Photo: Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Crown Jewel of Formula 1 · 2026
Monaco Grand Prix
Winner: Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes took the win at Monte Carlo.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Winner of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix · Mercedes
Pole: Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
When is the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix?
Why does Monaco qualifying matter so much?
Monaco's 3.337 km streets are narrower than any other F1 circuit and the modern cars are wider than the cars they were designed for. Overtaking is so difficult that qualifying is treated as the de-facto race.
- Pole-to-win rate: roughly 43% of all Monaco GPs since 1950 have been won from pole — the highest on the current calendar.
- Format: Q1, Q2, Q3 — the same knockout format used at every F1 round, run on the Saturday afternoon before the race.
- Strategy: teams treat Monaco track time as precious. Most reduce Friday running to a minimum to avoid damaging cars before the only session that really matters.
Finishing order
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Laps | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1 | 78 | Finished | 25 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 3 | 78 | Finished | 18 |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 5 | 78 | Finished | 15 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 7 | 78 | Finished | 12 |
| 5 | Liam Lawson | RB F1 Team | 10 | 78 | Finished | 10 |
| 6 | Arvid Lindblad | RB F1 Team | 15 | 78 | Finished | 8 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine F1 Team | 9 | 78 | Finished | 6 |
| 8 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 11 | 78 | Finished | 4 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 17 | 78 | Finished | 2 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 21 | 78 | Finished | 1 |
| 11 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 16 | 78 | Finished | 0 |
| 12 | George Russell | Mercedes | 6 | 78 | Finished | 0 |
| 13 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 13 | 78 | Finished | 0 |
| 14 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine F1 Team | 14 | 78 | Finished | 0 |
| 15 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac F1 Team | 18 | 78 | Finished | 0 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 12 | 70 | Retired | 0 |
| R | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 4 | 64 | Retired | 0 |
| R | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 22 | 56 | Retired | 0 |
| R | Lando Norris | McLaren | 8 | 43 | Retired | 0 |
| R | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 19 | 27 | Retired | 0 |
| R | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac F1 Team | 20 | 15 | Retired | 0 |
| R | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | 0 | Retired | 0 |
Past Monaco winners on this year's grid
5 drivers on the current grid have won at Monaco before — 9 Monaco wins between them.
- 3× Monaco
Ferrari
- 2× Monaco
Aston Martin
- 2× Monaco
Red Bull
- 1× Monaco
Ferrari
- 1× Monaco
McLaren
Storylines to watch
The angles that will shape race weekend — verified facts, no predictions.
Norris returns as defending winner
Lando Norris won the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix — McLaren's first win on the streets since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. He arrives in 2026 as the only active driver who has won here for McLaren.
Leclerc, the local
Charles Leclerc grew up in Monaco and lives a short walk from the start-finish line. He broke his Monaco curse with a win in 2024 after years of qualifying crashes and reliability issues at his home race.
Verstappen's third coming
Max Verstappen has won at Monaco twice (2021, 2023). A third would put him level with Hamilton and Rosberg on the modern leaderboard, still well behind the Senna/Schumacher/Hill 5-6 cluster.
About the Circuit de Monaco
The street circuit that gives Monaco its character — and its reputation as the hardest race to win on the calendar.
- Circuit length
- 3.337 km
- Turns
- 19
- Race distance
- 78 laps
- Total distance
- 260.286 km
- First F1 race
- 1950
- Lap record
- 1:12.909 (Verstappen, 2018)
- Pole-to-win rate
- ~43% (all-time)
- Direction
- Clockwise
The original circuit was laid out in 1929 by Antony Noghès, son of the founder of the Automobile Club de Monaco. Most of the layout has survived; the Sainte Dévote, Casino Square, Mirabeau, Fairmont Hairpin, and Tabac corners are all original. The Swimming Pool complex was added in 1973.
Monaco in pictures
The harbor, the tunnel, the build-up — what makes the Crown Jewel look like nothing else on the calendar. Photos via Wikimedia Commons.
The tunnel exit onto the harbor chicane — drivers go from darkness to full daylight at over 290 km/h.Photo: See Commons file page · CC BY-SA 
Race-build week — Monte Carlo transforms over six weeks from public streets into one of the most demanding circuits in motorsport.Photo: See Commons file page · CC BY-SA 3.0
The lore of the Principality
Six things that make Monaco unlike any other race on the F1 calendar.
The royal podium
Monaco is the only race where the trophy is presented by the reigning monarch — currently Prince Albert II. The podium itself sits on the royal balcony above the start-finish line, not on a temporary structure in parc fermé.
Saturday is the race
Overtaking is so difficult on Monaco's 3.3 km streets that qualifying is treated as the de-facto race. Pole has converted to victory in roughly four of every ten Monaco GPs since 1950.
The Swimming Pool complex
Turns 13–16 wrap around the Stade Nautique Rainier III — Monaco's open-air public swimming pool. The chicane was added in 1973 when the original harbour-front straight was bypassed.
The Fairmont (formerly Loews) hairpin
The slowest corner in Formula 1 — drivers crawl through at around 48 km/h. The full lock-to-lock steering input is so extreme that some teams modify the rack for Monaco specifically.
Casino Square
The blind crest at Casino — a left-right kink past the Hôtel de Paris — is one of F1's most photographed corners. The car briefly goes light over the brow before the descent toward Mirabeau.
The Tunnel
The only true tunnel section on the F1 calendar. Light changes from daylight to artificial sodium in roughly half a second; drivers exit at ~290 km/h before braking for the chicane.
Most Monaco GP wins, all time
The Monaco win leaderboard. Senna's six remains untouched since 1993.
- 6× wins
1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 · All-time record. Five consecutive wins (1989–1993).
- 5× wins
1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001
- 5× wins
1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969 · "Mr. Monaco" — the nickname predates the Senna era.
- 4× wins
1984, 1985, 1986, 1988
- 3× wins
1956, 1960, 1961
- 3× wins
1966, 1971, 1973
- 3× wins
2013, 2014, 2015 · Three in a row — his father Keke won here in 1983.
- 3× wins
2008, 2016, 2019
Monaco Grand Prix records
Race lap record
Max Verstappen · Set on softs in the closing stages.
1:12.909
2018
Pole position lap
1:10.270
2024
Most consecutive wins
Ayrton Senna · 1989–1993.
5 in a row
1993
Most pole positions
5 poles
1991
Frequently asked questions
Who won the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix?
Who is on pole for the 2026 Monaco GP?
When is the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix?
How long is the Monaco Grand Prix?
Why is Monaco qualifying so important?
Who has won the most Monaco Grands Prix?
What is the lap record at Monaco?
How many laps is the Monaco GP?
Why does the trophy ceremony happen on a balcony?
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