Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli snatched pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix with an exceptional lap around the streets of Monte Carlo. In a gripping qualifying, the 19-year-old Italian was flawless in edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were third and fourth and Isack Hadjar fifth for Red Bull. Antonelli’s title rival and teammate George Russell could manage only sixth, leaving him with a tough task on Sunday. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were seventh and eighth for McLaren.
Always the key part of the weekend in Monaco, qualifying was suitably intense, more competitive than expected as the margins at the sharp end were tiny. Verstappen was beaten by only 0.043sec having been one thousandth behind Antonelli on their first quick runs.
The day belonged to the world championship leader, however. The teenager, who is 43 points clear of Russell after four successive victories, showed a confidence and touch on the toughest single lap test of the year, fearless in only his second meeting in Monaco. That he claimed pole with such verve, and to see off the far more experienced Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc, was breathtaking.
Antonelli delivered his fourth pole from six races this season, again underlining his status as favourite for the title. If he converts it to a fifth victory on Sunday, he will have added the crown of a Monaco triumph in only his second year in F1.
It ensures Mercedes remain unbeaten this season in qualifying. They had been off the pace, unable to match the Ferrari, which is well-suited to the twisting, slow speed corners that define the circuit. However, in final practice they found a step forward and Antonelli topped the timesheets.
With Russell suffering a mechanical failure in Canada, Antonelli enjoys a comfortable lead over his teammate and has every chance to extend that gap if he can hold his lead into turn one on Sunday.
For the final runs in Q3 it was Piastri who put together a striking opening as he threw his car at the lap, including a brush with the barriers, only to be slightly bettered by his teammate Norris. Hamilton, however, had more, as did Antonelli, quickest with a 1min 12.375sec lap. Verstappen followed him and crossed the line with barely a breath between them across the two-mile circuit.
Leclerc, who had aborted his first hot run, went out early for the final laps and took provisional pole and a roar from his home crowd with a lap of 1min 12.351sec. The track was still rubbering in, however, and Verstappen opened with a quick first sector and managed to pip the Ferrari. Hamilton pushed him hard but could not quite match the Dutch driver.
Yet it was not over as Antonelli, in the last seconds, pulled together a stunning run to take pole with a 1min 12.051sec.
Leclerc, however, was left with potential damage as he clipped the wall on his final attempt at another hot lap. Pierre Gasly was ninth for Alpine and Liam Lawson 10th for Racing Bulls.
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