14:59
"Norris is backing me up," reports Russell. Well, yes. Very observant there, George.
Start of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix
F1 Monaco LIVE: Antonelli wins chaotic GP, Hamilton second
Live coverage of Sunday at the F1 Monaco Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Antonelli took pole by 0.043s from Verstappen
- Verstappen stalls and retires on lap one
- Leclerc crashes as track breaks up
The sixth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Monaco Grand Prix.
A divisive event among the F1 fanbase, Monaco is still viewed as the jewel in the championship's crown, with the narrow, twisting streets offering a challenge seen nowhere else on the calendar. With no time to rest on the 19-turn, 3.337km layout, even the smallest of mistakes can carry a huge penalty.
Ferrari had been the team to beat across Friday, but Saturday saw Red Bull and Mercedes close the margin, with McLaren briefly providing a threat at the top of the time sheets.
Kimi Antonelli won out by 0.043s in a dramatic qualifying session that saw pole change hands at a startling rate. Max Verstappen completes the front row, with Lewis Hamilton heading the second row.
George Russell faces the prospect of losing significant ground in the championship battle, after struggling with his Mercedes and being unable to match team-mate Antonelli.
With Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon just outside the top 10, Williams will look to engineer their way into the points with an alternate pit strategy, possibly gambling on an inevitable safety car intervention.
2026 Monaco Grand Prix Saturday schedule
Grand Prix: 2:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
07 Jun 2026
14:58
McLaren is playing the team game here, copying Williams from last year. With no hope of passing Gasly, Norris is now backing up Russell in order to create a gap for Piastri to pit and drop into. It's all part of the game in Monaco.
14:57
Colapinto penalty
Colapinto becomes the latest driver to be caught speeding in the pit lane. That's another five seconds.
14:55
Norris is continuing at pace, but McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirms there is a 'PU related problem'. This has not been the 1000th grand prix celebration the team had hoped for.
14:52
Antonelli pits
Antonelli pits, and he's back out over 13s clear of Hamilton at the front. A comfortable Sunday drive for the Italian so far.
14:51
Russell penalty
After escaping a penalty for being out of position on the grid, Russell is slapped with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
14:50
Leclerc returns to the track over 10s behind Hamilton. Even with the seven-time champion's penalty, he will be behind.
14:48
Norris cuts the Neuvelle Chicane, and this does not look good.
Leclerc pits on lap 36. He had a 12.1s margin over Hamilton, who had already stopped.
14:47
McLaren inform Norris that they can see the issue, and he now complains of no battery, and no power. From P6, this could be the fourth retirement of the day.
14:46
Hadjar pits, and falls behind Russell. Mercedes has achieved its goal with that one.
14:46
Hamilton pit lane speeding
Strife for Hamilton, who lands a five-second penalty for pit lane speeding.
14:45
Russell pits
Mercedes has pulled the trigger. Russell stops to get out of the wheeltracks of Hadjar's Red Bull. Mediums off, hards on, and he will almost certainly leap into P4, ahead of Hadjar.
14:44
"I got a lot of misfiring this lap, or just noise," reports Norris. After recent problems with the Mercedes PU, that is a concern.
14:42
Bearman OUT
"Box to retire the car," Bearman is instructed. The Haas driver is the third retirement of the race after Bottas and Verstappen.
14:41
Antonelli is in traffic, hence why Ferrari boxed Hamilton, but Mercedes will almost certainly respond by pitting the championship leader out of the traffic.
Or so you would think, but he continues on.
14:40
Hamilton pits
In comes Hamilton at the end of lap 28. Mediums off, hards on, and that was a very tidy stop. He comes out in clean air, only losing a place to team-mate Leclerc.
14:39
Hadjar cuts across the Neuvelle Chicane, and you can be sure that Russell will be on the radio claiming the Red Bull driver kept a lasting advantage. There's the message.
14:37
Hadjar's lack of pace is seeing him drop two seconds per lap to Antonelli. He and Russell are almost two stops behind the championship leader.
Should the safety car come out, he could now also pit without losing the lead to Hamilton.
14:34
Having looked after and cooled his tyres and brakes, Antonelli has entered another postcode compared to the rest. His lead is now 8.2s, and he comfortably has a pit-stop margin over Hadjar in P4.
14:33
Hadjar pain
"Currently, there is no fix," Hadjar is told. The Red Bull driver will need to battle around the problem himself.
14:30
"Something is going to explode. The engine is not healthy right now," comments Hadjar. He has been known to overstate things in the heat of battle before. But his struggles are evident right now.
14:29
"Power is down." Hadjar is massively flustered in his Red Bull right now. He's demanding that the team 'looks faster' into the issue.
14:28
Russell gamble?
Mercedes has asked Russell what pace he could manage in clear air. He reports back that he could go a second-per-lap faster, and he's all over the back of Hadjar now, who is complaining of an engine braking issue, with first gear now "unusable".
14:26
Bottas OUT
After being told to cool the car, Bottas retires. It has not been a good weekend for the Finn.
14:25
Hadjar's medium tyres look horrible, at least on the front of the car. He reports that he is sliding on all four corners.