Kimi Antonelli secured a very high-level pole position in the streets of Monaco. The Italian edged out Max Verstappen by just 43 thousandths after a thrilling battle until the final seconds of qualifying.
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Kimi Antonelli did not hide his satisfaction after securing pole position for the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver achieved what he himself described as a “magical lap” to beat Max Verstappen at the end of a particularly hard-fought qualifying session.
While Monaco often punishes the slightest error and leaves virtually no margin for drivers, Antonelli managed to find the last hundredths needed to claim the top spot on the grid. A performance that could prove very significant for Sunday’s race.
A knife-edge battle with Verstappen
The qualifying session offered a spectacular duel between the championship leader and the four-time world champion. From the very first attempts in Q3, the two men engaged in an extremely tight battle.
At the end of their first flying lap, Antonelli held only a tiny advantage over Verstappen: just one thousandth of a second. A virtually invisible gap that already foreshadowed an explosive conclusion.
Aware that the Dutchman would further improve his time on his final attempt, the Mercedes driver knew he had to deliver a perfect lap to maintain his pole chances. That’s precisely what he managed to do in the dying moments of the session.
With a time of 1’12″051, Antonelli regained the advantage and pushed Verstappen back by 43 thousandths, a tiny but sufficient margin to secure his fourth pole position of the season.
“One of those laps you call magical”
After jumping out of his car, the Italian immediately acknowledged the exceptional nature of his performance.
“Yes, it was one of those laps you call a magical lap. I managed to put everything together and it was such a tight qualifying session with Max.”
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Antonelli reflected on the intensity of the duel experienced throughout Q3.
“On the first run in Q3, there was only a thousandth between us. But I knew my last lap was good and I just hoped it would be enough. It was really very tight and I’m very happy with the result.”
At just 19 years old, the Mercedes driver continues to impress with his maturity and his ability to deliver in the most crucial moments.
Mercedes found the solutions
This pole is all the more remarkable given that Mercedes had a relatively complicated Friday on the Monaco circuit. The German team then seemed slightly behind Ferrari and Red Bull.
Antonelli was keen to highlight the work done by his team between free practice and qualifying.
“A huge thank you to the team, because yesterday we struggled a bit. Today, we managed to make huge progress.”
Thanks to this spectacular evolution, Mercedes secures an ideal position before the race. On a circuit where overtaking is often an exploit, starting from pole is a considerable advantage.
It now remains to transform this Saturday performance into a Sunday victory. But one thing is already certain: Antonelli has delivered one of the most impressive laps of his young career and is asserting himself more than ever as a credible candidate for the world title in 2026.
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