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Kimi Antonelli's dominance continues as he beats Max Verstappen for Monaco Grand Prix pole position

Kimi Antonelli’s dream season shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver beat Max Verstappen for the pole position of the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday with a lap right as the final session of qualifying ended. Verstappen had posted the fastest time of the session ahead of Lewis Hamilton, but Antonelli beat Verstappen by 0.043 seconds to start first.

If you know anything about the Monaco Grand Prix, you know just how important it is to start first. As F1 cars have gotten bigger and bigger, passing has gotten harder and harder at the tight track in the confines of the principality. On-track passes for the lead are rarer than an endangered species. The best hope for Verstappen and Hamilton is a pit strategy maneuver or, somehow, a pass right after the start of the race.

Charles Leclerc will start fourth after he smacked the wall with his right rear tire as Antonelli was finishing his lap. Leclerc had posted the lap to beat before the three others got past him on their final laps.

After George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix, Antonelli has won each of the last four races to build a 43-point lead over his teammate in the standings. Russell was slow all throughout qualifying on Saturday and will start sixth behind Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar in fifth.

Russell’s poor qualifying means Antonelli has the chance to jump more than two full races ahead of Russell just six races into the 2026 season. Race wins are worth 25 points. If Antonelli and Russell hold their positions throughout the race on Sunday, Antonelli’s points lead will be 58.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris occupy the fourth row. The two drivers were over a half-second back of Antonelli as the top six all posted laps within four tenths of a second of each other.