pole

George Russell bounced back from the disappointments of the past few races to take pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Russell edged out Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari by just 0.064 seconds as runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli could manage only third place in the other Mercedes.

McLaren’s Lando Norris took fourth from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, while Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc crashed on his first lap in the final session and will start 10th.

Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri was seventh, from Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg.

More to follow

Formula One racing sensation Kimi Antonelli made a mockery of suggestions that the Monaco Grand ⁠⁠Prix would stall his incredible start ⁠⁠to the season by producing a stunning qualifying lap to stick his Mercedes on pole position.

The qualifying battle lived up to expectations, with provisional pole changing hands several times before the 19-year-old championship leader snatched it with his ⁠⁠final lap on Saturday.

He edged out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.043 seconds to become the first Italian since Jarno Trulli in 2004 to take pole position in the principality.

“It was one of those laps that we call a magic lap. I was able to put it all together. It was such a close ⁠⁠qualifying with Max,” Antonelli, who clocked 1:12.051 (1 minute and 12.051 seconds) to claim his fourth pole in six races this season, said.

“I knew the last lap was good; I was just hoping that it would be enough, but it was very close.”

Antonelli is the youngest driver to lead the championship, having won the last four races, but the unique nature of Monaco’s twisting circuit, full of slow corners, was supposed to take away the Mercedes power advantage.

Ferrari pair on second row

Ferrari have been strongly tipped as ‌‌race favourites but had to be content with the second row on Sunday’s grid, with Lewis Hamilton third quickest, 0.228 seconds slower, and local favourite Charles Leclerc, winner of the race in 2024, fourth.

Leclerc had been on provisional pole with time running out in Q3 – the third and final session of qualifying – but clipped the wall on his final lap as he tried to wrestle it back, stopping his car at Rascasse.

Ferrari dominated Friday’s two practice sessions, with Hamilton and Leclerc first and second in both, although Antonelli was quickest in Saturday’s final practice.

“Congrats to Kimi. Mega, mega job. Having your first pole here is so special,” three-time Monaco champion Hamilton, who is yet to win a race for Ferrari, said.

“It was tough for us. We were looking so strong in practice, and ⁠⁠we barely changed anything, but the car was drastically different once we got to qualifying for some reason.”

Isack Hadjar, in ⁠⁠the second Oracle Red Bull, bounced back from a nasty crash in Friday practice to qualify fifth, with Antonelli’s teammate George Russell, who trails him by 43 points in the standings, a disappointing sixth.

Reigning world champion and last year’s Monaco winner Lando Norris will be on the fourth row alongside fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, with the team’s hopes of victory in ⁠⁠their 1,000th Grand Prix now looking slender.

‘The walls start coming closer’

Antonelli finished 18th and last at the Monaco Grand Prix 12 months ago, and he was expected to feel the pressure of leading the standings on his return.

But he ⁠⁠now has a golden chance to continue his dream start to the season by emulating Trulli, ⁠⁠who converted his pole into a victory in his Renault in 2004.

“I think this is one of the most intensive, if not the most intense, qualifying sessions of the year, and it takes a massive effort,” he said. “When it is about finding the last two tenths, it is not easy because the walls start coming closer.

“But I felt great this morning, and I am happy that we ‌‌could finish the job today.”

Of the last 22 Monaco Grands Prix, only six have been won by a driver who did not start on pole, such is the extreme difficulty of overtaking on the narrow, twisty circuit that snakes round the stunning Mediterranean playground.

The last three editions have all been won by the ‌‌top ‌‌driver in qualifying, but Hamilton did win from third on the grid in 2016, and with Verstappen showing great speed here this year, Antonelli will be taking nothing for granted.

“If you would have told me yesterday I would be on the front row, I would have taken it,” Verstappen said.

A Monaco pole is a statement performance for any driver and one of the biggest prizes in Formula 1. To deliver in this fashion, at the age of 19, underlined his potential as the most likely world champion this year at this early stage.

He and Verstappen were separated by just 0.001secs after their first runs in the final session and Antonelli said he had produced a “magic lap” to beat the Dutchman.

Leclerc went out early for the final runs after missing his first lap with a lock-up at Mirabeau, and he put himself at the top with his first effort.

Verstappen then beat that mark by 0.257secs to take top spot, only for Antonelli to displace him.

Leclerc was not finished – he had given himself time to have one final lap as the last driver on track. But he went over the limit and slid wide on the entry to Tabac, crunching his right rear wheel against the wall and breaking his rear suspension.

Antonelli said: “I was able to put everything together. It was such a close qualifying session. The last lap was good.”

Verstappen said he was surprised to be able to compete for pole position.

“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. I am happy to be on the front row.”

Ferrari had been quickest on Friday, first and second in both sessions, but Hamilton said the car felt different as soon as qualifying started.

“We were looking so good in practice and then the car was drastically different in qualifying,” Hamilton said, “so we have to take a look at that. But I was giving it everything. What a privilege it is to be one of the 22 drivers who gets to do this. I loved every second of it.”

