Kimi Antonelli confirmed his dominance by winning the Monaco Grand Prix, securing a fifth consecutive victory and extending his lead in the 2026 drivers’ championship. The 78‑lap race at the Circuit de Monaco finished with Antonelli clear of Lewis Hamilton, who moved up to second, and Isack Hadjar who took third. Antonelli completed the distance in 2:23:31.243 and left Monte Carlo with a commanding championship margin over George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The race featured multiple retirements and interruptions that reshaped the podium and points order.

Kim Kardashian’s paddock appearance at the Monaco Grand Prix drew heavy celebrity coverage and renewed romance speculation as she supported Lewis Hamilton on Sunday. Kardashian, 45, arrived in Monte Carlo by boat with her sister Khloe and made her first paddock appearance of the season, visiting the new Paddock Club and wearing Ferrari‑branded headphones during Saturday qualifying. She posted a photo with Hamilton to her Instagram account, which has about 345 million followers, and the pair have been seen together publicly in recent months, including at Super Bowl LX in February. Reports differ on the status of their relationship: some outlets said it was confirmed in April, while other reports and statements note that neither Kardashian nor Hamilton has officially confirmed a romance and Hamilton earlier deflected questions about his private life.

On track, Hamilton delivered a podium for Ferrari, finishing second behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the race featured two safety‑car periods and was briefly red‑flagged when part of the track surface broke up at the final corner. Hamilton served a five‑second pit‑lane penalty but benefited from a Safety Car pit stop after a team double‑stack that allowed him to keep position, and he was unable to pass Antonelli after the race resumed with a standing restart. The result was Hamilton’s second consecutive podium, his third of the season and his eighth Monte Carlo podium, a mark that equalled Ayrton Senna’s record. The finish moved Hamilton to second in the drivers’ championship standings, 66 points behind Antonelli and two points ahead of George Russell.

Kardashian was visible on the starting grid, joined Hamilton under the podium to celebrate his result, and her arrival at the Circuit de Monaco was captured in a viral video that drew attention from fans and media at the venue. Sky Sports reported that Kardashian and her entourage reportedly snubbed a pre‑race television interview request from commentator Martin Brundle. Hamilton described the presence and support of a “high‑profile supporter” at the track as “amazing,” and he publicly praised his team’s recovery after what had been a difficult start to his 2026 season.

Liam Lawson’s Monaco weekend survived a dramatic pre-race technical scare after his Racing Bulls car was found in pieces in the garage, leaving his participation in doubt. About an hour before the local 14:00 start, the team repaired an unspecified fault on the VCARB03 and reassembled the car in time for Lawson to leave the pits for his installation lap. Lawson told Sky Sports he “didn’t think I was going to race,” and Sky commentator Martin Brundle reported Lawson had feared a pit-lane start at best. Lawson climbed into the car as the pit lane opened, radioed his appreciation to the crew and said he would try to make the result worth it.

Lawson had earlier produced an impressive qualifying, advancing into Q3 and taking 10th on the grid, a result he said left him “pleasantly surprised.” The 10th-place start was his best grid position since the Australian Grand Prix and marked his second consecutive year finishing inside the top 10 at Monaco. Lawson and Racing Bulls attributed the recovery in pace to setup changes made after a difficult Friday, which revealed the car’s true speed. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took pole, beating Max Verstappen by 0.043 seconds.

From 10th on the grid, Lawson moved up to ninth on the opening lap after Verstappen stalled, and Verstappen later retired. Lawson advanced through the field amid incidents, penalties and retirements to finish fifth, equaling the best result of his Formula 1 career and matching his previous fifth at last season’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad finished sixth, giving Racing Bulls a one-two finish inside the top six. The quick remediation of Lawson’s car was framed against a wider run of early-season did-not-start problems under the new regulations, with other teams and drivers having faced DNS issues this year.

Isack Hadjar’s Monaco weekend was hit by a heavy crash at Turn 15 in Free Practice 1 (FP1) on Friday. He said he unexpectedly lost the rear, spun into the barrier with the tyres locking up and called the day “a horrific day.” Red Bull rebuilt the RB22 and returned him to the track, but the incident cost him significant running and rhythm ahead of qualifying. Some accounts said the repairs cost him more than half of FP1; others suggested the disruption extended into FP2.

