"A magic lap": Antonelli reacts to maiden pole position in Monaco

Antonelli celebrating his maiden pole position in Monaco | Credit: Formula One

Having been classified in 18th and last at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli displayed the ultimate turn around in fortunes after taking pole position ahead of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix. Citing his lap as a “magic lap” to deny Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Antonelli has become the first Italian driver to take pole position in the principality since Jarno Trulli in 2004. 

Taking pole position with a 1:12.051, faster than the pace demonstrated by either Ferrari who arrived into this weekend as potential favourites, Antonelli said that his final effort was “one of those laps”. Referring to his final effort as a “magic lap”, the young Italian driver confirmed that he left nothing on the table to take his first pole position in the principality. 

With Antonelli and Verstappen leaving almost nothing between them, Antonelli pointed out that Monaco is “one of the if not the most intense qualifying of the year”. Additionally, the current championship leader noted that there was “one millisecond between us [himself and Verstappen]”; the final gap between the two was 0.043s. 

Antonelli, who started the weekend a bit behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in terms of pace, highlighted the work of his team by stating that “we were able to improve massively”. He further noted that after his disappointing maiden Monaco Grand Prix in 2025, he and the team have both taken a “big step compared to last year”. The young Italian driver’s success has meant that Mercedes have taken their first pole position in the Principality since 2019. 

Discussing his chances to take the win, especially with the knowledge that pole position is incredibly important on this circuit, Antonelli kept focused and stated that “I’m just enjoying the driving”. With a current 43-point lead in the championship standings and a current four-race win streak, the Mercedes driver will be hoping for a fifth consecutive win which would be the second-longest win streak on the current grid.  

Only 12 months ago, Antonelli’s fortunes seemed low during the course of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. A year on from that disappointment, Antonelli’s first Monaco pole position and his position as the current championship leader pose a very real possibility that he could be standing on the top step of the podium at the chequered flag on Sunday.