Antonelli pips Verstappen to seal Monaco Grand Prix pole
6th June 2026Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli put in a storming lap to seal his fifth pole position of the Formula 1 season ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the front row.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
After losing his streak of pole positions in Canada, last time out, Antonelli returned to the top spot of the grid as the Italian superstar beat Verstappen to claim his first pole position around the streets of Monaco.
It looked to be a weekend where Ferrari could make a mark in the 2026 statistics with their first pole position, but Mercedes pulled out some increased pace on Saturday, as Antonelli ensured his presence was still heard, going fastest in FP3.
This followed the Italian into qualifying as he traded fastest times across the session. When it mattered, Antonelli pushed his car to the limit to seal pole position from Verstappen by 0.043 seconds, demoting Verstappen to second place.
Lewis Hamilton, who had previously clocked the fastest time in FP2 on Friday, could only best third place on Sunday’s grid. Speaking after qualifying, the seven-time world champion claimed that Ferrari had ‘lost something’ going into Saturday, and the Italian squad need to figure out what was missing.
On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Qualifying could only compound the struggles that Russell has endured all weekend. Despite a showing of pace at the end of FP3, finishing fourth overall, Russell could only best sixth place for the Monaco race in a weekend where his teammate stands 43 points ahead of him in the drivers’ championship.
Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto brought out the first – and only – red flag of the qualifying session, in Q1. The Brazilian driver clipped the barrier on the apex of turn 10, at the Nouvelle chicane, and nose-dived into the barrier. Thankfully, Bortoleto was okay, and even though his time was good enough to make it into Q2, the Audi driver could not continue with qualifying.
So, who qualified where for the Monaco Grand Prix?
The Monaco Grand Prix Provisional Grid
22 – Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +2.768s
21 – Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +2.056s
20 – Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +1.990s
19 – Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.521s
18 – Sergio Perez, Cadillac +1.454s
17 – Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.429s
16 – Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi (No time set in Q2)
15 – Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +1.749s
14 – Franco Colapinto, Alpine +1.496s
13 – Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +1.403s
12 – Carlos Sainz, Williams +1.316s
11 – Alexander Albon, Williams +1.288s
10 – Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +1.361s
9 – Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1.175s
8 – Lando Norris, McLaren +0.714s
7 – Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.573s
6 – George Russell, Mercedes +0.394s
5 – Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +0.383s
4 – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.3s
3 – Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +0.228s
2 – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +0.043s
1 – Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes – 1m 12.051s
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur to miss Saturday running after medical checks
- McLaren fined for technical breach at Monaco GP
- Hamilton tops second practice at Monaco Grand Prix
- Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 at Monaco Grand Prix practice
- Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc summoned to stewards ahead of Monaco GP
- Why the Monaco Grand Prix Two-Stop mandate failed
- Charles Leclerc extends contract with Ferrari ahead of Monaco GP
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
