Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying: Formula 1 Teams & Drivers report from Monte Carlo

Verstappen secured a front-row start for Red Bull, while Ferrari's strong practice pace failed to translate into pole as Lewis Hamilton qualified third. Charles Leclerc, who had looked a leading contender throughout the weekend, made a mistake on his final Q3 run and had to settle for fourth.

George Russell led Mercedes' support charge in fifth, continuing the Silver Arrows' impressive form, while Oscar Piastri put his McLaren sixth. Lando Norris could manage only seventh after struggling to unlock the pace needed to challenge the frontrunners.

Fernando Alonso delivered a strong lap for Aston Martin to take eighth, ahead of Carlos Sainz in the Williams. Pierre Gasly completed the top ten for Alpine.

With Monaco's notoriously limited overtaking opportunities, Antonelli now holds the advantage heading into Sunday's race as he bids for another victory in his breakthrough season.

Here is what teams and drivers had to say after qualifying for the Moanco Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship.

Kimi Antonelli: "Pole position in Monaco is an incredible result. The team did an amazing job to get the car in a good place, particularly with the improvements we made overnight after a difficult Friday. It was such a tight fight out there with so many other cars and drivers that looked capable of taking P1. I am delighted to come away with pole therefore and I'm already looking forward to tomorrow. Qualifying wasn't completely straightforward at the start. The car felt a bit on edge but as the session went on, everything started to come together. We made the right adjustments, and I felt much more comfortable with where the car was by the time we got to Q3. That gave me the confidence to really push when it mattered. That final segment of the session was extremely tense and you never quite know what to expect. Finding those last few tenths is never easy, especially with Max (Verstappen) so close all the way through. It really came down to nailing the lap at the right moment and I'm very pleased we were able to do that. To be on pole here means a lot, but at the same time, it's only the first step. I know who's around me on the grid, and I'm sure they'll be putting on the pressure from the very start. The focus now is on getting a strong launch and managing the race from there. We've shown good pace all weekend, which gives me confidence, but Monaco is always unpredictable. I'll try to stay calm, make the most of the opportunity, and see what we can achieve tomorrow."

George Russell: "This has been a very challenging weekend for me so far and that continued into qualifying. It has been a bit of a weakness of mine recently and unfortunately it didn't click this weekend. There were a few good laps across the hour, and FP3 had been promising, but those moments were too few and far between. You need full confidence in the grip level you are getting, particularly around here, and I didn't quite have that. It's been a frustrating run for me recently and I need to understand why I am struggling to get the tyres working in the way they need to be. Clearly something in my driving style isn't helping deliver what I need to; it worked well last year but these new generations of car may need something slightly different. I don't have a clear answer just yet but will work hard with the team to get on top of it. Looking ahead to tomorrow, it could be a long afternoon starting from P6. That said, it's Monaco and anything can happen so we will stay optimistic and see what we can do."

Toto Wolff: "That was an exciting qualifying session and a fantastic lap by Kimi to take pole position. There were many challengers, including the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, but Kimi found something extra when it mattered and delivered with full commitment. It's been seven years since we've been on pole position here and historically, we've not been very strong in Monaco. That makes today's result even more special. On George's side, he has just not been as comfortable in the car this weekend. He has not felt the grip and therefore not had the confidence to push as much as you need to. That is particularly challenging in Monaco where confidence is one of the most important factors for unlocking lap time. We know the ability he has though and it is only a matter of time before he bounces back. He has a great group of people around him and everyone is fully behind him. We're supporting him every step of the way, and we're confident he'll come back stronger.

