Antonelli takes pole at Monaco GP

Italian driver Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) will start from pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, the sixth event of the Formula 1 season, after a dominant qualifying performance on Saturday. This marks Antonelli's fourth pole position in six Grands Prix this season.

Antonelli edged out four-time world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by a mere 43 thousandths of a second. British driver Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) qualified third, while local favorite Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will start fourth.

"I had one of those laps that you can call magical. It went well from start to finish, it's incredible. It was a tough battle against Max. Thanks to my whole team, yesterday (Friday, in free practice) we were a bit behind, and today (Saturday) we managed to find those tenths we were missing," said Antonelli, as reported by AFP.

After a subdued Friday of free practice, Antonelli showed strong form on Saturday, topping the third practice session before confirming his pace in qualifying. If he can manage a clean start, something that has been a challenge for him this season, he will have a clear path towards another victory and extending his lead in the World Championship.

Verstappen acknowledged the challenge, stating, "If they had told me yesterday that I would be on the front row, I wouldn't have believed it. It's extremely positive, I'm very happy to be in front and we'll see tomorrow (Sunday) what happens at the start." Leclerc expressed frustration, lamenting, "I don't know what happened with the brakes, the car was very irregular." George Russell (Mercedes) qualified sixth, expressing confusion about his performance relative to the start of the season.

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Si me hubieran dicho ayer que estaría en la primera línea, no lo habría creído. Es extremadamente positivo, estoy muy feliz de estar delante y veremos mañana (domingo) qué pasa en la salida