ANTONELLI TAKES MONACO POLE IN THRILLING QUALIFYING BATTLE
Kimi Antonelli continues to impress in just his sixth Formula 1 race weekend, taking a stunning pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver beat Max Verstappen by only 43 milliseconds in a tightly fought qualifying session on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Ferrari will start from the second row after Lewis Hamilton set the third fastest time and Charles Leclerc qualified fourth. Leclerc’s final Q3 attempt ended in disappointment after he made a mistake and hit the barriers, preventing him from improving his lap.
Qualifying took place in very hot conditions, with track temperatures reaching 43 degrees. The narrow Monaco circuit created heavy traffic throughout all sessions, especially in Q1 where the large 22-car grid made clean laps difficult.
In Q1, Leclerc initially set the fastest lap for Ferrari, ahead of Lando Norris and Hamilton. As more drivers improved, Verstappen and Antonelli also moved to the front. The session was interrupted when Gabriel Bortoleto hit the barriers at the harbour chicane, damaging his suspension and causing a red flag. Although he reached Q2, he could not continue further. Several teams were eliminated early, including Haas, Cadillac and Aston Martin, while Carlos Sainz managed to progress with a strong final effort.
Q2 saw Verstappen show strong pace and return to the top of the timesheets. Antonelli and Leclerc were also competitive, keeping the fight close between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Leclerc asked for adjustments to his front wing to improve his confidence for Q3. George Russell struggled compared to his teammate and finished more than half a second slower than Antonelli, but still made it through. At the end of the session, Williams and several midfield drivers were eliminated.
The final part of qualifying delivered a very close battle for pole position. Antonelli set an early benchmark, with Verstappen responding and coming within one thousandth of a second. Hamilton stayed close in third place, while Leclerc prepared for two final attempts after running a heavier fuel load on his first lap.
In the final runs, Antonelli improved again and delivered a perfect lap to secure pole position with a time of 1:12.051. Verstappen improved as well but missed out by just 43 milliseconds. Hamilton finished third, showing strong pace at the right moment, while Leclerc ended fourth after his crash at the Tabac corner ended his session early.
Hadjar took fifth place for Red Bull, ahead of Russell in sixth. McLaren struggled to match the leaders and finished seventh and eighth, while Gasly and Lawson completed the top ten.
It was a qualifying session decided by very small margins, but once again Antonelli proved to be the standout driver, delivering under pressure in one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar.
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