Saturday in Monaco remains one of the most spectacular days of the Formula 1 season and, this time, it was Andrea Kimi Antonelli who stole the spotlight. The Mercedes driver delivered a stunning final lap to put his W17 on pole position, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen after one of the most thrilling qualifying sessions of the year. Verstappen had to settle for second place, just 43 thousandths of a second behind, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed the second row in third and fourth respectively.
There is a reason why Monaco qualifying is considered the finest qualifying session of the season. Once again, the streets of Monte Carlo produced a dramatic battle that remained undecided until the final moments. In the end, Andrea Kimi Antonelli emerged on top with a pole lap worthy of the occasion, adding another milestone to what is rapidly becoming an extraordinary Formula 1 journey.
On his final attempt, the Italian put together an exceptional lap. Despite not setting the fastest sector time in any individual section of the circuit, he achieved what matters most around Monaco: assembling the perfect lap when it counted. It was a magnificent duel with Max Verstappen, who had already looked competitive throughout Friday and once again demonstrated his class on Saturday. The Dutchman came agonizingly close to what would have been a historic pole position, missing out by only 43 thousandths.
Ferrari, meanwhile, found itself slightly further back than expected. Lewis Hamilton finished third, a little more than two tenths away from Antonelli’s pole time. For Charles Leclerc, who qualified fourth, Q3 proved far less satisfying. After making a mistake on his first attempt, the Monegasque driver later brushed the barriers during what was supposed to be his final assault on pole position. In reality, even before that contact, his second-sector time had not been particularly competitive.
Fifth place went to an impressive Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull, confirming the effectiveness of the RB22 on a circuit where there had been concerns before the weekend because of Monaco’s numerous bumps and uneven surfaces. The French driver finished ahead of another major disappointment of the day, George Russell, who could manage only sixth place and ended the session almost four tenths behind his teammate. Antonelli now appears to have taken another significant step forward in his development.
Seventh and eighth positions went to the two McLarens. Lando Norris made a mistake on his final flying lap and was unable to complete the attempt, ending any hopes of climbing further up the order. Completing the top ten were Pierre Gasly for Alpine and Liam Lawson for Racing Bulls.
The battle in Q2 had also been extremely close. Alex Albon finished eleventh and was the first driver eliminated, missing out on Q3 by just 25 thousandths of a second to an Alpine team that had rediscovered some competitiveness after a relatively underwhelming Friday. On a circuit where car weight plays a smaller role than usual, Williams came very close to reaching the final phase of qualifying, exactly as the team had predicted before the weekend.
Carlos Sainz also narrowly missed out, ending the session in twelfth place and just 53 thousandths away from progressing into Q3. A tiny margin, but one that could make the task of scoring points on Sunday significantly more difficult.
One of the surprises of Q2 was the elimination of Nico Hulkenberg. Both on Friday and during Saturday morning’s running, Audi had shown encouraging signs of competitiveness around the streets of Monaco. In addition, the team’s strong energy deployment package was expected to help mask some of the engine weaknesses that had been exposed at other circuits throughout the season.
Also eliminated in Q2 was the second Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto. However, the Brazilian had already compromised his session at the end of Q1 after hitting the barrier at the chicane immediately following the tunnel exit, damaging the front-left suspension. Franco Colapinto also failed to progress with the second Alpine, ending a run of two consecutive Q3 appearances that had started in Miami. Arvid Lindblad was another casualty, experiencing his first Formula 1 qualifying session around Monaco.
Q1 produced several surprises as well. Both Haas drivers were eliminated immediately, despite the American team showing encouraging pace on Friday, particularly through Oliver Bearman, who had been running close to the top ten. Haas arrived in Monaco hoping to return to the points battle, but it was unable to find the extra performance required when it mattered most. A yellow flag also compromised Bearman’s lap at a crucial moment.
Esteban Ocon could do no better than seventeenth place, while Oliver Bearman finished nineteenth, far below the team’s expectations heading into the weekend. Alongside the two Haas drivers, both Cadillacs were also eliminated, although the American team appeared more competitive than usual and came much closer to reaching Q2.
Sergio Perez, in particular, missed out by only 62 thousandths of a second, finishing just short of the sixteenth position that would have secured progression to the next phase.
On a circuit with very few high-speed sections, where the MAC-26 suffers less from its aerodynamic shortcomings, Cadillac managed to close the gap to its rivals as the team had hoped before the weekend, even though a place in Q2 ultimately remained out of reach.
Bringing up the rear of the grid were the two Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. The team had anticipated a difficult Monaco weekend not only because of the drivability issues associated with the Honda power unit, but also due to gearbox synchronization problems that continue to make braking and corner entry particularly challenging for the drivers.
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