The 19-year-old Mercedes driver, Kimi Antonelli stormed to pole position at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session, Yankee Scores reports.
He produced what he himself called a “magic lap” to edge Max Verstappen by just 0.043 seconds in one of the most dramatic qualifying sessions we’ve all seen in years
Antonelli had been just 0.001 seconds ahead of Verstappen after the first runs of Q3, but the Red Bull driver moved back ahead with his second attempt, only for Antonelli to snatch pole back in a dramatic finale.
KIMI ANTONELLI IS ON POLE IN MONACO! 👏
RIGHT AT THE END FROM KIMI! 😮💨#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/PvVGM5oB2S
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 6, 2026
The Italian crossed the line with a time of 1m 12.051s, to land him his fourth pole of the 2026 season and arguably his most important onen yet.
In Monaco, qualifying is everything, most people say the qualifying round is the race itself. There is barely any overtaking in Monaco Grand Prix due to how narrow the circuit is. Where you start is most likely where you finish
Per ESPN, Antonelli has now won the last four consecutive races, and starting from the front here gives him a very real shot at a fifth straight victory.
Lewis Hamilton will line up third for Ferrari, while Charles Leclerc the hometown hero had an underwhelming qualifying session.
Leclerc was briefly on top in Q3 but ended the session in the wall, causing damage to the rear of his Ferrari. He will start fourth in Sunday’s race.
After Friday’s dominant practice showing, this was supposed to be Ferrari’s weekend until the Championship leader, Kimi Antonelli and Four time World Champion, Max Verstappen entered the equation.
Further back, Isack Hadjar completed the top five for Red Bull, with George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris rounding out the top eight.
The race goes off on Sunday. If history is anything to go by, Antonelli simply needs to keep it clean off the line and the win is his. But Monaco can sometimes be tricky.