Andrew Shovlin: "Well done to Kimi and the team on a well-deserved Monaco pole position. It is by far the hardest session of the year to navigate but he did a great job of building sensibly throughout and then saving the best until last with a brilliant final lap. After our struggles on Friday, we had engineers working overnight on the simulator and they found a useful direction that gave the car a bit more stability and predictability. FP3 started well and George was immediately on the pace. Soon both drivers were setting decent lap times and reporting that the balance had improved. We therefore did very little to the cars going into qualifying. On the early laps, both struggled with the circuit having lost a bit of grip and we had a generally messy balance. As the track improved, so did the car for Kimi and by the latter stages he looked like he was in the mix. Unfortunately for George it was an uphill struggle with the tyres never feeling like they were really biting. We're trying to understand why such similar set-ups yielded such different feeling for the two drivers and will work through that in the days to come. For now, we need to turn our attentions to the race tomorrow. Starting from pole is only the first step to achieving a good result at Monaco. It's always a long and unpredictable race and there are many situations that we need to protect against if we can win tomorrow. Clearly the goal will be to move George up the field and keep Kimi where he is, but in Monaco that's often easier said than done."

Max Verstappen: “I am really happy with my performance, if you had told me yesterday that we would be on the front row, I would have definitely taken it! It was a bit of a surprise as this morning I think we had a few difficulties with the car, so ending up on the front row I think was extremely positive. The cars are a bit more on edge than the last few years. When the power kicks in, as well as drivability and shifts, it’s all a bit different. When you get a clean lap and can go flat out on the limit, it feels great and very rewarding. This is the most important session of the weekend and I am happy to be where we are. I’m very happy with how all the laps went, even though you have to deal with all the traffic and the walls. Tomorrow, it is critical to get the start right, it can get a bit complicated and I have two cars behind me that start quite well, so let’s see. A lot can happen so it’s all to play for.”

Isack Hadjar: “I’m definitely satisfied with that result. After yesterday, there was a lot to do, both with the car and with my confidence, but I just took it step by step with each lap. We struggled a little in Q1 with traffic and the tyres, but made a big step in Q2 and another in Q3. The car was fast around here, and we knew the track was going to suit us, so I just wish I’d had a smoother lead-up to today. I’m still happy with fifth; hopefully the pack will be tight tomorrow and we can make some overtakes with a strong strategy.”

Laurent Mekies, CEO and Team Principal: "This is a great result for the Team and a clear step forward in terms of performance, if you look at where we were two or three races ago. We can be very proud of the job done by everyone back in Milton Keynes and at the race track. Of course, we can never be completely happy, missing Pole by four hundredths, especially in Monaco but it’s a great result for the Team with a few fantastic laps from Max to get us to the front row, and with Isack in P5. So far this weekend, it has been very tight between the four teams at the front and even though we looked strong on Friday, this morning, others were clearly much faster than us. In FP3, we felt we had lost some performance compared to yesterday, but we were able to put the car in a better window in time for Qualifying. Tomorrow, the key will be to get a good start, which we know is proving tricky this year, for some of us out there. Can we win? There is always the belief in the Team that we can."

Lewis Hamilton: "Monaco always delivers one of the standout qualifying sessions of the season, with an incredible crowd and atmosphere and a level of intensity I always enjoy. At the start of the session, I didn’t quite have the same confidence in the car that I felt in free practice, so we will need to look closely at what changed, especially as we didn’t make any significant adjustments. I could feel some differences in balance, but the margins were incredibly tight throughout between Kimi, Max, Charles and myself. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race and to the opportunity to bring home a strong result. The team at the factory is doing a fantastic job, and I’m confident we can continue to fight more consistently at the front in the races ahead."

Charles Leclerc: "It’s been a tough weekend for me, right from the first session. I’ve been struggling to get the right feeling in the car and have been facing some issues, which I am sure we will find solutions for soon. But on a track like this, if you go into qualifying without full confidence, you can pay the price. Today, it was a combination of different factors that played a role, and unfortunately, I didn’t finish my last flying lap in Q3 which means I will start from the second row tomorrow. Nevertheless, I will give it my all."

