Lewis Hamilton says his strong qualifying performance at the Monaco Grand Prix shows he’s not “lacking pace” despite “negative comments” from his critics.
Hamilton missed out on the front row as Kimi Antonelli took pole ahead of Max Verstappen, but the seven-time world champion’s third place meant he outqualified his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc for the second race in a row, with the Monegasque fourth after a late crash.
Having shown significant signs of improvement after enduring a tough debut season with Ferrari last year, the 41-year-old last month said that people are “trying to retire” him and insisted he plans “to be around” in F1 for years to come.
“I’m in a really good place with the car, I’m in a really good place with the team,” Hamilton said.
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Highlights from Qualifying at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix.
“You can see that I have decent pace still in me. There’s no lacking of pace, which I’m really grateful and happy about, regardless of all the negative comments people have made over time.
“So, it’s good. I’ll just keep on putting the work in and I’ll keep showing up and I’ll keep delivering.”
Hamilton: Car felt completely different
Ferrari were favourites going into Saturday in Monaco after claiming a one-two in both of Friday’s practice sessions.
The short and medium-speed corners suited their car on paper, but they were overhauled by Antonelli and Verstappen when it mattered most in qualifying.
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After months of appearing on Lewis Hamilton’s socials, Kim Kardashian makes her first Grand Prix paddock appearance at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton says the car felt “completely different” on Saturday despite having made only minor setup tweaks overnight.
He said: “The car was really in a bad place, so in Q1 I was seven tenths down or something like that and had to make huge adjustments to the wing in order to try and rebalance the car for some reason, so I’m not quite sure exactly what went wrong. We will deep dive into it.
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Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton set a time of 1:13:026, the fastest in the second practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix.
“Ultimately, we lost the chance to fight for the front row going into qualifying with the balance that we ended up with, so it’s a bit of a surprise. But I’m still grateful.
“I got everything I could out of it at the end with the balance that I had. The car was on the edge. I was on the edge as much as I could be.”
Leclerc: Crash not ‘only on me’
After missing out on pole at his home circuit, Leclerc said that his qualifying crash was down to a “combination of factors” beyond just his driving.
Having struggled in Canada last time out, the Monegasque continued to experience an issue with his Ferrari that left him struggling to control the car when it mattered most.
Leclerc blew his first flying lap in Q3 with an error, and was then sent out before his rivals at the end of the session to allow him time for two more efforts.
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Kimi Antonelli takes a stunning Monaco pole as Charles Leclerc tagged the barrier, with Max Verstappen second and Lewis Hamilton third.
The first put him on provisional pole but he had been pushed down to fourth by the time he hit the barrier at Tabac on his second attempt.
Leclerc told Sky Sports F1: “It’s a combination of factors. When it’s only on me, I say it without much shame, but today was probably a combination of factors.
“It’s a result of the last two weekends being particularly messy, with something specifically on my car that I’m really struggling with at the moment.
“I think we have the solution, but I have to try it in Barcelona and see if it’s getting better.
“The consistency of the car at the moment is just extremely tricky and that makes me push in Q3 without really knowing the limit of the car, and I overdid it.”
Sky Sports F1’s Monaco GP live schedule
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Martin Brundle guesses who said these iconic Monaco Grand Prix radio messages
Sunday June 7
6.50am: F3 Feature Race
8.30am: F2 Feature Race
10.50am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Monaco GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE MONACO GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Monaco GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Watch the Monaco Grand Prix, the first of six races in eight weeks, live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
