George Russell’s world championship bid suffered another setback as Kimi Antonelli stormed to pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Antonelli, who has won the last four races, danced his way around Monaco’s famed streets in the principality to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to the top spot by just 0.043 seconds.

Russell will start a distant sixth — 0.394 seconds slower than his Mercedes teammate — with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc third and fourth respectively for Ferrari.

Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar lines up from fifth with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris set to start McLaren’s 1000th race from seventh and eighth.

Russell is in desperate need of a strong weekend after slipping 43 points behind Antonelli following his retirement from the lead in Canada a fortnight ago.

But the British driver has struggled for pace all weekend at the principality, and now faces losing even further ground to Antonelli at a circuit where overtaking is practically impossible.

“I just don’t feel like I have got any grip,” Russell said. “I don’t really get it.”

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Hamilton had been quicker than anyone here on Friday in a car which had been tipped to excel on this unique, slow-speed track.

The seven-time world champion finished 0.228 seconds behind Antonelli with a wild Leclerc, who came close to crashing on two occasions in Q3, three-tenths off the pace.

Hamilton’s Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was absent from the track after he was hospitalized, although Ferrari did not provide any details on the nature of his condition.

Q1 was red-flagged after Gabriel Bortoleto fell victim to the narrowest track on the calendar.

The Brazilian clipped the barrier as he arrived for the Nouvelle Chicane, breaking his suspension, and thudding into the wall.

Oliver Bearman, who crashed out of final practice, then failed to progress from the opening phase.

Bearman, hindered by the late red flag, will start Sunday’s 78-lap race only 19th. The beleaguered Aston Martin team occupy the final row of the grid — with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both more than two seconds off the leading pace.