Jerome D'Ambrosio, Deputy Team Principal: "The result leaves us with mixed feelings. On the one hand, having both cars on the second row is a solid outcome in such a competitive qualifying session. On the other, Charles’ last lap was in the mix until he touched the wall at Tabac corner, which is encouraging. Lewis struggled with the car balance during qualifying but managed to put in a strong lap in at the end which allowed us to lock out the second row. Although overtaking isn’t straightforward here in Monaco, we will give our best tomorrow to maximise any opportunities."

Oscar Piastri: “This has not been an easy weekend for us at all. We came here expecting a challenge, and it has definitely been one. The fundamental issue has been a general lack of grip, and while we've made some progress since Friday and improved the balance of the car, we're still lacking the speed. From my side, I think we got as much out of the car as we could in Qualifying and we put together some decent laps. Looking ahead to the race, we have to be realistic. This circuit is notoriously difficult for overtaking, and we don't expect that to change. Our focus will be on executing a clean strategy and managing the car as best we can. Anything can happen in Monaco, so let's see what we can do.”

Lando Norris: “We’ve been on the back foot all weekend and Qualifying showed that. My laps were strong until the last one, where I pushed a bit too much trying to find three tenths and locked up. We did make some gains from practice and the earlier sessions looked better, but that was partly because the faster cars were more conservative while we were already flat out. We know what’s missing, and it’s better to recognise it now rather than later in the season. Tomorrow we’ll be aggressive on strategy and ready to take chances with Safety Cars or anything that comes our way, but overtaking is tough here, so we have to be realistic. The focus is on improving the car, getting the rear stability and downforce we need, so we can translate the kind of pace we had in Miami to tracks like Barcelona.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: “Today’s result is not quite what we were aiming for, as we felt a place on the third row was realistically within our reach. We started the weekend on the back foot yesterday, struggling with overall grip and car performance. However, thanks to the overnight work from our drivers, trackside engineers, and the support team back at the factory, we made significant steps forward with the setup. That progression was clear in Q1 and Q2, where the car appeared to be much more competitive, relatively. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite manage to put it all together in Q3. Lando was on a very strong final lap and was up by a couple of tenths, but a lock-up at the chicane meant we left some performance on the table. As a result, we will lock out the fourth row for tomorrow's race. It’s clear this specific circuit configuration doesn't entirely suit our car's characteristics, and we have work to do to improve in these conditions. Most importantly, I want to say a massive thank you to our mechanics. Following an on-track stoppage during practice, they worked tirelessly until 4:00 AM to repair the car and investigate the issue. Monaco is always an exhausting, logistically challenging weekend, and they did an exceptional job under immense pressure. Overtaking in Monaco is notoriously difficult, but as we know, this race is unpredictable. We need to be patient, stay sharp, and ensure we are ready to maximise any opportunities, be it at the start or through a Safety Car, to repay the team's hard work with a strong haul of points tomorrow.”

Pierre Gasly: “I am very happy with that result and I don't think we could have done better than P9 today, the best behind the top four teams who are out of reach at the moment. I was absolutely buzzing when I crossed the line, filled with so much adrenaline after nailing that final Q3 lap. I was taking a lot of extra risk and grazed the walls everywhere! It's a nice feeling when everything comes together. We had to work hard for it as a team as it hasn't been a straightforward weekend up until this stage. This track always feels quite odd, it never feels like the car is perfect such is the nature of this place, so we just tried to change small things to try and improve the overall package. The team did a great job and has worked really hard to put us in a position when, in the end, it comes down to small margins. Once we sneaked into Q3, I just absolutely went for it! We know how important Qualifying is here so we will see what happens in the race where we expect overtaking to be quite challenging. I will keep an open mind and see what happens in the race.”

