15:39
Verstappen goes P2, and this is edge-of-the-seat stuff now.
Hamilton in Monaco
© XPB Images
LIVE
F1 Monaco LIVE: Q2 begins after Bortoleto crashes in crucial qualifying
Live coverage of Saturday at the F1 Monaco Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Antonelli disrupted Ferrari's dominance in FP3
- Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur will miss Saturday through illness
- Bearman crashed in FP3, causing significant damage
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 lived up to expectations that it would be strong in Monaco, with Lewis Hamilton leading a 1-2 in second practice, reversing the order from the earlier FP1 session led by Charles Leclerc.
But the Scuderia will be without team principal Fred Vasseur on Saturday, after he was admitted to a local medical facility with an unspecified illness.
Max Verstappen has led the Red Bull charge and appears the best-placed driver to challenge Ferrari this weekend, with Mercedes some way off the pace behind the top three in the early exchanges.
McLaren has been unable to take advantage of the unique nature of Monaco, with an electrical problem for Lando Norris compounding the team's problems.
Audi has been the surprise package so far, placing both cars in the top 10 in each of the Friday practice sessions. If this can be replicated in qualifying, the team will certainly be in contention for a season-defining points haul.
2026 Monaco Grand Prix Saturday schedule
FP3 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST
Qualifying: 3:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
06 Jun 2026
15:39
Hello McLaren! Piastri narrowly misses out on besting the Ferrari pair, as Norris then does go fastest of all.
But now Antonelli arrives! 1m12.778s! Could we have a six-way battle for pole with Verstappen in the mix too? Only Russell and Hadjar, of the top teams, appear out of contention.
15:37
Leclerc brushes the barriers and goes sub-73-seconds, with a 1m12.928s. If we're looking for improvement, that's a whole second better than his Q1 time! Hamilton goes second, just 0.009s back.
15:36
A 1m13.205s for Verstappen. That's over two tenths up on his Q1 effort.
15:35
Verstappen is taking it easy on this lap, but now he's winding up for a push effort.
15:33
Q2 begins
Q2 is underway, and Verstappen narrowly avoids a collision with Sainz, after the Williams mechanic told him to exit the garage. An unsafe release has been noted.
15:32
As we near Q2, the queue has already formed. Traffic should be less intense in this session, but it will still be a problem.
15:25
Sainz nails it and goes tenth fastest. What a lap. Ocon is down into the bottom six and is out!
15:25
Bearman and Bottas improve but neither by enough to get through.
15:25
Perez pits and is out.
15:24
Early indicators are that these times are not going to change things. Perez is some way off, and Colapinto has not made the line before the flag dropped.
15:24
The top six have remained in the garage, as have Russell in P8, and Lawson in P12.
15:22
Green Flag
The session resumes, and time is tight.
15:19
In the bottom six currently are Perez, Bearman, Sainz, Bottas, Alonso, and Stroll.
The chances of making it out and improving times in the remaining time are unlikely.
But the session will resume at 16:22 local time, so there's not long to wait to find out.
15:17
Red Flag
Disaster for Audi and Bortoleto. Inside the top 10 all weekend, the Brazilian clipped the barrier on the entry to the Neuvelle Chicane, damaged his suspension, and ended up nose-first in the barrier. Session over for the Audi man.
15:16
Antonelli has been shown the black and white warning flag for failing to follow race director's instructions. That's a final warning, so he won't be able to make that mistake again.
15:14
This is game on at the front, as Antonelli goes second, then Verstappen goes second, then Russell goes...seventh. That somewhat spoiled the pattern. Russell is a second off the pace.
15:13
21 drivers on the track as Hadjar pits for fresh rubber.
15:13
Colapinto is improving his time, and climbs from 18th to 14th. He's half-a-second clear of the drop, but that barrier will drop significantly in the five remaining minutes.
15:12
Russell improves out of the bottom six, but goes only sixth. A moment at Mirabeau cost buckets of time.
15:11
Antonelli goes third, and Verstappen goes fourth, but Hamilton then pushes the pair down a place as he banks a 1m13.804s to go third.
15:10
Piastri has found pace not seen so far this weekend from the Australian, and he's currently third fastest. But Antonelli is on a hot lap.
15:09
Now the times are really falling. Norris goes fastest with a 1m13.796s, but Leclerc instantly goes 0.397s faster than the McLaren driver.
15:08
Verstappen is flying on his first hot lap in qualifying, but he's caught out by traffic - Albon the worst offender - and he goes only fifth fastest.
15:06
A 1m14.141s for Leclerc, as Norris, Antonelli, and Hamilton follow. Times are around a second off FP3, but the fuel levels are likely much higher at this early stage of the session.