Russell struggled for grip throughout the session and never looked likely to get into the fight for pole, and he ended up 0.394secs behind his team-mate.

June 4 (UPI) — The pilots of a United Airlines flight that flew low enough to shear off a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike as it landed in May knew they were flying too low but were unable to compensate in time, a preliminary report stated Thursday.

The first officer of United Airlines Flight 169 from Venice, Italy, to Newark Liberty International Airport called out, “Hey you are slow,” just before the Boeing B767-424ER clipped a light pole along the turnpike while approaching Newark’s runway 29, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s initial report of the May 3 accident.

The incident resulted in debris from the light pole impacting a tractor-trailer traveling southbound on the turnpike.

The aircraft was just 19 feet above the busy highway when it connected with the 15-foot-high light post.

Following the impact, the airplane landed and taxied to the gate without further incident, after which the three flight crew members, eight cabin crew members and 220 passengers deplaned at the gate without any injury.

The driver of the tractor-trailer sustained minor injuries, the NTSB said, while the damage to the aircraft was called “substantial.”

The safety agency’s report found that moments after the first officer voiced an initial alarm about the plane being too low, he followed it by saying, “You are still slow and a little low.”

The pilot said at that point he looked outside and recalled, “I thought we were low,” but since they were about to touch down, it was too late to order a “go-around” and abort the landing.

The captain stated that just before touchdown “he heard a thump,” the report said, while the first officer recalled feeling a “mild jolt” as they neared the runway.

After the flight landed, the purser reported that the aft flight attendants heard “a loud bang” just prior to landing.

George Russell bounced back after a difficult recent run to beat Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to sprint pole at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Briton, who is 20 points adrift of the Italian after four races this season, headed Antonelli by 0.068 seconds after being fastest on both runs in final qualifying.

Lando Norris headed an all-McLaren second row, 0.315secs off pole and 0.019secs in front of team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Ferrari and Red Bull completed a two-by-two top eight with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Charles Leclerc and then Max Verstappen in front of Isack Hadjar.

Russell came to Montreal looking to turn around what he admitted had been a “turbulent” start to the season, in which Antonelli has won three of the four grands prix so far, and he has started the weekend off well.

“It feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself,” said Russell. “I always knew what I could do. This is an amazing circuit, high grip, and feels like you’re driving a proper grand prix car.”

Mercedes have a major upgrade on their car for this race and Russell said it had made a significant difference.

“It’s definitely feeling great,” he said. “The team have done a great job to bring this forward. Pleased to have it on the car and pleased to be back in P1. It’s been a little while but still a big focus for tomorrow.”

Antonelli said he had started his lap with his tyres under temperature and described his session as “messy”.

McLaren also brought an upgrade to Montreal, their second in as many races, but while it kept them within range of Mercedes it was not enough to counterbalance the effect of Mercedes on this track, where the world champions have often struggled.

Norris said: “A good surprise. After this morning, we were a little bit worried about how far off we were. More just the lack of confidence in the car.

“But we changed some things on the car and seemed to make a good improvement. I could have got more out of it, but not enough to close the gap to the guys ahead.”

Hamilton was 0.361secs off pole and 0.084secs ahead of Leclerc on a circuit where he shares the record number of wins with Michael Schumacher.

The seven-time champion was pleased with his performance, saying his decision not to go into the Ferrari simulator before this race, because of a feeling it was leading to incorrect set-up choices, had paid off.

“Probably the best qualifying session we’ve had for some time,” said Hamilton. “Great work with the engineers.

“The car felt really fantastic from P1. We made just subtle changes going into qualifying. Q1 and Q2 was looking good and then I don’t know what the others are able to turn up a bit more, but I am just happy to be in the fight.

“I was having so much fun out there, and the fact I didn’t do the sim and it was the best I felt all year. I chose a set-up we’ve not used before and its transformed the car for me.”

And Verstappen, struggling with a car he said was “jumping” at the rear, was just 0.101secs clear of tea-mate Hadjar.

“My feeling in the car was not very good,” said Verstappen. “I was struggling a lot with the ride. All over the bumps I couldn’t put my foot down. Actually my feet were even flying off the pedals and it made it very difficult to be consistent.”

LOVE Island’s Yasmin Pettet left fan’s jaws on the floor as she stripped down to a thong bikini and showed of her sexy pole dancing routine.

The ITV2 show alum, 25, was seen gracefully swirling around the bar in her tiny brown swimwear.

Yasmin nearly popped out of her bikini top as she arched her toned body.

She was seen jumping up onto the bar and wrapping her legs around it. Yas then carefully let go as she elegantly dangled in the air.

The telly star engaged her incredible abs as she pulled herself up to be completely horizontal.

Yas did her whole routine in the daring bikini but was careful not to flash her fans during the sizzling scenes.

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Stunning former Islander Yas had her brunette locks tousled in loose waves as she put on quite a show on the pole.

She captioned the racy Instagram story: “Layback slay.”

Yas has been updating fans on her progress with her pole dancing hobby.

