Formula 1 in Monaco
Madness in the Principality: Antonelli races to the next pole
Updated June 6, 2026 – 5:20 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
During qualifying on the traditional track, a real thriller unfolds in the third section. Things get wild in the end.
What a qualifying in Monaco: World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Grand Prix in the Principality at the very last second.
In a wild sequence, local hero Charles Leclerc raced to first place, was then pushed aside by Max Verstappen, before the Italian Mercedes driver went one better and grabbed his next pole of the current season. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton also moved up to third place ahead of the Monegasques.
“That was a magical lap, I brought everything together. It was so close with Max. I’m super happy, we’ve improved massively,” said Antonelli: “This is the most intense qualifying of the year here. You always have to be at the limit, the wall is getting closer and closer, it’s not easy.”
Fourth pole of the season for Antonelli
Overall, qualifying was a bit disappointing for the Scuderia. Ferrari had dominated, especially on Friday, but the competition was still overtaking. For the race on Sunday (from 3 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) the starting position is extremely important, as overtaking in Monaco is extremely complicated. For Antonelli it is the fourth pole position of the year.
It was initially unclear whether Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur would be back on track. The Frenchman was missing on Saturday because he was in hospital for medical reasons. He will continue to be monitored there, Ferrari said in the morning, but did not provide any further information on Vasseur’s condition.
Nico Hülkenberg had to be content with 13th place on the grid in the Audi. The Emmericher had calculated that he would have a better starting position after very good training performances.