Kimi Antonelli Edges Max Verstappen for Monaco Grand Prix Pole

Kimi Antonelli embraced the pressure of Monaco qualifying and claimed the all-important pole for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix in a tension-filled qualifying session on Saturday (June 6th).

Antonelli’s final Q3 lap of 1:12.051 was just 0.043 faster than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who topped the standings after Q2.

A disappointing session for Ferrari saw Lewis Hamilton finish third, while teammate Charles Leclerc couldn’t match Antonelli and Verstappen on pace and will start his home race in fourth.

George Russell, second in the drivers standings but well behind Antonelli, will start sixth. Barring any bad luck for Antonelli, Russell won’t be able to make up any ground in the championship hunt.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">K1MI!! 😎👊<a href="https://x.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/MonacoGP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MonacoGP</a> <a href="https://t.co/Olj6IMOKY7">pic.twitter.com/Olj6IMOKY7</a></p>&mdash; Formula 1 (@F1) <a href="https://x.com/F1/status/2063279781580243130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Q3

With the riff raff eliminated and Q3 set to begin, it looked like a three-way battle for the pole between Antonelli, Verstappen, and Leclerc, with Russell hoping to find some Q3 magic.

Antonelli’s first effort was a 1:12.375 that gave him the early lead, with Verstappen’s first Q3 lap only one-thousandth behind. Leclerc bailed out of his first flying lap, adding to the pressure for the Monogasque to take pole.

Leclerc was the first of the contenders on track for his final lap, and the Ferrari star threw down the gauntlet to take provisional pole with a blistering 1:12.351 lap.

Verstappen aced the first sector and used that to eclipse Leclerc’s time by two-tenths, but Antonelli did the Dutchman one better and seized the pole by 0.043s. Leclerc tried to get in a last-ditch final effort, but grazed the wall and bailed on the lap while Hamilton grabbed third place.

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Leader
1.	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:12.051m
2.	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+0.043s
3.	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.228s
4.	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.438s
5.	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	+0.383s
6.	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.394s
7.	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.573s
8.	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.714s
9.	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.175s
10.	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.361s

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Leclerc actually hit the wall at Tabac in the final moments of Quali 🤯<br><br>He stopped his Ferrari on track at Rascasse at the end 👇<a href="https://x.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/MonacoGP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MonacoGP</a> <a href="https://t.co/xcZ3LGPsK4">pic.twitter.com/xcZ3LGPsK4</a></p>&mdash; Formula 1 (@F1) <a href="https://x.com/F1/status/2063277918311108807?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Q2

Antonelli was fastest after a 1:12.778 on his first Q2 effort, but Russell continued to struggle and was nearly a second off his teammate’s pace. Antonelli improved on that time, with Leclerc less than a hundredth behind, as the two embarked on their final Q2 efforts.

Antonelli didn’t improve, which opened the door for Verstappen to snatch the lead with a 1.12.299

McLarens teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished fifth and seventh, respectively, lacking the speed to challenge for the pole.

Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly secure the final two positions to reach Q3.

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Advancing
11.	23	Alex Albon	Williams	+1.288s
12.	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.316s
13.	30	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.403s
14.	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.496s
15.	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.749s

Q1

Leclerc looked sharp and went 1:13.399 on his second attempt, and improved to 1:13.293 on his third. It was a mark that set the bar and held up as the top time of Q1. The session was red flagged with two minutes left when Gabriel Bortoleto clipped the barrier at Nouvelle Chicane and wrecked his front suspension.

While safely into Q2, Russell struggled to find speed and didn’t even break 1:14, finishing eighth in the session.

Verstappen’s layed down a 1:13.490 midway through Q1 to finish second.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Stand back for this slide from Russell! 😱😱<a href="https://x.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/MonacoGP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MonacoGP</a> <a href="https://t.co/0zSYIJnzzD">pic.twitter.com/0zSYIJnzzD</a></p>&mdash; Formula 1 (@F1) <a href="https://x.com/F1/status/2063271202664165624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hamilton couldn’t match Leclerc’s pace and finished fifth in Q1, almost half a second behind Leclerc.

Pos.	Driver No.	Driver	Team	Time from Advancing
18.	11	Sergia Perez	Cadillac	+1.454s
19.	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+1.521s
20.	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+1.990s
21.	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.056s
22.	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.768s