Starting Grid for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix 2026

Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli pulled off a scintillating lap at the end of qualifying to secure pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver came out on top in a thrilling session and will start ahead of four-time champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

KIMI ANTONELLI IS ON POLE IN MONACO! 👏

RIGHT AT THE END FROM KIMI! 😮‍💨#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/PvVGM5oB2S
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 6, 2026

Ferrari entered the weekend as the strong favorite for victory, and Friday's running seemed to support that belief, yet on Saturday its early dominance disappeared with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc settling for third and fourth on the grid, albeit the latter having crashed at the end of Q3.

Isack Hadjar underlined Red Bull's improvement of late with fifth on the grid, a strong recovery after his Friday practice crash, while George Russell was bewildered, with his lack of performance in sixth.

McLaren was a non-feature in the race for pole and occupies row four, with Oscar Piastri ahead of Lando Norris for the team's 1000th grand prix.

Pierre Gasly was the best of the rest for Alpine, while Liam Lawson impressed throughout qualifying to take the final spot in the top 10.

Alex Albon leads Carlos Sainz on an all-Williams sixth row, while Nico Hulkenberg is 13th despite strong early-weekend pace in the Audi.

Franco Colapinto joins the veteran German on row seven, with Arvid Lindblad 15th in the second Racing Bull.

Alpine, Monaco GP 2026, Qualifying — BWT Alpine F1 Team

Gabriel Bortoleto was 16th fastest, having been unable to take part in Q2 following a crash in the first segment. His teammate Hulkenberg was unable to build upon the promise from practice in the R26.

Esteban Ocon will line up 17th for Haas on a difficult weekend for the American outfit, alongside Sergio Perez, who was again impressive for the new Cadillac squad.

The next row was a mirror image with Haas ahead of Cadillac, this time Oliver Bearman ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

Aston Martin fills the final row with Fernando Alonso ahead of Lance Stroll.

Potential strategies

Pirelli has offered up three suggested strategies for the 78-lap race, which is the most track-position-critical of the entire season.

There are two paths to take if starting on the soft tires. The first would be to run until lap 29-35 before swapping to a set of hards for the remainder of the race. The Second would see the pit window open between laps 31 and 37, instead swapping from softs to mediums.

If softs aren't the compound of choice, then drivers could run mediums to lap 33-39 before switching to the hards.

Any safety car activity could drastically change plans, given the importance of being in front, as overtaking around the Principality's streets comes at a premium.

F1 Monaco Grand Prix 2026: Starting Grid

Position	Driver / Team
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
11	Alex Albon / Williams
12	Carlos Sainz / Williams
13	Nico Hulkenberg / Audi
14	Franco Colapinto / Alpine
15	Arvid Lindblad / Racing Bulls
16	Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi
17	Esteban Ocon / Haas
18	Sergio Perez / Cadillac
19	Oliver Bearman / Haas
20	Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac
21	Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin
22	Lance Stroll / Aston Martin

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