Andrea Kimi Antonelli stole pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix from Max Verstappen with a decisive final lap.
The two Ferraris will start from the second row, while George Russell struggled to sixth in his Mercedes.
Q1
Charles Leclerc set the early pace in Q1, improving to a 1’13.293. Antonelli sat briefly behind him before Max Verstappen moved into second. Russell initially could not match his team mate’s times and ran wide at Mirabeau on one attempt, eventually finishing around six-tenths slower than the faster Mercedes.
Gabriel Bortoleto showed promise in practice, but a slight touch of the barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane in qualifying broke his front-left suspension and ended his session as he stopped in the corner.
That incident left Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz Jnr vulnerable after Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon improved late. With the session resuming and just over two minutes remaining they had one final chance. Bearman narrowly missed out after sliding through the Swimming Pool, falling short by a tenth of a second. Esteban Ocon then dropped to 16th when Sainz posted a 1’14.348 to move into Q2. As expected, both Aston Martins and the Cadillacs were eliminated in Q1.
Q1 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’13.293 | |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’13.490 | 0.197 |
| 3 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W17 | 1’13.599 | 0.306 |
| 4 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’13.630 | 0.337 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’13.777 | 0.484 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | R26 | 1’13.923 | 0.630 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’14.159 | 0.866 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’14.214 | 0.921 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’14.321 | 1.028 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’14.348 | 1.055 |
| 11 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’14.408 | 1.115 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’14.469 | 1.176 |
| 13 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’14.498 | 1.205 |
| 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’14.573 | 1.280 |
| 15 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | R26 | 1’14.683 | 1.390 |
| 16 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’14.685 | 1.392 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’14.722 | 1.429 |
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’14.747 | 1.454 |
| 19 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’14.814 | 1.521 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’15.283 | 1.990 |
| 21 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’15.349 | 2.056 |
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’16.061 | 2.768 |
Q2
Bortoleto was classified in Q2 despite being unable to continue. Five drivers faced elimination before the top-10 shootout.
Ferrari’s threat faded in Q2. Leclerc posted a 1’12.928 but Lando Norris edged him by just nine thousandths in the McLaren. Antonelli improved further and Verstappen slotted in behind, despite a busy final sector on his lap.
Hamilton again could not surpass his team mate, complaining the car felt too “on the nose” and telling his engineer he believed something was wrong. Russell remained well adrift of Antonelli, more than half a second slower despite otherwise solid running.
On the last runs Red Bull showed strong pace: Verstappen briefly took the top from Antonelli with a clean lap two-tenths faster, while his team mate Isack Hadjar moved up to third. Gasly escaped elimination late, relegating Nico Hulkenberg to the drop zone. Both Williams drivers, the Audis, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto also failed to make Q3.
Q2 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’12.499 | |
| 2 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W17 | 1’12.704 | 0.205 |
| 3 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’12.722 | 0.223 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’12.774 | 0.275 |
| 5 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’12.919 | 0.420 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’12.934 | 0.435 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’12.983 | 0.484 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’13.238 | 0.739 |
| 9 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’13.471 | 0.972 |
| 10 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’13.762 | 1.263 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’13.787 | 1.288 |
| 12 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’13.815 | 1.316 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | R26 | 1’13.902 | 1.403 |
| 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’13.995 | 1.496 |
| 15 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’14.248 | 1.749 |
| 16 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | R26 | No time |
Q3
Leclerc encountered trouble at the start of Q3, oversteering at Massenet and returning to the pits without a time on his first attempt. That opened the door for Antonelli to lead on his opening run, with Verstappen narrowly missing the improvement by one thousandth of a second after running wide at Rascasse.
Russell remained nearly half a second off Antonelli’s pace and sat fifth after the first runs, separated from Antonelli by Verstappen, Hamilton and Norris. Leclerc returned to the track and produced a strong 1’12.351, briefly putting him provisionally on pole.
Verstappen then delivered a clean lap to take provisional pole with a 1’12.094. Hamilton set the fastest middle sector but could not match Verstappen’s overall time. Antonelli had more in reserve and, on his final lap, denied Verstappen pole by just 0.043 seconds.
Leclerc’s final attempt ended in misfortune: after a slow first sector he pushed hard into Tabac, clipped the barrier and punctured a tyre, bringing his charge to a premature end. He will start alongside Hamilton on the second row, behind Antonelli and Verstappen.
Q3 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W17 | 1’12.051 | |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’12.094 | 0.043 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’12.279 | 0.228 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’12.351 | 0.300 |
| 5 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’12.434 | 0.383 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’12.445 | 0.394 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’12.624 | 0.573 |
| 8 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’12.765 | 0.714 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’13.226 | 1.175 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’13.412 | 1.361 |
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