Franco Colapinto: “On one hand I'm disappointed with the result, as you always want to start as high up as possible in Monaco, given it's one of the most important Qualifying sessions of the year. I'm also really proud of the team and the work we've been doing over the past few days to try to understand where we've been struggling and where we can improve the car. We worked late into the night and made some progress from where we were yesterday and, in the end, we were only a few tenths off making it to Q3. However, the gaps are so tight here on a short circuit, that we missed out and will likely have a long race ahead of us tomorrow. I've been struggling with front and rear locking all weekend, and when you don't have the confidence around here to push to the limit and get close to the walls, it really costs you. It just hasn't clicked this weekend compared to recent races. We knew coming into the weekend that this is a unique track and might not play to the strengths of our current package. We will give it our best shot tomorrow, try to keep our nose clean at the start and see what comes our way. Anything can happen here with stoppages or red flags, so we need to be ready to capitalise.”

Steve Nielsen: “Firstly, congratulations to Pierre on a really impressive effort in Qualifying today. Ultimately, when it's a case of fine margins between similarly matched cars, you rely on the driver to make a difference and today Pierre was faultless and really delivered. He is in a competitive position for tomorrow where the expectation is to score points. As a team, we know it's been a challenging weekend so far where some limitations of our package have been exacerbated to some degree. We've put the hours in to understand which areas to focus on and where to make subtle changes to maximise our performance. Pierre has certainly been more comfortable here than Franco and that is reflected in his end result. For Franco, it's definitely been more difficult compared to his recent run of form. He's not quite clicked with the car here and did a good job to have a smooth Qualifying with clean laps and, in the end, fell short of Q3 by only a couple of tenths so credit to him for his efforts in improving since Friday. We expect tomorrow to be another typical Monaco affair where we have to be ready to seize any opportunity that may arise and do our best to execute a clean race with both cars.”

Ollie Bearman: “The guys worked tirelessly to put the car back together following FP3, and it was feeling so good, we should’ve still been out there. I got very unlucky and was on for a lap that would’ve easily gotten me into Q2 when the red flag struck. After the red flag, we queued up for two minutes, so when I got out there, I had no grip on the lap, and I was sliding around all over the place. I was on the limit, giving it everything I could, but there was just no grip. We’ve been doing prep laps throughout the weekend, but we couldn’t with the time left on the clock. I’m very disappointed.”

Esteban Ocon: “The car was going to be good to progress further up high into Q2, and maybe Q3. The track was going to come to us as well, and I feel like I say this every time, but we were unlucky – we never catch a break. In my fast lap, I got traffic by two tenths already, then the red flag came, and we didn’t have enough time to warm up the tires, so we couldn’t improve – it's as simple as that. It’s a big shame for the whole team, as we did find performance from Friday to Saturday, it was quite positive, but we’ll never know now. We’ll see tomorrow what we can do.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: “It’s pretty deflating and a tough one to take. I think Q1, operationally, was okay and especially Ollie was reasonably happy with the car. As the grip came up, from FP2 to quali, we made improvements. I feel sorry for everyone because with the speed we had, we definitely had the chance to get one car into Q3. In the midfield, the team I thought would be tough to fight with was Audi, but Bortoleto crashed, and Nico made a mistake in Q2, so you saw Lawson in Q3. Ollie was three and a half tenths quicker than him before the red flag. It’s a missed opportunity and because it’s Monaco and qualifying is everything, it’s very hard to take. We have to take the positives that everyone worked so hard to get to this point, to get the car in this state, as well as the drivers. In terms of the car, there are several things we need to improve, as I feel the operating window of the car is not wide enough. In certain conditions, like FP3 and qualifying today, it wasn't bad, whereas FP1 wasn’t great. Every race, we’re learning, but we need to take all the lessons and improve the car. It feels like everything is on a knife-edge at the minute, and we can’t catch a break.”

