Starting Grid 2026 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix
Event: Monaco F1 Grand Prix
Track: Monaco Circuit
Warm-up lap starts at: 15:00 Local | 15:.00 CET | 14:00 UK | 06:00 LA | 22:00 Tokyo
The 2026 Monaco Grand Prix start grid is set, and it has all the ingredients for a tense afternoon in Monte-Carlo. Kimi Antonelli will start from pole position after producing a superb final lap in qualifying, beating Max Verstappen by just 0.043s to secure his maiden Monaco pole. On a circuit where overtaking remains brutally difficult, that front-row advantage could prove decisive.
Verstappen lines up second and will fancy his chances into Sainte Devote, especially with who is breathing down his neck from the second row. Because on second row are boht super fast starting 's, Lewis Hamilton starts third ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, leaving the Scuderia with two cars in striking range but also with the frustration of missing pole on a weekend where Ferrari had a big change of claiming pole.
Behind them, Isack Hadjar impressed with fifth place, putting his car ahead of George Russell, who endured a difficult qualifying compared with his Mercedes team-mate. McLaren will start from the fourth row with Oscar Piastri seventh and Lando Norris eighth, while Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson complete the top ten.
Further back, the midfield was typically chaotic. Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz narrowly missed Q3, Audi’s practice promise faded when it mattered, and Gabriel Bortoleto’s crash at the Nouvelle chicane brought out the red flags in Q1.
pole position is gold dust in Monaco, but it is not a guarantee. Historically, the polesitter has converted it into victory in just under half of all F1 World Championship Monaco Grands Prix: 33 wins from 71 races, or 46.5%. Recent history, however, has tilted back towards track position, with the polesitter winning in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
If Kimi Antonelli wins the 2026 Monaco GP from pole, he would become the third Italian driver to win Monaco in F1 history. With Monaco’s narrow streets offering little room for recovery, strategy, safety cars and the race start could decide whether Antonelli converts his 4th pole into victory or whether Verstappen, Ferrari or an opportunistic outsider can spoil the Italian party.
F1 Starting Grid 2026 Monaco GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Pole gap |
| 1 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:12,051 | |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:12,094 | +0,043s |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:12,279 | +0,228s |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:12,351 | +0,300s |
| 5 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:12,434 | +0,383s |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:12,445 | +0,394s |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:12,624 | +0,573s |
| 8 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:12,765 | +0,714s |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:13,226 | +1,175s |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:13,412 | +1,361s |
| 11 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:13,787 | +1,736s |
| 12 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:13,815 | +1,764s |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 1:13,902 | +1,851s |
| 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:13,995 | +1,944s |
| 15 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:14,248 | +2,197s |
| 16 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:14,683 | +2,632s |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:14,722 | +2,671s |
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac | 1:14,747 | +2,696s |
| 19 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:14,814 | +2,763s |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:15,283 | +3,232s |
| 21 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:15,349 | +3,298s |
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:16,061 | +4,010s |
✅ Check out our 2026 Monaco F1 Grand Prix Preview.
One F1 fan comment on “Starting Grid 2026 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix”
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Antonelli will win, unless something happens to him, since any given Monaco GP is always for the pole-sitter to lose.
Additionally, if the race is neutralization-free or only has VSC disruption(s), I expect a lot of lapping again, with most getting lapped twice by the eventual winner, as was the case in the last two editions.