Red Bull returned Hadjar to measured running in FP2 as he rebuilt confidence, and he finished sixth in that session. He used FP3 mainly for limited running to manage remaining damage and try to regain pace and momentum.

Hadjar recovered through qualifying after the disrupted Friday. A strong Q2 lap put him as high as third on the timesheets and carried him into Q3. He described Q3 as “too messy,” said he left time on the track and estimated he was roughly five tenths of a second slower than the drivers ahead. He lost places on his final Q3 run and took fifth on the grid, three places behind team-mate Max Verstappen and ahead of both McLaren drivers and George Russell’s Mercedes. Hadjar called P5 a solid platform at a venue where overtaking is difficult and said he would look to the race start and exploit start-performance differences into Turn 1 to try to make progress.

Red Bull produced one of its strongest qualifying performances of the season, with Verstappen recovering from a tricky FP3 to secure a narrow front-row slot next to pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Verstappen described the session as “an extremely positive” turnaround and warned that race starts would be decisive. Team principal Laurent Mekies praised the driving and the work from Milton Keynes, and the team framed start execution and strategy as key to converting qualifying pace into a race result. Hadjar said he had rebuilt confidence across the sessions and believed that a tight pack and the right strategy could create overtaking opportunities on Sunday.

Fernando Alonso condemned this season’s F1 hybrid power‑unit and battery rules after practice in Monaco, saying they produce inconsistent engine braking, poor driveability and have damaged wheel‑to‑wheel racing. The three‑time world champion called the cars “probably the worst generation of cars I ever drove in Monaco” and added, “hybrid cars should not be racing.” He blamed complex energy‑harvesting rules and battery charging and deployment logic that make engine braking sometimes strong, sometimes weak and that can vanish when the battery is full.

Alonso described on‑track consequences including chronic understeer, erratic driveability and sudden downshifts that led to a tap of the wall approaching the Nouvelle Chicane in FP1. His Aston Martin AMR26 remained off the pace in practice despite setup tweaks and he finished 20th in the session. He pointed to other examples, such as Suzuka, and his complaints echo remarks he made after the Canadian round as part of an ongoing push to change the regulations.

Haas teammates Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon clashed over alleged lap blocking during Monaco practice, producing a series of heated team‑radio exchanges that were broadcast and captured on onboard footage. The initial confrontation unfolded in FP1, when Bearman repeatedly backed out of flying laps and led Ocon out of the pits while Ocon followed closely, prompting Ocon to complain that Bearman had ruined his hot laps twice. The row escalated on team radio, with Bearman heard calling Ocon an “idiot” on air and Ocon using stronger language about having his laps impeded. Haas race engineer Laura Muller instructed Ocon to back off, but Ocon at one point overtook Bearman into the Anthony Noghes corner.

The dispute continued to be referenced around FP2, where Bearman put in the stronger showing on track. In FP1 Bearman posted a 1:16.292 to sit 16th and Ocon a 1:16.333 to be 17th, Bearman 0.041 seconds quicker. Bearman improved in FP2 to 1:14.456 and 10th, while Ocon remained 17th in both sessions. Bearman, 19, called FP2 “a step forward” and said the team still had work to do overnight to optimise the car. Ocon, 29, downplayed the row after FP2, saying he had also been held up several times, that the team had swapped positions and resolved the issue, and that practice was about finding the car’s limits ahead of pushing harder the following day. He also commented that the new‑generation cars at Monaco felt “a bit more old school” with less energy‑management demand.

Haas sporting boss Ayao Komatsu held a debrief after the FP1 incident, signalling the team was actively managing driver interactions and extracting lessons from the practice sessions. The tensions come with wider context: Bearman outscored Ocon last season and led him by 17 points in the 2026 standings entering Monaco, having three points finishes so far this year, while Ocon had scored one point in the opening five races. Media reports noted neither driver’s future at Haas is guaranteed beyond 2026, a point Ocon called “complete nonsense,” saying he had a good relationship with Komatsu and remained focused on his job.