Tim Goss, Chief Technical Officer: “Qualifying in Monaco gave us the opportunity to finally demonstrate the pace of our car. The venue presents many challenges, both for the drivers and especially our engineers. The circuit demands a car setup that gives the drivers confidence, but at the same time, is responsive enough that they can fully commit to the corners. Without this it is impossible to deliver a quick lap. It hasn't been a straightforward weekend, however. By Qualifying we had got the VCARB 03 where we wanted it. Liam delivered a near perfect session to put the car into Q3 and will start the race in 10th. Arvid didn’t have the cleanest of laps in Q2 and will start P15. We look forward to tomorrow, and if we can execute a clean race, we can be confident of finishing in the points."

Liam Lawson: "I'm very happy with the result today and it feels good to get to Q3. We really improved the car from yesterday when we struggled more than we anticipated, so it meant that we made a lot more changes than we usually would. It's obviously hard to overtake here, so having a strong start will be the target. It's such an enjoyable experience driving this track, so I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow."

Arbid Lindblad: "Today’s Qualifying session was pretty messy and difficult to manage. I felt good in Q1 and was on a strong lap before the red flag came out. In Q2, our tyres were much colder and I struggled for grip on the first run. I knew I needed to make a step on the final run, but with all the queuing before the lap, I just couldn’t get the tyres into the right window. We’ll go away and look at why it was so sensitive and see what we can learn from it. Tomorrow it’s going to be difficult to make our way forward, but we’ll study some previous races and work out where we can maximise every opportunity.”

James Vowles, Team Principal: “Qualifying in Monaco always brings excitement, and this year was no different. We saw exceptional qualifying from both drivers. With Carlos in Q1 it really was down to one lap with cold tyres, and he did a fantastic lap. Alex put it right on the limit in Q2, we're just missing a few milliseconds to get both cars into Q3. It was small, small details that may or may not have pushed us there, but across three races at very different tracks now we've been either in Q3 or knocking on the door of Q3 and that’s significant progress. I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow. There's still opportunity from where we are on the grid – two cars lined up ready to go. I also want to say well done to the team. If you look at our car today, you'll notice significant differences in the rear wing area. That was work that was reacted to very quickly and delivered within around 18 hours. And that's exceptional, from aero development, stress work, production to on car. It just shows a willingness to find every millisecond and we will keep hunting it every week. Separately I wish Fred Vasseur all the best in terms of recovery, and hopefully I get to catch up with him soon."

Alex Albon: “I'm happy with P11 today. We left Q3 on the table which is a little frustrating, but my final lap was entirely on the limit. I clipped the barrier in sector 3 as I was pushing flat out and I lost a little bit of time but was able to get away with it. As a team, we took a different approach this weekend to try and get into the rhythm early after a series of tougher race weekends and missing out on track time, so we tried to keep it simple and just chip away and build on every session. This was a result of all the work we've done recently, so P11 and P12 are decent starting positions for tomorrow. The strategy for the race is looking like a one-stop so having a good start will be crucial to hopefully make up some positions and get into the points."

Carlos Sainz: “On one hand, I’m impressed that I was able to make it out of Q1 as I had no choice but to go out on a set of used and cold tyres after the red flag, so it was probably one of the best laps I’ve ever done in that situation to make it cleanly into Q2. On the other hand, in Q2 I made some mistakes and experienced front locking in a few corners that lost me one or two tenths, and it just wasn’t good enough. We know it's tough to overtake in Monaco but we’re not too far from the top 10, so I’ll focus on having a good start and do my best to get back into the points."

Allan McNish, Racing Director: “Qualifying did not fully reflect the potential we showed over the course of the weekend. Unfortunately, Gabi touched the wall on the entry to the Turn 9 chicane in Q1, which damaged the suspension and brought his session to an early end. On Nico’s side, he had a strong first segment of the session, with P6 in Q1, but we were not quite able to find the pace we had shown previously and ultimately qualified P13. Both cars had been consistently in the top ten throughout the practice sessions, so today’s outcome is even more disappointing – but this is the challenge this track poses. Monaco is one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar and can be incredibly unforgiving, whether through traffic, track position or the smallest mistake, and we experienced some of those challenges today. Tomorrow’s race will be difficult starting where we are, rather than from where we would have been, had we been able to get the most out of our pace.”

