Red Bull, while George Russell will be disappointed to finish only sixth.

McLaren appeared to have found some pace early in qualifying but could only manage seventh and eighth, with Oscar Piastri finishing ahead of Lando Norris.

Pierre Gasly was ninth for Alpine, while Liam Lawson delivered a strong qualifying performance to round out the top 10.

Up front, Kimi Antonelli said he was thrilled with his lap to take pole, calling the lap “magic”.

“Yeah, I mean it was one of those laps that we call the magic lap,” he said.

“I was able to put it all together and it was such a close qualifying with Max.

“I think the first round of Q3 there was just one millisecond between us and I knew that the last lap was good.

“I was just hoping that it would be enough. But yeah, it was very close. And I’m very happy with that.”

He added that the entire session was one of the most intense he has ever experienced.

“I think this is one of the most intense, if not the most intense qualifying of the year,” Antonelli said.

“And it takes some massive effort.

“Also practice, because you just keep trying to get close to the limit and when it’s about finding the last two tenths it’s not easy.

“Because the walls start to come closer and it’s not easy to gain the confidence.

“But to be honest I felt great this morning and I’m happy that we could finish the job today.”

 

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Antonelli also added that he was enjoying driving the car, particularly compared to a year ago in his debut season.

“I’m just enjoying the driving. Enjoying the car. Enjoying the weekend,” he explained.

“That was a big step compared to last year.

“It’s just really nice to be able to enjoy the sessions and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, said he was thrilled to end up on the front row, adding it was somewhat of a surprise.

“If you would have told me yesterday to be on the front row, I would have definitely taken it,” he said.

“And also this morning I think we had quite some difficulties with the car. So heading into qualifying and being up there I think was extremely positive.

“So overall very happy with how qualifying went. How all the laps went. Even though you have to deal with all the traffic and, of course, the walls.

“But yeah, I’m happy. I’m happy to be on the front row.

“And then tomorrow let’s see in the start. These cars are quite complicated to start. So I have two cars behind me that start quite well. But we’ll see.

“This was a good day. And I definitely enjoyed it in qualifying.”

He added that while the new generation of cars felt different to drive around Monaco, it still felt very rewarding to hook up a good lap.

“They are more on edge than the last few years and then also with the power that kicks in, driveability shifts are all a bit different,” Verstappen explained.

“But once you get on top of it and you can get a clean lap out of it, and especially in qualifying, like flat out on the limit, it’s very rewarding when it goes well.”

After Ferrari dominated practice on Friday and looked a strong chance for pole, Hamilton said he was a bit unsure why the pace wasn’t there in qualifying.

“It’s tough for us. I think 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,” he said.

“So we have to take a deep dive into that.

“But I gave it absolutely everything. I was as close to the barriers as I could be.”

He added that the field was incredibly tight and that he was hopeful he could challenge for higher positions in the race on Sunday.

“I think it is definitely very close between us all,” Hamilton said.

“I think we almost maybe nearly had it. I don’t know. And then Max put in a good time. And then Kimi.

“I think it’s great to see how close all the cars are. I think we lost something going into today and that’s what we need to try to figure out.”

After Leclerc topped Q1, Red Bull showed their pace in the second part of qualifying, with Verstappen topping the timesheets for the first time all weekend and Hadjar just two tenths off his teammate in third, the pair split by the Mercedes of Antonelli.

It was not as strong, however, for the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, who missed out on Q3 by just five hundredths of a second for the first time in 2026, ultimately ending the session 11th and 12th.

Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortoleto also joined them in Q2 elimination.

Bortoleto was unable to set a time in Q2 after his qualifying came to an end in the closing minutes of Q1 when he clipped the barriers entering the Nouvelle Chicane, bringing out a late red flag in the opening phase of qualifying.

 

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This triggered a last-minute scramble for drivers trying to set a representative lap, as well as those in the drop zone fighting to reach Q2, with less than two minutes remaining in the session.

Sainz was among those in the elimination zone at the time of the stoppage but stormed through into Q2 with a strong final lap, dropping the Haas of Esteban Ocon into the drop zone and out in Q1.

His teammate Ollie Bearman also exited in the first part of qualifying, finishing the session 19th, sandwiched between the two Cadillacs, with Sergio Perez 18th and Valtteri Bottas 20th.

The Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll once again brought up the rear of the field and will start at the back of the grid for tomorrow’s race.

The Monaco Grand Prix gets underway at 3pm local time on Sunday (11pm AEST).

Results: Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, Qualifying