She often frequents London‘s Akila Pole Studio, which focuses on “movement, self-expression and community.”

Last month, she was spotted in the studio at another practice session.

Yas opted for a more casual look, donning a white sports bra from Gymshark and grey shorts from Garage Clothing.

She was snapped hanging of the bar and posing with her arm outstreched.

Yasmin skyrocketed into the spotlight after appearing on season 12 of the summer dating show Love Island.

She entered the famous Mallorca villa as a bombshell on day five and 25 days later she was finally happy in a couple with Jamie Rhodes.

They came in third place and left the show together; but it wasn’t meant to be as they called it quits just weeks after it ended.

May 4 (UPI) — A United Airlines flight hit a delivery truck and a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike on approach to Newark International Airport in New Jersey, where it landed safely and nobody was hurt.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the Sunday afternoon incident, which “has been classified as an accident due to the extent of the damage to the airplane.”

“An NTSB investigator arrived in Newark this morning to conduct interviews of the flight crew,” the agency said in a statement posted to X.

“The investigation will examine multiple factors, including flight operations, meteorological conditions, human performance, crew resource management, aircraft performance and air traffic traffic control,” it said.

The flight was on approach from Venice, Italy, into Newark but flew too close to traffic, clipping a delivery truck and then hitting a light pole that reportedly struck a Jeep on the highway, CBS Baltimore and WABC reported.

The flight, which was carrying 221 passengers and 10 crew, landed safely at the airport around 2 p.m., with officials from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to the bakery that owns the truck noting that they have no idea how the incident happened.

“Upon its final approach into Newark International Airport, United flight 169 came into contact with a light pole,” United said in a statement.

“The aircraft landed safely, taxied to the gate normally and no passengers or crew were injured,” the airline said. “Our maintenance team is evaluating damage to the aircraft and we will investigate how this occurred.”

May 3 (UPI) — A United Airlines jet struck a light pole while approaching Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday afternoon, damaging a vehicle traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike, officials said.

United Airlines Flight 169 from Venice, Italy, was on final approach to Newark’s Runway 29 at about 2 p.m. EDT when “the aircraft struck an object over the southbound New Jersey Turnpike, causing damage to a light post and tractor-trailer traveling south on the NJ Turnpike,” the Port Authority Police Department told UPI in an emailed statement.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and has been released, the police department said, adding that “minor damage to the aircraft was observed.”

United told UPI that the aircraft, a Boeing 767-400 with 221 passengers and 10 crew onboard, “landed safely, taxied to the gate normally and no passengers or crew were injured.”

“Our maintenance team is evaluating damage to the aircraft,” the carrier said, adding that it will conduct a “rigorous flight safety investigation” into the incident.

“Our crew has been removed from service as part of the process.”

The runway was back to normal operations following an inspection for debris, according to authorities.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the federal investigation into the incident, with one of its investigators expected to arrive in Newark on Monday, the agency said in a statement.

United Airlines has been directed to secure and provide both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder to the NTSB as part of its investigation, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she has been briefed on the incident.

“I’m grateful the aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew are unharmed,” she said in a social media statement.

“United is investigating how this occurred.”

It was Norris’ first pole since Las Vegas last year, three races from the end of his championship season, and a suggestion – at the very least – that Mercedes may not have things all their own way this year, after all.

Antonelli salvaged a good result for Mercedes after a difficult session.

The Mercedes car has often struggled in the heat, and the 32C temperatures did not seem to do it any favours.

But after not looking competitive for most of the session, Antonelli ensured he was the very last car to set a time in the final session, when the track would be at its grippiest, and it paid off.

“It was a pretty messy session,” the Italian said. “I struggled a lot with the car and on the medium (tyres) I couldn’t get a lap in, and then on the soft, all of a sudden, the car became more alive. I felt more comfortable.

“We definitely felt we were expecting this weekend to be quite a bit tougher, also because those teams brought major upgrades which they closed the gap massively, or even went in front of us. McLaren have the same engine as us and they improve a lot the car, but I think we can be in the fight.”

Russell took the opposite route, running first, and he ended up 0.4secs back from his team-mate, not an ideal result given he already has to make up nine points on Antonelli in the championship.

“Pretty surprising how big a jump McLaren and Ferrari have made,” Russell said. “That’s pretty damn impressive. All day they’ve been quicker than us. From my side, I’ve been struggling all day.

“Miami is not a track I particularly love, especially in these hotter conditions, but it’s only sprint qualifying. Just overheating the tyres a lot in that twisty section in the middle. Struggling to get the right balance with the car.”

The Ferrari was very fast through practice and the first two qualifying sessions on the medium tyre, but struggled on the soft in the final session.

“The upgrades are fine,” Leclerc said. “It’s just everybody brought upgrades. McLaren did a very big step forward but I felt like they didn’t optimise their first races so they were always there but didn’t put everything together.

“On our side, we have struggled with tyres. The medium were working very well. On the soft, it was not a nice feeling, so on that we have got to look at it. We know on the race pace we are stronger but in terms of qualifying there is still work to be done.”