Hamilton on Ferrari needing best ever Monaco start
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari will need “the best start we’ve ever had” if he is to have a realistic chance of challenging for victory at the Monaco Grand Prix after qualifying third. Hamilton said: "Now all attention turns to tomorrow, see how we can get the best start we've ever had and see if we can apply the pressure to these guys. I mean, we know how these races go. It's very difficult. I don't think there's overtaking."
Hamilton eyes 'best ever start' to challenge for Monaco win
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Lap time watch: 2026 Monaco Grand Prix
Hamilton on Ferrari balance change hurting Monaco qualifying confidence
Lewis Hamilton said an unexplained change in Ferrari’s behaviour between Friday and Saturday at the Monaco Grand Prix left him without confidence in the SF-26 during qualifying. Hamilton said: "We really need to look into what switched because the car was completely different to what it was before and I didn't have any rear end for some reason. It's all about confidence. I didn't have it, it was completely gone in Q1 and then I was trying to pull back what I could."
Hamilton stripped of ‘confidence' amid Monaco Ferrari mystery
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Russell on having no answer for qualifying form drop
George Russell said he has “no answer” for his drop in form after qualifying sixth for the Monaco Grand Prix while Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli took pole position. 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... The last three races have just been nowhere. Even Canada, I was nowhere until the last lap of Q3 in both sessions. So I don't have an answer for that."
Russell on pace deficit to Antonelli: ‘I have no answer'
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Two worrying trends for George Russell as Kimi Antonelli keeps starring in F1 2026
STRATEGY GUIDE: What are the tyre options for the Monaco GP?
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Max with the totally trustworthy advice to Kimi on tomorrow's race start! 😅😮💨
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Mercedes rear wing mod potentially decisive in Antonelli's Monaco pole
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Norris on Monaco as a reality check for McLaren
Lando Norris said the Monaco Grand Prix has been a "reality check" for McLaren on how far off the pace it is, after he and team-mate Oscar Piastri qualified eighth and seventh. Norris said: "Coming here is quite a, not an eye-opener, but still a slight reality check of how far off we are. The car is just very difficult to drive, not very compliant and not very forgiving in any way. So, my confidence level last year was 100. Now it's 85, and around Monaco, you need to be at 100."
Lando Norris delivers McLaren brutal 'reality check' assessment
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Antonelli on importance of a clean start from Monaco pole
Andrea Kimi Antonelli says getting a clean getaway from pole will be crucial at the Monaco Grand Prix because of the short run down to Turn 1. Antonelli said: "Starting in Montreal, for the first time I didn't lose, well, I still lost a place on Sunday, but for the first time I didn't lose like six or seven places. So, it was a step forward. It's a pretty short run into Turn 1 in Monaco, so just need to get a clean start, don't try to do the magic start, and then we'll see from there."
Kimi Antonelli highlights crucial F1 obstacle despite mesmeric Monaco GP pole
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Lawson on Racing Bulls' Monaco practice struggle
Liam Lawson said Racing Bulls still need to understand their “struggle” in practice at Monaco after a stronger qualifying performance put him in the top 10 on the grid. Lawson said: "Before the weekend, honestly, we were expecting [a good result], we thought we had a good car in low speed and that we should be good here. But on Friday, we really struggled, so I think it is a good recovery. We made a lot of changes for this weekend, far more than normal, so it is good, but after Friday, we'll obviously have to understand fully why we started so far away."
Liam Lawson puzzled by Monaco GP turnaround after F1 'struggles'
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Russell perplexed by struggles having arrived in Monaco playing mind games
What the teams said – Qualifying in Monaco
What explains McLaren's 2026 ‘reality check’ in Monaco
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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Kimi Antonelli reacts after he puts a sublime lap together to secure pole position in Monaco 💨
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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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Norris: Monaco qualifying ‘a reality check' for struggling McLaren
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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