The margins were as tiny as ever beneath the looming walls of Monte Carlo but, with the verve and fearlessness of youth, Kimi Antonelli had the edge to claim pole for the Monaco Grand Prix. That in so doing the 19-year-old saw off concerted efforts by Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with 11 titles between them, on the toughest single-lap challenge of the year only served to emphasise the talent of the tousled-haired teen.
In a gripping qualifying session, Antonelli had to be flawless to edge out the Red Bull of Verstappen into second and Hamilton’s Ferrari into third. With overtaking, as ever, all but impossible on the streets of the principality, Saturday is the key part of the weekend in Monaco and qualifying was pleasingly dramatic and intense.
