F1 2026: Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying Recap

Kimi Antonelli takes pole in thrilling Monaco qualifying

On a weekend where all the talk was about Ferrari and the home hero Charles Leclerc, current championship leader Kimi Antonelli stole pole position in the Principality following an enthralling qualifying session. Ferrari were the team to beat and along with Ferrari, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was in the mix for pole as it looked like the four-time world champion had pole in the bag but Antonelli stole pole at the very end with an incredibly spectacular final lap. 

If you missed the action, here’s a quick recap of the Monaco Grand Prix 2026 qualifying session. 

Q1 – Late crash costs Haas while Ferrari dominates

It was home boy Charles Leclerc’s 1:14.141s that set the quickest time early on with Lando Norris going 0.154s and Lewis Hamilton being 0.201s behind his teammate, after the opening runs of all the drivers. Norris did momentarily manage to dislodge Leclerc from the top but Leclerc continued to show why the Ferrari was so strong, as he broke into the 1:13s with a 1:13.399s. While the Ferraris, McLarens and even Red Bull were fighting for that top spot, Mercedes’ George Russell was struggling and was only P10, being almost 1.5s slower than Leclerc after the opening couple of runs. 

The session saw a Red Flag with two and a half minutes to go as Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto hit the barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane and stopped on the track. When the Red Flag came out, the bottom six consisted of both Aston Martins, both Cadillacs, Carlos Sainz’s Williams and the Haas of Ollie Bearman. The session resumed after three minutes and as the clock ticked down, those who failed to make it out of the drop zone were Esteban Ocon, Sergio Pérez, Ollie Bearman, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Even though he crashed, Bortoleto’s earlier times were enough to see him through, although his crash did go on to affect the Haas of Ollie Bearman most, who had a flying lap compromised due to the initial Yellow Flag after the crash.

Drivers eliminated in Q1:

Esteban Ocon (Haas)
Sergio Pérez (Cadillac)
Ollie Bearman (Haas) 
Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) 
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

Q2 – Verstappen brings Red Bull to the party as Antonelli and the McLarens show pace as well

Max Verstappen was the first front runner to put up a time in Q2 with the Dutchman going P1 with a 1:13.205s before Leclerc went quicker with a 1:12.928s with Hamilton 0.163s behind his teammate. The times kept falling as Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli both swapped places at the top of the timesheets with Antonelli going quickest with a 1:12.704s as the Mercedes and McLarens joined the fight at the top. 

Verstappen went fastest in the session with his final run, putting up a stunning 1:12.499s while the elimination zone saw both the Williams, both the Audis, the Alpine of Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad miss out on making Q3.

Drivers eliminated in Q2:

Alex Albon (Williams Racing)
Carlos Sainz (Williams Racing)
Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

Q3 – Kimi Antonelli steals pole at the very last second as Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen miss out

Lewis Hamilton was the quickest early on with a 1:12.553s before Antonelli dislodged him with a 1:12.375s while Verstappen went 0.001s slower than the Mercedes man. Charles Leclerc meanwhile had a big moment at Massenet which saw him end up aborting the lap and also gave him only one shot at pole. Leclerc’s first time saw him take provisional pole with an incredible 1:12.351s lap. 

While the McLarens struggled to go quicker, it was Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton flying across the streets of Monaco with Verstappen stealing pole position with a 1:12.094s while Hamilton slotted in at second place with a 1:12.185s. With Leclerc hitting the wall in the final seconds of the session it was Kimi Antonelli out of nowhere pipping Verstappen with a sublime 1:12.051s to steal pole position. Antonelli also became the first Italian driver in over 22 years to take pole position in Monaco, since Jarno Trulli’s pole in 2004 for Renault.

Starting grid for the Monaco Grand Prix 2026 (before penalties applied)

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
3. Lewis Hamiliton (Ferrari)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull Racing)
6. George Russell (Mercedes)
7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
8. Lando Norris (McLaren)
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10. Liam Lawson (Alpine)
11. Alex Albon (Williams Racing)
12. Carlos Sainz (Williams Racing)
13. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
15. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
18. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac)
19. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
21. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)