Bonnington on Antonelli's raw talent in early Mercedes testing
Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington said it was clear Kimi Antonelli had “raw talent” almost immediately when the Italian first tested the team’s TPC cars. Peter Bonnington said: "To be fair, it was before he actually started competing in the championship. When we had him in the TPC cars, it was quite evident that he had the talent straight away, you know. You have young drivers come along and it takes them a while to get up to speed. I think it probably took Kimi about four laps to start matching the high speed, and if you can match the high speed, you know that the kid's got some raw talent."
Peter Bonnington reveals moment Mercedes realised Kimi Antonelli's “raw talent”
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Qualifying Head-to-Head
Fernando Alonso 5 - 0 Lance Stroll Carlos Sainz 4 - 1 Alexander Albon Sergio Perez 4 - 2 Valtteri Bottas Pierre Gasly 4 - 2 Franco Colapinto Oscar Piastri 4 - 2 Lando Norris Oliver Bearman 4 - 2 Esteban Ocon Nico Hulkenberg 4 - 2 Gabriel Bortoleto Max Verstappen 4 - 2 Isack Hadjar Liam Lawson 4 - 2 Arvid Lindblad Kimi Antonelli 4 - 2 George Russell Charles Leclerc 3 - 3 Lewis Hamilton
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Bortoleto apologises to Audi after Monaco qualifying crash
Gabriel Bortoleto said he took “too many risks” in Q1 in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix and apologised to Audi after his crash left him 16th on the grid. Bortoleto said: "I think there was no need to take that many risks in Q1. We knew we were standing in top 10 pace since FP1. I ended up taking too many risks – I touched the wall and broke the suspension... I'm sorry only for them because they have done an amazing job this weekend, and I understand that they fully deserved a top 10 in Quali and I was not able to deliver that for them."
Bortoleto sorry to Audi after Monaco Qualifying crash
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Norris on low confidence with difficult McLaren in Monaco
Lando Norris said he did not have high hopes for Monaco qualifying because McLaren’s car is difficult to drive and his confidence is lower than last season. Norris said: "I think coming here is quite a, not an eye-opener, but still a slight reality check of how far off we are. I didn't have high hopes into this weekend. The car is just very difficult to drive, not very compliant, not very forgiving in any way. So my confidence level last year was 100, now it's 85. And around Monaco, you know, you need to be at 100."
“A reality check” – why Lando Norris was expecting poor Monaco qualifying
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Hamilton on why F1's 2026 Monaco cars are difficult to drive
Lewis Hamilton said Formula 1's 2026 cars were among his least favourite to drive around Monaco, blaming reduced downforce and the high minimum tyre pressures. Lewis Hamilton said: "I think probably one of my least favourites of all the generations I've driven around here. It's just the super-light downforce. It really is like a step down of generation of car, grip-wise. Our [tyre] pressures are super high. Even though we have a hundred points or so less downforce this year, we have much higher [pressures]."
Hamilton calls current F1 cars ‘one of my least favourite I've driven here’
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Audi given official warning in Monaco qualifying
Audi has been given an official warning after the stewards ruled Nico Hulkenberg drove excessively slowly in Monaco qualifying, when Charles Leclerc caught him in the tunnel. The stewards said Hulkenberg was wrongly told it was “all clear behind”, adding that “accordingly a warning is imposed on the team”, with no impact on his grid spot (13th). Williams was fined €5,000 after Alexander Albon drove around Carlos Sainz in the pit lane and briefly prevented Arvid Lindblad from reaching his stop, creating a “potential safety issue”.
Stewards warn Audi over message to Hulkenberg, Williams fined for pit incident
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Hamilton on Ferrari needing rain from third in Monaco
Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari will "probably" need rain to make progress from third on the grid at the Monaco Grand Prix, with sunny weather forecast and overtaking expected to be difficult. Hamilton said: "I mean, you know how these races go. It's very, very difficult. I don't think there's overtaking. I hope that we can get a really good start, maybe apply some pressure to the two. And we kind of need rain, probably. But nothing is impossible. We can apply the pressure, but it's going to be very hard to beat these two."