Nico Hulkenberg: "Obviously, I'm disappointed with today's qualifying result. Coming into the session, things were looking a lot more promising, so it's frustrating not to have converted that into a stronger grid position. In the final run, we were a bit unlucky with traffic, which certainly didn't help, but that's part of qualifying around Monaco and there wasn't much I could do about it. More generally, we were carrying some damage on the car, which certainly didn't help. Nevertheless, we expected to be a bit more competitive, so we'll need to look through everything and understand exactly how much it impacted us and where the performance went. Tomorrow will be challenging from where we start, but Monaco can always create opportunities, so we'll stay focused and look to make the most of whatever comes our way."

Gabriel Bortoleto: "I'm sorry for the team because they've done an incredible job all weekend and deserved to see our car in the top 10. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to deliver that today. We had the pace to fight for a place in the top 10, but I took a few too many risks in Q1 and clipped the wall going into the Swimming Pool chicane. That ultimately damaged the suspension and ended the session for me. It’s the sort of mistake that can be understandable in Q3, when you’re pushing to the limit, but not so early in the session. Starting position is crucial in Monaco, we knew it well going into qualifying. I am aware tomorrow won't be easy, but our pace has been encouraging all weekend, and we'll keep fighting to try and make up as much ground as possible."

Checo Perez: “I think we got the maximum out there today with what we currently have. It was so close and we just lacked a few hundredths, otherwise we could have been there. In Monaco the drivers can always make a big difference, and I gave it everything today. We know that there can be a lot of opportunities round here in the race, so we will see. We’ll do our best.”

Valtteri Bottas: “I was hoping for a bit more today, but it does seem like some gaps are getting a bit smaller for us and we're ahead of both Astons. I thought maybe this track would suit our car but we're struggling a lot with the ride. We tried everything with the car setup to make the ride better; however we then lose load with the ride heights so it's tricky. There’s clearly one area we can improve, which is curbing and how the car takes the bumps. Those last two laps at the end of Quali felt like I couldn't get anything more out of it from my side. It's been tricky with this car here, but we knew it was going to be a challenge. The race is tomorrow and it's a new day, so we will try again."

Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal: “We worked hard overnight to prepare the cars for the critical Monaco Qualifying session. It wasn’t a completely clean session in the morning, but to be just 0.063secs from a Q2 spot in our sixth Grand Prix weekend demonstrates that we absolutely gave it our best shot. I’m proud of how the team came together and the input from both drivers, which is essential to continuing that progress. The race tomorrow isn’t going to be an easy one from these positions, but things can quickly take unexpected turns in Monaco, so we’ll keep pushing to take advantage of anything that comes our way.”

Fernando Alonso: “There wasn’t a big difference compared to yesterday and we just don’t have the pace. We had some hopes coming here to Monaco, but we don’t have much confidence in the car and have had a lack of front grip all weekend. I thought I did the best laps possible today with this current package.”

Lance Stroll: “We've struggled with the same issues all weekend - the car has been tricky with no grip, so this result was expected. The team has been trying various changes between sessions, but we're limited with downforce and power, so it's not much fun out there.”

Mike Krack: “Today's Qualifying result reflects our pace. We have not managed to give the drivers a predictable car, which is essential on this track, and we have struggled to build tyre temperature. Let’s see if there are any opportunities tomorrow: Monaco is a long race with plenty of action where anything can happen.”

Shintaro Orihara, Honda Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer: “We expected a better qualifying result here in Monaco before coming to the track. We need to work hard to improve performance of the package overall, and this is what we have been doing since FP1. We tried to do this through driveability and giving the drivers more confidence to carry more speed into the corners. However, the effort hasn’t been enough to get a better grid position for the Monaco Grand Prix. We know we need to improve more for the future but, in the race tomorrow, something can always happen, so we will prepare for all scenarios to react correctly.”