Wolff on Mercedes sticking with Antonelli through rookie struggles
Toto Wolff says Mercedes kept faith with Kimi Antonelli through a difficult rookie season despite “so many doubters”, and believes that experience has helped the Italian drive with the confidence that delivered pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix. Wolff said: "We had so many doubters last year after those bad races saying we shouldn't have put him in the Mercedes. I think that some of our competitor teams would have taken him out and either put him in a junior team or in a satellite team. We kind of stuck to the project and said year one is going to have highlights, moments of brilliance and then moments where it's going to be very difficult, but we stick to the plan."
Wolff explains Antonelli's growth after ‘so many doubters’
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🏁 Starting Grid
P1) Kimi Antonelli P2) Max Verstappen P3) Lewis Hamilton P4) Charles Leclerc P5) Isack Hadjar P6) George Russell P7) Oscar Piastri P8) Lando Norris P9) Pierre Gasly P10) Liam Lawson P11) Alexander Albon P12) Carlos Sainz P13) Nico Hulkenberg P14) Franco Colapinto P15) Arvid Lindblad P16) Gabriel Bortoleto P17) Esteban Ocon P18) Sergio Perez P19) Oliver Bearman P20) Valtteri Bottas P21) Fernando Alonso P22) Lance Stroll
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OFFICIAL GRID: Who starts where for the Monaco GP
Antonelli on aiming for a clean Monaco start from pole
Andrea Kimi Antonelli says he is focused on getting “a decent start” rather than chasing a perfect getaway from pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, with the Mercedes driver aiming to avoid losing positions early on. Antonelli said: "The start has been a big improvement compared to Canada. Here it's a pretty short run, so we're going to try to just get a decent start, not try to find that perfect start because it can go very badly. So we'll try to get a clean start and then get into turn one and then we'll see from there."
Antonelli aiming for ‘a decent start, not a perfect one' from pole position
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Verstappen on Antonelli proving himself with a competitive car
Max Verstappen says Monaco pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli has “something special” and is proving this season that he can deliver in Formula 1 when he has the car to do it. Verstappen said: "Yeah, for sure. I think you see a few guys grow up from younger categories that have something special and when they switch categories, they are immediately quick. I think that was quite clear with Kimi. But I think this year he's showing that once he has a package that can do it, he is delivering as a driver. So that's great to see and that's what he has to do."
‘Something special' - Max Verstappen hails Kimi Antonelli’s F1 rise after stunning Monaco GP pole
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Stella on McLaren's Monaco qualifying struggles
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team expected to struggle in Monaco qualifying because the car lacks overall grip and aerodynamic load, and is “very gentle” on its tyres, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ending up seventh and eighth on the grid. Stella said: "The overall competitiveness we were expecting to be difficult at this circuit for two main technical factors. The first one is we know that from a chassis point of view we lack grip overall, and we have a clear objective in terms of improving the grip, and in particular the aerodynamic load. And the second technical factor is that the MCL40... it's very gentle on the tyres, and when you have events where you actually have to be good at introducing energy and heat in the tyres, then we struggle a bit."
The design choice that hurt McLaren in poor Monaco F1 qualifying
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Alonso on Aston Martin's fundamental AMR26 problems
Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin’s poor pace in Monaco shows the AMR26 has “fundamental” problems that cannot be solved by set-up changes. Fernando Alonso said: "We changed the set-up a lot, but it is not a problem with the set-up; there are more fundamental problems on the car than just changing one ride height or one front or rear [anti-roll] bar. We had hopes here in Monaco because it is a different circuit, but in FP1, we saw that we are slow here as well, and it is quite repetitve, and actually annoying that every weekend we say until the summer, we have no updates to the track and we are at the back of the grid."
Fernando Alonso frustration builds as 'annoying' Aston Martin problems named
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Hamilton on current F1 cars around Monaco
Lewis Hamilton says the current generation of Formula 1 cars is “probably one of my least favourites” to drive around Monaco, with Ferrari’s driver pointing to lower downforce and higher tyre pressures reducing grip compared with previous eras. Hamilton said: "I think probably one of my least favourites of all the generations I've driven around here. Just the super light downforce. It really is like a step down of generation of car, grip-wise. Our pressures are super high. Even though we have a hundred points or so less downforce this year, we have much higher [tyre pressures]. Ultimate mechanical grip is not what it used to be."
Lewis Hamilton ranks 2026 F1 cars as favourite Monaco GP era revealed
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Lewis Hamilton issues brutal 2026 F1 car finding after Monaco qualifying thriller
Bortoleto on Monaco qualifying crash and unnecessary risk
Gabriel Bortoleto said he was angry with himself for taking unnecessary risk in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying after clipping the inside barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane late in Q1 and breaking his front-left suspension. Bortoleto said: "It's about why should I take that much risk in that corner that we have seen drivers already breaking the suspension in the past? I would understand if it happens in a Q2 or a Q3 lap when we were pushing to the limits. But in a Q1 lap... I pushed a bit too much in Q1 where there was no need because we had a car easily to go through Q1 at least."
