Antonelli Takes Monaco Pole; Verstappen and Hamilton Joke About His Weakness

Mercedes Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix. In the post-qualifying press conference, world champions Max Verstappen (starting second) and Lewis Hamilton (starting third) offered humorous advice regarding race starts—a known weakness for Antonelli.

"When the lights go out, you wait one second, and then that's my advice." — Max Verstappen

"Yeah, two seconds." — Lewis Hamilton

Antonelli commented on his start issues:

"I mean, the start 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 in Monaco into Turn 1. I just need to get a clean start, don't try to do the magic start, and then we see from there."

Fans on social media reacted positively, describing the trio with phrases such as "big brothers energy" and "fun uncles."