MONTE CARLO — Kimi Antonelli clinched pole for the Monaco Grand Prix in a thrilling conclusion to qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
The Mercedes driver stormed to the top of the timesheets ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
After Antonelli set the pace during the initial runs of Q3, the likes of Charles Leclerc and Verstappen subsequently toppled him as the session headed towards its close – but the Italian displaced Verstappen in P1 on a lap of 1 minute and 12.051 seconds, marking his maiden Monte Carlo pole.
“It was one of those laps we call the magic lap – I was able to put [it] all together,” said Antonelli. “It was such a close Qualifying with Max. I think in the first run of Q3 there was just one millisecond between us, but I knew the last lap was good, and was just hoping that it would be enough. It was very close and I’m very happy with that.
“Massive thanks to the team, because yesterday we struggled a little bit, and today we were able to improve massively.”
Verstappen had to settle for second place in the Red Bull, his effort being only 0.043 seconds adrift of Antonelli’s, while Hamilton was just over two tenths away for Ferrari in third.
It was an eventful Q3 for home favorite Leclerc, who aborted more than one run before briefly going fastest – and while he tried to retake P1 in the final moments, the Monegasque hit the wall and was left in fourth.
Isack Hadjar enjoyed a solid showing for Red Bull in fifth, with George Russell sitting sixthin what appeared to be a tricky session for the Mercedes man.
The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were seventh and eighth, respectively.
