Antonelli snatches Monaco pole by 0.043s as Leclerc crashes in qualifying

Kimi Antonelli delivered a composed masterclass under pressure to take pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, edging Max Verstappen by just 0.043 seconds with a 1m12.051s lap at Circuit de Monaco. Charles Leclerc, racing in front of his home crowd, crashed into the barriers in the final sector at the end of his last flying lap and will start fourth.

The result is a fourth pole in five races for the 19-year-old Mercedes driver, who leads the Formula 1 world championship and now heads the Monaco grid ahead of Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on the second row.

The session unfolded in dramatic fashion. Antonelli set a provisional pole of 1m12.375s on his first Q3 run, sitting just 0.001s ahead of Verstappen at that stage. Leclerc, meanwhile, was in trouble early — he aborted his opening lap after nearly clipping the barriers at Massenet, backed off a second attempt, and only managed to beat Antonelli’s initial benchmark by 0.024s on a third push lap.

With a minute remaining, Verstappen struck first with a 1m12.094s to go provisional pole, before Hamilton slotted into second, 0.185s slower. Antonelli then produced the decisive lap — a 1m12.051s — to leapfrog both and secure pole. Leclerc’s session ended in the barriers moments later, leaving him fourth.

Fifth went to Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar with a 1m12.434s, while George Russell had another difficult Saturday in sixth, 0.394s off the pace. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris qualified seventh and eighth respectively, with Pierre Gasly ninth and Liam Lawson rounding out the top ten.

The battle to reach Q3 was razor-thin: just two thousandths of a second separated Gasly in 10th from Alex Albon in 11th. Albon will share the sixth row with Williams team-mate Carlos Sainz — only the second time this season the Grove outfit has placed both cars into Q2, the first being Miami.

Nico Hulkenberg qualified 13th for Audi, with Franco Colapinto set to join him on the seventh row. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad took 15th.

Gabriel Bortoleto’s Q1 ended in a red flag after the Audi driver clipped the inside barrier at Nouvelle Chicane with around two minutes remaining. Despite a strong weekend to that point, he was unable to set a lap in Q2 and will start 16th.

Ferrari had dominated Friday practice with a 1-2 in both sessions, but Saturday’s reversal underlines how quickly the competitive order can shift on the streets of Monaco — and how significant Antonelli’s pole could prove on a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.