‘Something special’ - Max Verstappen hails Kimi Antonelli’s F1 rise after stunning Monaco GP pole

Max Verstappen sang the praises of Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli after the Mercedes driver snatched a dramatic pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Many drivers have caused a stir when climbing the junior ranks, but it is rare that this momentum continues when reaching the top tier.

Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen are two examples where the hype was more than matched upon arrival, but Antonelli is following in their illustrious footsteps with his domination of the 2026 season.

This momentum was clear when, after a difficult Friday in Monaco, Antonelli bounced back to snatch a dramatic pole position in the Principality, besting Verstappen by 0.043s, and leaving his Mercedes team-mate and chief title rival, George Russell, languishing in sixth place.

Asked if converting pole to victory at Monaco would mark Antonelli as a “real future champion”, Verstappen said: “Yeah, for sure.

“I think you see a few guys grow up from younger categories that have something special and when they switch categories, they are immediately quick. I think that was quite clear with Kimi, so that was not a surprise.

“But then, of course, when you get to Formula 1, it’s not only talent. Things have to come together. You need to become a more all-around driver and then, of course, you need to have the package to be able to do it.

“But I think this year he’s showing that once he has a package that can do it, he is delivering as a driver. So that’s great to see and that’s what he has to do.”

With overtaking rare on the Monaco streets, Verstappen joked that Antonelli should wait for a second after the lights go out before hitting the throttle on Sunday, gifting him a chance to switch place.

Despite missing out on pole by such a small margin, the Red Bull driver had no regrets about his lap.

“I never do that, to be honest,” he said. “It’s close.

“Sometimes you are just ahead, sometimes you’re just behind, that’s life. But for me, I was happy with my lap.

“So, when I crossed the line, I was like, "OK, if someone beats that, fair enough. That’s part of it." And we just came up short. But like I explained, we had a very difficult FP3, so to be in that final quali, great effort from the team.”