MONACO — Kimi Antonelli mastered one of Formula 1’s most intense challenges to take pole position for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix and bolster his credentials as the favorite to win this season’s championship for the international open-wheel racing series.
Maximizing pace on the narrow streets without clipping the ever-present barriers during Saturday’s qualifying means the 19-year-old Italian goes into the storied race with a chance to extend winning streaks for himself and Mercedes and stretch his already impressive 43-point lead in the F1 standings.
Antonelli saved his best for last to beat four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull by just 0.043 of a second and extend Mercedes’ streak of qualifying in pole position for every grand prix this season. Seven-time F1 champ Lewis Hamilton was third for Ferrari.
“It was one of those laps that we call a magic lap. I was able to put it all together,” Antonelli said.
Antonelli’s teammate and title rival, George Russell, was only sixth and told broadcaster Sky Sports he was “bamboozled” why the Mercedes car suited Antonelli’s style better than his.
Qualifying is typically more important in Monaco than any other track in F1 because it is almost impossible to pass on the narrow, twisty street circuit.
“I just need to get a clean start, don’t try to do the magic start,” Antonelli said.
Verstappen said he was surprised to be starting second, while Hamilton suggested his chances of winning might rest on the remote chance of rain.
Antonelli is going for his fifth GP win in a row, a feat only Verstappen and Hamilton have achieved among active F1 drivers. Mercedes is aiming to continue its run of winning every GP so far this season, though Lando Norris won one sprint race in Miami for McLaren.
Russell, who’s second in the standings, won the season-opening Australian GP in Melbourne before Antonelli’s streak began. They’re coming off a tense wheel-to-wheel battle in the most recent F1 race, the Canadian GP two weeks ago in Montreal, although their dueal ended abruptly with an engine failure for Russell.
If the Italian phenom can keep it up, he’d be the youngest season champion in F1 history — a year after a winless rookie season.
Antonelli praised Mercedes for improving the car’s setup after Ferrari led both Friday practice sessions.
“The team did a incredibly big turnaround compared to yesterday in terms of setup,” he said. “Yesterday, I’m not going to lie, we were struggling.”
Ferrari’s pace in Friday practice raised hopes of a first win since October 2024 for the Italian team, but it ended up with neither car on the front row of the grid as Hamilton said he didn’t understand why the car felt “drastically different.”
Ferrari was without team principal Fred Vasseur, who missed qualifying for medical reasons.
“It’s very, very difficult” to challenge Antonelli and Verstappen, Hamilton said. “I don’t think there’s overtaking. I hope that we can get a really good start and maybe apply some pressure to the two and need rain, probably.”
Charles Leclerc starts his home race fourth and gave Ferrari work to do before the race to fix damage after he clipped a barrier on his final attempt.
McLaren is off the pace of the top three teams with Oscar Piastri seventh and reigning F1 champion Lando Norris eighth.