Kimi Antonelli Claims Monaco GP Pole as Lewis Hamilton Qualifies Third with Kim Kardashian in the Paddock

Kimi Antonelli continued his remarkable debut season in Formula 1 by claiming pole position for the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, with the 19-year-old Mercedes driver producing a fastest lap that held off late challenges from both Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in a chaotic Q3 session.

Antonelli’s pole-winning time was set in the final minutes of qualifying, during a frantic 120-second window in which the provisional pole position changed hands three times. Hamilton had briefly held the top spot with a lap of 1:12.553 before Verstappen and then Antonelli responded with faster times. The young Italian ultimately secured the prime starting position with a time that left Hamilton 0.228 seconds adrift.

Hamilton, who had led every practice session on Friday and entered qualifying as a strong pole contender, will start third on the grid with a time of 1:12.279. The seven-time world champion lines up directly behind Verstappen on the second row, alongside his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who will start fourth after crashing at the barriers in the closing moments of Q3 — an incident that also denied the rest of the field a final improvement lap, drawing disappointment from the home crowd in the principality.

Given Monaco’s well-documented reputation as one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar for overtaking, Hamilton’s second-row grid slot still offers a realistic path to race victory on Sunday. The narrow streets of Monte Carlo historically reward track position, making the front four grid slots particularly significant.

Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar demonstrated strong form by qualifying fifth, with George Russell taking sixth in the second Mercedes. McLaren placed both of their drivers in the fourth row, with Oscar Piastri seventh and Lando Norris eighth. Pierre Gasly of Alpine and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson completed the top ten.

Further down the order, Alex Albon qualified 11th ahead of Williams teammate Carlos Sainz in 12th, with Nico Hulkenberg 13th for Audi and Franco Colapinto 14th for Alpine. Arvid Lindblad, Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Ollie Bearman, and Valtteri Bottas filled positions 15 through 20. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualified 21st and 22nd respectively.

Off the track, Kim Kardashian made her first appearance at a Formula 1 race on Saturday, attending the Monaco qualifying session alongside her sister Khloé Kardashian. The visit marked Kardashian’s debut in the F1 paddock following the couple’s public confirmation of their relationship earlier in the week. The 2026 Monaco Grand Prix takes place on Sunday.