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Antonelli’s ‘magic lap’ pips Verstappen to Monaco poleImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kimi Antonelli has won the past four grands prix to lead the drivers’ championship by 43 points from Mercedes team-mate George RussellByAndrew Benson
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli pipped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to pole position in a gripping qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Pole changed hands three times in the final seconds of qualifying as Antonelli became last man standing, edging Verstappen by just 0.043 seconds to take his fourth pole of the year.
Lewis Hamilton was third as the fastest Ferrari, a place ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, who had been briefly fastest with two minutes to go but crashed on his final lap.
And Antonelli’s title rival George Russell in the second Mercedes was only sixth, behind Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris could manage only seventh and eighth places.
Antonelli keeps raising the bar in the second season of his career and this was as impressive as it has got so far.
A Monaco pole is a statement performance for any driver and one of the biggest prizes in Formula 1. To deliver in this fashion, at the age of 19, underlined his potential as the most likely world champion this year at this early stage.
He and Verstappen were separated by just 0.001secs after their first runs in the final session and Antonelli stated he had produced a “magic lap” to beat the Dutchman.
Leclerc went out early for the final runs after missing his first lap with a lock-up at Mirabeau, and he put himself at the top with his first effort.
Verstappen then beat that mark by 0.257secs to take top spot, only for Antonelli to displace him.
Leclerc was not finished – he had given himself time to have one final lap as the last driver on track. But he went over the limit and slid wide on the entry to Tabac, crunching his right rear wheel against the wall and breaking his rear suspension.
Antonelli stated: “I was able to put everything together. It was such a close qualifying session. The last lap was good.”
Verstappen stated he was surprised to be able to compete for pole position.
“If you would have told me yesterday I would be on the front row, I would have taken it,” he stated. “So heading into qualifying and being up there was extremely positive. Very happy with how qualifying went. I am happy to be on the front row.”
Ferrari had been quickest on Friday, first and second in both sessions, but Hamilton stated the car felt different as soon as qualifying started.
“We were looking so good in practice and then the car was drastically different in qualifying,” Hamilton stated, “so we have to take a look at that. But I was giving it everything. What a privilege it is to be one of the 22 drivers who gets to do this. I loved every second of it.”
Russell struggled for grip throughout the session and never looked likely to get into the fight for pole, and he ended up 0.394secs behind his team-mate.
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
6. George Russell (Mercedes)
7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
8. Lando Norris (McLaren)
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
Full qualifying results
Monaco Grand Prix
14:00 BST on Sunday
Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
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