Gabriel Bortoleto angry over costly Monaco Q1 crash: 'Why do I take that much risk?'
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F1 facing '80% chance' jeopardy in Monaco GP
Pirelli head of motorsport Dario Marrafuschi says there is an “80 per cent chance” of Safety Car disruption in the Monaco Grand Prix, which could upend what he expects to be a straightforward one-stop race if it runs clean. Marrafuschi said: "Talking about strategies in Monaco is always tricky, because we know this is a track with an 80 per cent chance of safety cars, so quite often we see neutralisations [of the race]. But in case of a clean race, we clearly expect one pit stop race with the soft to medium [tyre compound] option."
Autosport
@autosport
Just some of the records Kimi Antonelli already holds in F1:
‣ Youngest driver to lead a lap
‣ Youngest driver to set a fastest lap
‣ Youngest driver to claim pole
‣ Most points in a rookie season
‣ Only driver to win their first four races consecutively
‣ First teenager
3h ago
Daniel Valente 🏎️
@F1GuyDan
The last time a polesitter in Monaco started the race and lost the lead on Lap 1 was 2002.
3h ago
Autosport
@autosport
The last time a Ferrari driver won in Monaco from outside the front row was in 1955:
‣ Was driving number 44
‣ Was his first win for the team
‣ Was his second season with the team
1h ago
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Hadjar on Monaco qualifying comeback after Friday crash
Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar said his Monaco Grand Prix qualifying was a “very good comeback” after his heavy Friday crash, but felt mistakes and a messy session meant he “left some time out there” despite taking fifth on the grid. 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. In Q3 [first run] we had just a bad feeling with the car, and I went slower than in Q2."
Hadjar hails ‘good comeback' in Monaco qualifying after Friday bust
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Piastri on power unit management at Monaco
Oscar Piastri says managing the power unit will still be an “important” factor at the Monaco Grand Prix, and that if drivers avoid getting it “dramatically wrong” it is likely to be a typical Monaco race with few overtakes. Piastri said: "Managing the power unit is still going to be important, because it's very sensitive to pace, amount of full throttle time, the amount of breaking time. It's whether you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, it seems like. That's going to be an important thing to manage, but providing no one gets that dramatically wrong, then it's still going to be a Monaco race."
Oscar Piastri reveals 'important' factor in Monaco GP procession escape
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Briatore on Alpine improving the car before deciding 2026 line-up
Flavio Briatore says even Max Verstappen would not be able to make up Alpine’s current performance gap to McLaren, with the team focused on improving the car and areas such as pit stops before he considers who will partner Pierre Gasly next season. Briatore said: "Sure, the driver made a difference. If you have one guy like maybe Max, make you two tenths, three tenths. If you are seven, eight tenths behind, you don't have any driver makes this difference. So let's work on the car, let's work on the pit stop, let's work in doing much, much better aerodynamics on our car. Driver, for me, is the last part, is the last bit."
‘Even Max can't do it’ – Flavio Briatore’s blunt Alpine reality check
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Dry, warm forecast for Monaco GP
The Monaco Grand Prix is set to run in dry, warm conditions, with forecasts showing sunshine throughout Sunday and little chance of rain affecting the race. Temperatures are expected to climb from the high teens in the morning to around 26-27°C by the 15:00 local start, with light winds and manageable humidity. Any earlier risk of an isolated shower has largely disappeared, with the chance of precipitation put at under five per cent.
2026 F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Sunday morning weather update
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Stella on McLaren front wing requiring more work
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the team’s revised front wing “requires a bit more work” after McLaren reverted to its previous specification ahead of qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix. Stella said: "The behaviour of the front wing is closer to the expectation but requires a bit more work, so we will definitely see once more this front wing in the coming events. It was not very far from the baseline front wing, so it wasn't much intrusive in the overall preparation from a driving point of view."
Why McLaren's new front wing needs “a bit more work”
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Wolff on avoiding team orders between Antonelli and Russell
Toto Wolff says Mercedes will try to avoid using team orders in the drivers’ championship fight between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, after the pair’s close racing in Canada led to talks inside the team. Wolff said: "We will refrain from team orders for as long as possible – and if possible, then completely. We don't believe we need them and let the drivers drive. They know where the limit is. In Canada, they almost exceeded it, but we cleared that up in a discussion."
Mercedes provide team orders update as intense title fight heats up
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