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The last overtake for the lead in Monaco was many, many moons ago - either Michele Alboreto on Alain Prost in 1985 or Damon Hill passing Jean Alesi in 1996, so take you pick. But with 'yo-yo racing' a huge talking point with the new regulations this season, is there even a small shred of hope that we'll see a bona fide move made on track today?

So, if we imagine every driver has made it through the opening lap in the same positions, do you think we'll see any overtakes in Monte Carlo in 2026?

Click the left thumb for zero overtakes, or hit the right thumb for one or more.

You can also have a read of Andrew Benson's Monaco and 'yo-yo racing' story here

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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on still being surprised by the atmosphere in Monaco: "It feels like there's even more people, it's always packed but since Wednesday it's been quite crazy and the amount of support is super nice. This always gives me motivation, there is still a bit of disappoint from yesterday's qualifying but at the same time having this support gives me a bit of a smile back."

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Charles Leclerc will take his place on the second row in P4 at his home race in Monaco but the Ferrari driver said his weekend so far has been tough. "I’ve been struggling to get the right feeling in the car and have been facing some issues," he added.

Leclerc was briefly on provisional pole before Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen and team-mate Lewis Hamilton improved. But in a bid to regain the top spot on his final flying lap, he thumped the barriers at Tabac, breaking his rear suspension.

The Monegasque driver said if you don't have full confidence in Monte Carlo qualifying, "you can pay the price". So, what will Leclerc's confidence levels be today with three cars ahead of him on a circuit with very little room to wiggle past a competitor?

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Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton who will start the Monaco Grand Prix in third: “Time will tell [if he can get his start right]. It depends very much on the two cars ahead.

“We’ll try to get the best start we can and see what happens from there.”

On unpredictable starts and Ferrari's strong starts: "At the beginning, it was because we had taken decisions to benefit our starts, so the others didn't, now they have changed it so every one has similar starts."

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Lewis Hamilton looked sharp as he entered the paddock earlier on (and he was all on his own, wink, wink), ready to line-up third on today's grid in Monaco.

The seven-time world champion, whose last win here was in 2019, said he didn’t quite have the same confidence in the car that he felt in free practice. Still, he beat out his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who starts fourth, and added he was pleased with how tight the margins were between the top four cars in qualifying.

With a shot at another podium finish this weekend, Hamilton said looking forward "to the opportunity to bring home a strong result."

Following his second place in Canada, Hamilton also spoke of how he is building a positive raport with his new race engineer, Carlo Santi, saying the 52-year-old "is like my Italian Bono".

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

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McLaren are celebrating becoming only the second team to take part in 1,000 Grands Prix but the weekend has not gone the way they wanted.

They arrived here not only as reigning world champions but as last year’s winners, and on Thursday they collected many of their former drivers on the grid for a photoshoot with the team’s first F1 car, the M2B and the latest one.

They came here fancied by some, after locking out the second row in Canada two weeks ago, but they have not been competitive all weekend, and Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris line up together on the fourth row.

Team principal Andrea Stella said he was expecting at least one car to make it onto the third row, so admitted it was “a bit disappointing” not to achieve that.

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"We were expecting the overall competitiveness to be difficult at this circuit, for two main technical factors,” Stella said. "We know that from a chassis point of view, we lack grip overall, and we have a clear objective in terms of improving the grip and, in particular, the aerodynamic load. The second technical factor is that the MCL40, partly by design, and partly because we want to improve this factor as well, it's very gentle on the tyres.

"And when you have events where you actually have to be good at introducing energy and heat in the tyres, then we struggle a bit. So, it was not an easy task to find the right window for the tyres."

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen who will start the race in second: "Try not to overthink it too much, that works best. We will try to do the best start we can. It is a long race, anything can happen. It is not always easy and I hope today, we can have a normal start."

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Max Verstappen is a former polesitter and two-time winner of Monaco, so he knows what it takes to be crowned Monte Carlo's finest. But even the Dutchman was surprised at his performance in the Red Bull during the final part of qualifying.

"If you would have told me yesterday I would be on the front row, I would have taken it," he said. "So heading into qualifying and being up there was extremely positive. Very happy with how qualifying went."

