Kimi Antonelli delivered a stunning performance to secure pole position after a dramatic qualifying session. The F1 Monaco GP’s qualifying featured strong challenges from Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, and several surprise eliminations.
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Q1
The session begined in sunny weather and all the 22 drivers could started the qualifying, despite of Oliver Bearman’s crash in FP3. The Haas repaired the car for the afternoon stage.
In the high traffic after the first laps Leclerc was leading with 1:14.141 ahead of Norris and Antonelli. However the soft tires were enough for multiple flying laps and Leclerc could be faster for the second time too – 1:13.390.
For the final rush, Leclerc could improve more, meanwhile Verstappen and Antonelli tried to close the gap. Before 2 minutes of the stage’s finish Bortoleto hit the wall and occurs red flag interruption.
Out: Ocon, Perez, Bearman, Bottas, Alonso, Stroll
Q2
Verstappen opened with 1:13.205, but after the first shots Antonneli topped the chart with 1:12.778. Russell was struggling at midterm standing only 8th.
In the final minutes Verstappen geared up and jumped to 1st and Hadjar to 3rd.
Out: Albon, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Albon, Bortoleto
Q3
The final 12 minutes started with 1:12.765 by Norris, however Antonelli seemed the fastest this time. The Italian was only 1-thousands ahead of Verstappen. Leclerc made a mistake and did not finish his first lap.
Leclerc completed one lap in the final minutes and jumped to the top with 24 thousands faster, but his time was not enough. Antonelli flashed at the end and got the pole position.
The full results of the qualifying according to FIA.com:
