‘Magic lap’: Antonelli on Monaco pole as Oscar suffers

Ian Chadband | June 7, 2026

Flying teenager Kimi Antonelli has taken pole position at Monaco with a last-gasp “magic lap” but Oscar Piastri is resigned to being a bit player in F1’s most garlanded race after McLaren struggled in their 1000th F1 grand priox .  

The 19-year-old Mercedes ace Antonelli took pole by just 0.043sec on Saturday, powering around the famed street circuit to edge out two all-time greats, Max Verstappen (1min 12.094sec) in his Red Bull, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton (1:12.279).

Antonelli saved his inspired best for last to ensure Mercedes have taken pole for every grand prix this season, and the young championship leader couldn’t stop beaming.

“It was one of those laps that we call a magic lap. I was able to put it all together,” he smiled, having put on a particularly notable display considering teammate and title rival George Russell could only finish sixth.

While Verstappen was buoyed by his Red Bull’s performance, his teammate Isack Hadjar backed him up by finishing fifth quickest.

But it’s back to the drawing board for McLaren, who’d been hoping for a special performance on their landmark weekend. 

Instead, Piastri was seventh, his 1:12.624 lap being more than half-a-second down on Antonelli’s 1:12.051, with his world champion teammate Lando Norris eighth (1:12.765).

On a circuit where it’s almost impossible to overtake, that spells a potentially long fruitless afternoon for the McLaren pair on Sunday, with reigning Monaco champ Norris admitting with a rueful smile that he was “already looking forward to Barcelona” where the next race will be held. 

Piastri, who had a brush with the wall on the tight circuit in the second part of qualifying, was unsurprised by McLaren’s disappointing day, especially after finishing over a second slower than their main rivals in Friday’s practice.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been a second off on genuine pace,” he shrugged. “So yesterday was tough. I think we made the car better, and the balance was nicer today, but it was still half-a-second off.

“So we’re just lacking performance compared to the guys ahead and we just have to accept that.”

Antonelli, who’d earlier on Saturday signalled his intentions by finishing quickest in third practice after a disappointing Friday session, will now be a warm favourite for a fifth grand prix triumph in a row on Sunday.

That’s a feat only Verstappen and Hamilton have achieved among current drivers, while the Italian is in a strong position to extend his championship lead of 43 points over teammate Russell.

Ferrari will be disappointed to have missed what felt like a golden opportunity, with Hamilton third and local hero Charles Leclerc fourth in 1:12.351, although the Monegasque’s car needed some repairs after he clipped a barrier on his final run.

The Italian team were without their team principal Fred Vasseur, who missed qualifying for medical reasons.