Ferrari announced that team principal Fred Vasseur, 58, would miss Saturday’s Monaco Grand Prix qualifying after undergoing medical checks and being kept under observation at a local medical facility. The team said it would not provide further medical details and wished Vasseur a speedy recovery. Ferrari framed the matter as an internal medical issue and gave no timetable for his return.

The statement, released as qualifying was imminent, said Vasseur would not be present at the circuit on Saturday but did not identify who might assume his trackside responsibilities for qualifying. Vasseur has led Ferrari’s Formula 1 team since 2023 and received a multi-year contract extension last year. The announcement removed a key figure from a crucial part of the race weekend and left Ferrari managing both sporting priorities and an unexpected leadership absence.

On Friday Charles Leclerc topped first practice and Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the second session, underscoring the competitive picture for the weekend. Vasseur had earlier warned teams that Friday times were not definitive and urged crews to anticipate track and grip evolution, saying teams should be “one session ahead” of qualifying and the race. Ferrari and other outlets extended well wishes for Vasseur’s recovery.

George Russell arrived at the Monaco Grand Prix exposed by a clear pace deficit to Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who took pole with a 1:12.051 lap. Antonelli’s time was 0.043 seconds quicker than Max Verstappen and capped a run of four straight wins that has left Russell 43 points adrift in the standings. Russell qualified sixth, about 0.39-0.4 seconds off the pole pace, and said he was “a bit bamboozled” and “bewildered,” adding that “nothing’s clicking.” He blamed a mismatch between his driving style and the W17, said he lacks confidence in the car, and acknowledged he must either change his approach or push for development to close the gap. Sky pundit Anthony Davidson said onboard footage confirmed a visible lack of confidence from Russell compared with Antonelli, noting a rear loss at Turn 1 and tentative work through the key Monaco corners.

The weekend exposed inconsistent form across practice sessions. Russell set the fourth-fastest time in FP2, roughly 0.4 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton and about 0.1 seconds quicker than Antonelli, but he was more than seven-tenths of a second slower than Antonelli in FP3. Team principal Toto Wolff said Russell did not feel fully comfortable in the car but warned he should not be written off. Russell described Ferrari as “the team to beat” after practice and pointed to the SF-26’s mechanical characteristics being well suited to street circuits like Monaco. He also acknowledged Red Bull as a surprise performer and said Mercedes had ideas to improve the W17 overnight but had not yet “nailed it.”

Russell’s struggles were compounded by earlier season setbacks, including an engine failure in Canada that contributed to his points deficit. He said he has “nothing to lose” and will try to enjoy every race, arguing the championship remains mathematically reachable if he can keep taking poles and convert them into wins. The Monaco result underlined Antonelli’s momentum and left Mercedes facing both setup and development questions if Russell is to stem the widening performance gap.

Charles Leclerc’s persistent brake and car‑consistency problems cost him a shot at pole and culminated in a Q3 crash that compromised his Monaco qualifying. Leclerc slid into the Tabac wall during his final Q3 push, breaking the rear suspension and ending an attempt that had briefly put him on provisional pole. He blamed ongoing braking problems and an inconsistent car, saying, “I don’t really know where to brake,” and describing the last two weekends as “incredibly tough.” Reports varied on the immediate cause of the ruined lap, with some accounts citing a puncture after contact with the wall, and others linking the incident directly to the brake and balance issues that have dogged him since Canada. The crash left Leclerc fourth on the grid, his worst Monaco qualifying since 2023, with Ferrari noting the car’s unpredictable behaviour made it hard to judge limits.

Leclerc had shown strong pace through Friday practice, topping FP1 and finishing second in FP2, but he and the team flagged recurring brake problems and setup inconsistency throughout the weekend. He reported a “horrendous” feeling under braking in FP3, and earlier sessions included a lock‑up at Mirabeau and a brush with the barriers at the Swimming Pool that produced debris and a brief Virtual Safety Car. Ferrari said it believes it has a potential fix and plans to test it in Barcelona, and the team will monitor data and any repair‑related penalties before confirming Leclerc’s final starting status. In qualifying Andrea Kimi Antonelli took pole ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, leaving Leclerc to regroup from a damaged car and lost confidence for Sunday’s race.