Antonelli wins fifth straight as McLaren’s Monaco woes deepen

McLaren’s Monaco Qualifying a ‘Reality Check’ Says Norris

Lando Norris called McLaren’s qualifying performance at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix “a slight reality check of how far off we are,” after he and teammate Oscar Piastri could manage only eighth and seventh on the grid — over seven tenths behind pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.crash

Antonelli secured pole with a lap of 1:12.051, edging Max Verstappen by just 0.043 seconds in a dramatic final segment of Q3 on Saturday. Piastri set a 1:12.624 and Norris a 1:12.765, leaving both McLarens stranded on the fourth row for Sunday’s race.espn

Fundamental Car Limitations

Norris pointed to deep-rooted issues with the MCL40, describing a car lacking grip, downforce, and compliance around Monaco’s unforgiving street circuit. “My confidence level last year was 100, now it’s 85 and around Monaco you need to be around 100,” Norris said after qualifying. The defending Monaco Grand Prix winner acknowledged the deficit was spread across the entire lap rather than isolated to any single sector, saying: “We know what’s missing, and it’s better to recognise it now rather than later in the season.”mclaren

Piastri echoed those concerns, noting the team had “been on the back foot all weekend” and that “the fundamental issue has been a general lack of grip.”mclaren

Stella Identifies Two Technical Weaknesses

Team principal Andrea Stella revealed McLaren had anticipated a difficult Monaco weekend due to two specific technical shortcomings. The first is the car’s overall lack of aerodynamic load and chassis grip — an area already targeted for development. The second concerns the MCL40’s gentle treatment of its tyres, which becomes a liability at circuits demanding quick tyre warm-up.gpblog

“When you have events where you actually have to be good at introducing energy and heat in the tyres, then we struggled a bit,” Stella told media. He added that McLaren’s potential was sufficient to qualify on the third row but that “especially in Q3 it was a bit difficult to put all this potential together.”gpblog

Weekend Disruptions Compound the Problem

Norris’s preparation was further hampered by a car stoppage during Friday’s FP2 session, which forced McLaren’s mechanics to work until 4:00 AM replacing the wiring harness and ESME pack. The team broke curfew to complete the repairs, and the FIA later fined McLaren €30,000 after discovering the team had taped over the clutch disengagement button for aerodynamic purposes, delaying the car’s recovery by marshals.motorsport

In Q3, Norris was up by a couple of tenths on his final attempt before a lock-up at the chicane cost him his best chance at a higher grid slot. Despite the setback, McLaren went on to salvage fourth place in Sunday’s race through Piastri, while Norris retired after contact during a chaotic grand prix that saw Antonelli convert pole into his fifth consecutive victory.mclaren