In the post-qualifying news conference, Verstappen joked with Antonelli that the trick to a good start in Monaco is to "wait one second" at lights out. All jokes aside, the four-time world champion said it's "critical" he gets the start right, adding: "it can get a bit complicated and I have two cars behind me that start quite well, so let’s see."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

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George Russell said he believed the problem lay in the respective driving style between himself and team-mate Kimi Antonelli, and its impact on whether the tyres were at their ideal temperature for a qualifying lap.

"There's clearly a difference in driving style between the two of us, which has been there last year as well, but played into my hands very well last year," Russell said.

"And it clearly is playing into his hands perfectly well this year, but it still doesn't answer why I was so good at the start of the year and so poor now. So, we need to look at why that is. It's clear in the data.

"The difference is how we're driving has such an impact on the tyres. He's just getting the tyres in a nicer window than me, a nicer balance over the course of a lap, and the pace is just coming easier for him. I don't know why that is.

"I've been driving in this manner my whole career, and now, for whatever reason, it's not working with this car.

"Last year's car, Kimi was trying to drive in my way, and it was also not working for him.

"It's no excuse, it's just a reality, and I need to either work with the team to adjust my driving to compensate these new tyres, these new cars, or I need to find a different set-up that works for me."

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George Russell's statement off the back of his disappointment in Canada - he did actually claim pole before retiring from the race - proclaiming this year's title is Kimi Antonelli's "to lose" is maybe coming back to haunt him.

The Mercedes driver had to watch on as his younger team-mate took the top spot once again, while he starts five places lower in sixth, piggy-in-the-middle between Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in P5 and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri in P7.

Russell said he was "a bit bamboozled" and left "scratching my head" by the 0.394 seconds between himself and teenager Antonelli.

"I don't really know what's going on," said Russell. "The last three races have just been nowhere. Even Canada, I was nowhere until the last lap of Q3 of both sessions. So, I don't have an answer for that."

He added: "Until I can make some adjustments, it's going to continue like this."

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There was a question sent in to the Q&A last week (you can send any questions you might have to Andrew Benson here) asking: "Is Kimi Antonelli being overhyped due to results that largely he's been a tad fortunate with?"

There is still a loooong way to go in this championship but if he converts his pole position into a Monaco victory today, would this be another tick in the pro column that says Antonelli is the real deal?

Antonelli said his car "felt a bit on edge" before his last lap in Q3 produced a pole-winning time of 1:12.051. For today's grand prix, his jump off the line will have to be immaculate to hold off the multiple world champions behind him. It's a short run down to Turn One at Sainte Devote - the shortest on the calendar - and Antonelli's starts have not been his strong point this season. In fact, he's dropped down the order at every race so far.

"Monaco is always unpredictable," said the Italian. "I’ll try to stay calm, make the most of the opportunity."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur is back at the track today after missing qualifying day for medical reasons - have just walked past him in the paddock and received a wave.

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Monaco isn't exactly a hotbed of overtaking opportunities, but do you think something interesting can happen during today's race with teenager Kimi Antonelli on pole and the new generation of cars taking to Monaco for the very first time?

Also, it's a big day for McLaren, who are celebrating their 1,000th grand prix this weekend, 60 years on from their maiden Formula 1 race in Monte Carlo in 1966. The team, founded by New Zealander Bruce McLaren, have won 203 grands prix, 13 drivers' championships and 10 constructors' titles.

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So, along with your race predictions, we want you to send us your memories and highlights of McLaren in F1. To share your messages, just select the 'get involved' button on the live page.

And now you can also add pictures to your messages. So if you've got any good pictures with past and present McLaren drivers, send them in.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

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Hello, folks. Saturday's qualifying session produced Monaco "magic" for title leader Kimi Antonelli as he pipped his rivals to pole position for Formula 1's crown jewel grand prix.

The teenager is leading the drivers' championship by 43 points from Mercedes team-mate George Russell and now with his fourth pole of the season secured, he has the chance to not only claim his fifth consecutive victory of the campaign, but to also pile more misery on to Russell, who starts sixth, by extending his title advatnage.

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Alongside Antonelli on the front row is the Red Bull of Max Verstsappen. The Dutchman had pole in his grasp with seconds to go in Q3 but he was dropped down to P2 by the Italian by just 0.043 seconds.

Home driver Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was only a couple of minutes away from taking his fourth pole position in Monte Carlo to the delight of the crowds watching on. But a crash on his final lap dropped him down to fourth on today's starting grid, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton one place higher in third.

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