Kimi Antonelli snatches dramatic F1 Monaco GP pole as Charles Leclerc hits wall

Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli claimed a crucial pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix in a thrilling topsy-turvy qualifying.

Antonelli snatched pole away from Max Verstappen, who looked set to take a surprise pole in his Red Bull, by just 0.043s right at the end of a pulsating Q3.

Lewis Hamilton led Ferrari’s charge but had to settle with third, 0.228s adrift of pole, while team-mate Charles Leclerc hit the wall as he attempted to secure another home pole.

Ferrari had been favourites in Monaco until Mercedes made an impressive step forward on Saturday, with Antonelli unleashing pace that nobody else could match when it mattered most.

Leclerc sat on provisional pole heading into the final runs of Q3 but as he attempted to provide an answer to Antonelli’s electrifying lap, the Monegasque clipped the wall at Tabac and damaged his Ferrari, leaving him fourth.

Monaco is considered the most important qualifying session of the season due to how difficult overtaking is around the tight and twisty Monte Carlo Street Circuit.

For Antonelli, it was the perfect time to seal a first career pole in Monaco, and Mercedes’ first since 2019.

“It was one of those laps that we call a magic lap. I was able to put it all together," Antonelli said. “It was such a close qualifying with Max. The first run of Q3 there was just one millisecond between us.

“But I knew the last lap was good and I 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."

Isack Hadjar took fifth in the second Red Bull ahead of George Russell, who struggled to match the pace of his team-mate and wound up a disappointing sixth.

The Briton is on the back-foot in the title race and finds himself facing the prospect of losing more ground to Antonelli, who leads the championship by 43 points heading into Sunday's race. 

McLaren struggled for pace with Oscar Piastri outpacing team-mate and reigning world champion Lando Norris in sixth, though the Australian was more than half a second behind Antonelli. 

The top 10 were rounded out by Pierre Gasly in the Alpine and Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson. 

The two Williams of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz narrowly missed out on a spot in Q3 as they ended up 11th and 12th.

Nico Hulkenberg was 13th-quickest in his Audi, ahead of Franco Colapinto’s Alpine and F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad, who was 15th in his Racing Bulls.

Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q2 but took no part in the session after he crashed at the Nouvelle Chicane and caused a red flag which disrupted the end of Q1. The Brazilian Audi driver will subsequently line up only 16th on the grid.

It was a disappointing qualifying for Haas as both its drivers suffered elimination in the first part of qualifying, with Esteban Ocon only 17th ahead of Sergio Perez’s Cadillac and Haas team-mate Ollie Bearman, who outpaced the second Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas.

The Aston Martin pair will form the back row of the grid, with Fernando Alonso beating team-mate Lance Stroll to take 21st. Ahead of the weekend, Alonso suggested Aston Martin might not be able to race on Sunday due to a gearbox-related problem.

Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix gets underway at 14:00 UK time.