‘We need rain' – Lewis Hamilton concedes Monaco F1 win chances unlikely
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Verstappen on Monaco qualifying feeling more natural to drive
Max Verstappen says Monaco Grand Prix qualifying let him “feel like myself again” in the car because it was possible to push flat out without managing the battery in the way required by Formula 1’s current powertrain regulations. Verstappen said: "If you can go flat out and you can just select the gears that you want to use in the corners, it's always going to be better. So, I finally felt just myself again in the car, let's say like that, with the way you want to use the gears. Unfortunately, of course we can't do that in too many places on the calendar, but that's what that makes it more and more natural to drive."
Max Verstappen "felt like myself again" in flat-out Monaco F1 qualifying
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Leclerc on dirty air causing his Monaco Q3 crash
Charles Leclerc said dirty air made him lose control and crash in Q3 of Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, costing him a chance of pole position. Leclerc said: "I was very much on the edge, and I think it was a very good lap until then. But I never finished it, so it's a bit needless to say that. I had a little bit of dirty air in that lap where I lost it in Turn 12. I don't know, there was no traffic in itself, it was just dirty air. It made me lose a little bit the rear in entry, and I touched the wall."
Charles Leclerc explains crash that cost shot at Monaco F1 pole position
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Monaco GP: Ferrari's Charles Leclerc puts pole lap error down to 'dirty air'
Hamilton on Monaco qualifying pace after negative comments
Lewis Hamilton says his Monaco Grand Prix qualifying performance shows he is not “lacking pace” despite what he called “negative comments”, after the Ferrari driver qualified third. Hamilton said: "I'm in a really good place with the car, I'm in a really good place with the team. You can see that I have decent pace still in me. There's no lacking of pace, which I'm really grateful and happy about, regardless of all the negative comments people have made over time. So, it's good. I'll just keep on putting the work in and I'll keep showing up and I'll keep delivering."
'I still have decent pace' - Hamilton hits out at 'negative comments'
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Lewis Hamilton calls for answers after Ferrari ‘step back' in F1 Monaco qualifying
Leclerc on Ferrari braking uncertainty after Monaco qualifying
Charles Leclerc said he "don't really know where to brake" in his Ferrari after qualifying fourth for the Monaco Grand Prix, where he also crashed on his final Q3 lap. Leclerc said: "I'm very disappointed. It's been an incredibly tough weekend. It's been an incredibly tough two last weekends, with quite a lot of issues on my side. I'm pretty confident that we'll have a solution for the next race, but so far it's been very, very tricky. The fact that on braking I just don't really know where to brake still... but I wouldn't put the mistake only on that, it's for sure a combination of things."
Leclerc opens up on car issues and Q3 crash in Monaco
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Leclerc hints Ferrari car issues a factor in Monaco qualifying crash
Hadjar on Monaco qualifying recovery after practice crash
Isack Hadjar said his Monaco Grand Prix qualifying was a "very good comeback" but "too messy" after taking fifth on the grid following a heavy crash in first practice. Hadjar said: "I think it was a very good comeback, but at the same time qualifying was too messy, and we did too many mistakes. Not the best way to build for Q3, and I left some time out there. FP2, my car was repaired, and my confidence needed rebuilding, and just a horrific day. But I made the most of FP3 this morning, and honestly, damage limitation, so I did well."
One Red Bull F1 youngster bounces back after "horrific day" at Monaco GP
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Williams fined after Monaco pitlane near-miss
Williams has been fined €5,000 by Monaco Grand Prix stewards after a qualifying pitlane near-miss involving Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad. The stewards found that, after Carlos Sainz stopped in front of the Williams garage as Alex Albon approached, Albon drove around Sainz and briefly blocked Lindblad from entering his pit box, with Lindblad having “narrowly missed running over the foot of one of the mechanics attending to Car 23 (Albon)”. Williams admitted “it could have handled the situation differently”, with the stewards issuing a formal warning and the fine for the “potential safety issue”.
Williams hit with Monaco punishment after qualifying near-miss
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F1 - 2026 Monaco Grand Prix Post-Qualifying Press Conference Transcript
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Piastri on McLaren's grip struggles in Monaco qualifying
Oscar Piastri said McLaren were always likely to end up seventh in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, after the team struggled for grip compared to their rivals. Piastri said: "I think maybe there was a tiny bit more lap time out there but I think we were going to be seventh no matter what today. We struggled with the balance yesterday. Today the car has actually felt a little bit nicer but we're just lacking grip, it looks like, compared to the others. Not much you can do about it."
