Kimi Antonelli secures pole for Monaco GP as Charles Leclerc crashes into barrier during qualifying
Teenager Kimi Antonelli secured pole position in a thrilling qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix, edging out Max Verstappen by a mere 0.043 seconds in a session that Jenson Button described as unlike anything he had ever seen.
The 18-year-old Italian, who replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes after his former teammate moved to Ferrari, clocked a lap of 1min 12.051secs around the Principality’s tight streets. Verstappen had to settle for second with a 1:12.094, while Hamilton took third for Ferrari (1:12.279). Charles Leclerc, the hometown favourite, finished fourth (1:12.351), followed by Isack Hadjar (Red Bull, 1:12.434), George Russell (Mercedes, 1:12.445), Oscar Piastri (McLaren, 1:12.624), Lando Norris (McLaren, 1:12.765), Pierre Gasly (Alpine, 1:13.226) and Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls, 1:13.412).
Unprecedented closeness between four teams
The margin separating the top three at one stage during Q3 was just 0.025 seconds, an extraordinary illustration of the competitiveness that defined the session. Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, remarked that he had “never seen a session like that, it was so close between four teams.” Hamilton backed that assessment, calling it “perhaps the most massive qualifying of the year.”
The tightness was evident from the opening moments of Q3. Leclerc went fastest in the middle sector and took provisional pole before Hamilton beat him by four-tenths compared to his Q2 time. Antonelli then went quickest, with Verstappen fractionally slower than the Mercedes. With under three minutes remaining, Leclerc went out early to try to improve from 10th place but hit a wall, damaging the suspension on his Ferrari and ending his challenge. That allowed Antonelli to hold on, with the teenager describing his lap as “a magic lap”. Verstappen, who appeared almost smiling afterwards, admitted he “would have taken front row yesterday” and laughed off his own brush with the walls after hitting them on his final Q3 lap, which prevented him from snatching pole. He noted that he had “two cars behind me that start quite well,” referencing the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc.
The battle for supremacy was not limited to the final shootout. In Q2, Antonelli was fastest, with Verstappen second and Hadjar third – an excellent showing from Red Bull. Hamilton was fourth, Leclerc sixth, and the McLarens of Norris and Piastri were also in the 1:12s. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was seen beaming, exclaiming “Kimi grande, grande!” with his son. Hamilton called Antonelli’s performance a “mega mega job” and said it was a privilege still to be out there. McLaren chief executive Zak Brown expressed surprise at Russell’s position but expected him to recover in Q3, while Anthony Davidson highlighted a lack of trust on Russell’s part going into some corners. Q2 eliminations were Alex Albon (Williams), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi).
Driver reactions and incident fallout
Hamilton, who has won the Monaco Grand Prix three times (2008, 2016 and 2019) and taken two poles at the circuit, thanked the team back at the factory after his third-place effort. Leclerc’s crash was reminiscent of his 2021 qualifying accident, when he took pole but a driveshaft hub issue caused by the impact prevented him from starting the race. This time, the suspension damage did not prevent him from securing fourth place. Leclerc has a mixed history at his home race: he took pole in 2021 and 2022 and finally won the event in 2024, becoming the first Monegasque driver to win his home Grand Prix in 93 years.
The Q1 exits included Esteban Ocon (Haas), Sergio Perez (Cadillac), Oliver Bearman (Haas), Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin). Bearman, who missed out after the red flag ended his session, was consoled by his team, though replays showed he was struggling to control the car. Nico Hulkenberg, who made it through to Q2, was lauded for his performance, finishing sixth in Q1 ahead of Piastri and Russell from the so-called “big seven”.
Race context and tyre strategy
Pirelli has selected the C3 (hard), C4 (medium) and C5 (soft) tyre compounds for this weekend, reflecting the unique demands of Monaco’s low-speed, high-downforce layout. Overtaking is notoriously difficult around the circuit, meaning qualifying carries even greater importance than at most rounds. A one-stop strategy is widely expected, but the 2024 race demonstrated how a lap one red flag can effectively eliminate the need for pit stops, forcing drivers into a pace-focused tyre-management contest instead.
Antonelli’s pole marks another milestone in a remarkable career. The Bologna-born driver joined the Mercedes Junior Programme at the age of 12, skipped Formula 3 entirely to go straight to Formula 2, and made his F1 debut earlier this year. He became the youngest driver to lead a race and set the fastest lap at the Japanese Grand Prix, the youngest polesitter for a Sprint Race in Miami, and the youngest championship leader in Japan in 2026. As of today, he has four race wins, three pole positions, six fastest laps and eight podiums in Formula One. He is contracted to Mercedes until at least the end of the 2026 season.
With the top ten separated by just 1.361 seconds, and four different teams occupying the first four positions, Sunday’s race promises to be defined by the narrow margins that made qualifying so electrifying. Lewis Hamilton, waving to the crowds, seemed to sum up the mood: he is really enjoying himself.