Piastri concedes McLaren would qualify P7 ‘no matter what'
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What's so concerning about Russell's Antonelli admission
Piastri on McLaren's Monaco qualifying grip deficit
Oscar Piastri said McLaren are “just lacking grip” and that there were “not too many levers” available to improve it after he qualified seventh for the Monaco Grand Prix. Piastri said: "We're just lacking grip compared to the others. I think compared to yesterday, the car actually felt a pretty decent step nicer to drive, which is good. But also bad, when you're still as far off as we are. So we have got a bit closer, things feel a bit nicer, but when you are lacking grip, unfortunately, there's not too many levers you can pull to make up for it."
Oscar Piastri had ‘not many levers to pull' to improve Monaco F1 qualifying
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Wolff on Russell's Monaco qualifying confidence struggle
Toto Wolff says George Russell’s Monaco Grand Prix qualifying struggle was driven by a lack of confidence in the Mercedes car, after Russell ended the session sixth while team-mate Kimi Antonelli took pole. Wolff said: "He just never had the confidence in the car. Qualifying started on a back foot. FP3 was still very OK. And once you start to run behind the performance and you lose the confidence, it's super difficult to catch up again. And I think it would have been one session more, he would have been there or thereabouts, but he didn't have any grip. Monaco, no grip means you can't push it."
Toto Wolff explains George Russell's F1 Monaco GP qualifying struggles
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Verstappen on Red Bull's Monaco qualifying turnaround
Max Verstappen said Red Bull’s turnaround in Monaco qualifying was “extremely positive” after the team had “difficulties with the car” in final practice, with the Dutchman ending up second on the grid just 0.04 seconds behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen said: "If you would've told me yesterday [that I would] be on the front row, I definitely would've taken it. Also [in final practice] this morning, I think we had some difficulties with the car, so heading into Qualifying and being up there I think was extremely positive. Overall, of course, I'm very happy with how Qualifying went, how all the laps went, even though I had to deal with all the traffic and the walls."
Verstappen hails ‘extremely positive' turnaround in Monaco
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Russell on pace deficit to Antonelli in Monaco qualifying
George Russell says he is “bamboozled” by his pace deficit to Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, and thinks the gap is linked to how their different driving styles affect the tyres. Russell said: "There's clearly a difference in driving style between the two of us. It's clear in the data. The difference is how we're driving has such an impact on the tyres, and he's just getting the tyres in a nicer window than me and a nicer balance over the course of the lap, and the pace is just coming easier for him. I don't know why that is. I've been driving in this manner in my whole career and now, for whatever reason, it's not working with this car."
What "bamboozled" Russell suspects is behind gap to Kimi Antonelli
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Verstappen on complicated starts and Ferraris behind in Monaco
Max Verstappen says Formula 1 starts have been “quite complicated” this season and he is wary of the Ferraris behind him after qualifying on the front row for the Monaco Grand Prix, second to Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen said: "And then tomorrow, let's see... These cars are quite complicated to start, so I have two cars behind me that start quite well, but we'll see."
Max Verstappen names Red Bull fear despite stunning Monaco qualifying
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Russell on being off Antonelli's pace in Monaco qualifying
George Russell said he does not know why he was so far off the pace of Mercedes team-mate and title rival Kimi Antonelli after qualifying sixth for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Antonelli taking pole. Russell said: "I don't really know what's going on to be honest. It's clearly something with my driving that's not helping the car at the moment. But that was there at the start of the year as well. If I look at Melbourne and at least China until I have my issues, it was P1 every single session. The last three races have just been nowhere. So I don't have an answer for that."
George Russell bemused by pace deficit to F1 title rival Kimi Antonelli
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‘Nothing clicking' for Russell in Monaco Qualifying
Leclerc on brake issues after Monaco qualifying
Charles Leclerc said he was “very disappointed” to qualify fourth on the grid for his home race, after struggling with his Ferrari’s brakes and describing another difficult weekend following similar problems in Canada. Leclerc said: "I'm very disappointed. It's been an incredibly tough weekend. It has been an incredibly tough two last weekends with quite a lot of issues on my side. I'm pretty confident we'll have a solution for next race. So far it's been very, very tricky. The fact that, on braking, I just don't really know where to brake getting to Q3 after [three practice sessions] makes it very tricky for me."
Leclerc “very disappointed” with fourth on grid after “two incredibly tough weekends”
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