Report: Both cars narrowly miss out on Q3 in Monaco

Atlassian Williams F1 Team's 2026 progress continues as a top 10 grid position for both cars was within touching distance

Published

06 JUN 2026

Est. reading time

4 min

Qualifying is complete for the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, and both cars were just five-hundredths of a second shy of a place in Q3 on Saturday afternoon, with Alex Albon securing P11 and Carlos Sainz P12.

It's a sign of just how much progress we have made within six rounds of 2026, with the opportunity to get both cars into the top-10 shootout now within reach. Points are once again there for the taking on Sunday.

As the season's most eagerly anticipated qualifying session began, our pair sat P12 and P17 as they headed out for their final Q1 attempts. Alex set a 1:14.321 to jump to P9, while Carlos was also on course for an improvement before Gabriel Bortoleto found the barriers at the Nouvelle Chicane.

This brought out a red flag with just over two minutes remaining, and Carlos needed another lap as he slipped to P19.

Limited edition Monaco cover:

AWF1 Team x Marvel - Iron Man: Racing Towards Doom Monaco Special Edition Cover

Limited Edition

AWF1 Team x Marvel - Iron Man: Racing Towards Doom Monaco Special Edition Cover

···

Limited Edition

AWF1 Team x Marvel - Iron Man: Racing Towards Doom Miami Special Edition Cover

···

His crew got him out of the garage quickly when the session resumed, crossing the line with enough time for one final push. When it mattered most, our Spanish racer delivered a lap when no one else could make serious gains, shaving three-tenths off his best time to end the phase in P10.

Into Q2, and with traffic less of an issue, our pair were firmly in the fight for a place in the top-10 shootout. As they began their final push laps, they sat P12 and P14, and both would go on to set personal bests.

Alex's 1:13.787 placed him P11, with Carlos' 1:13.815 putting him P12 – both just missing out on the P10 benchmark of 1:13.762.

We'll start Sunday's Grand Prix on the fringes of the points, hoping to break into the top 10 across the 78 laps.

The day had began with FP3, a session spent exclusively running the soft tyre compound to get up to speed ahead of qualifying later in the day.

Carlos completed 26 laps in the final hour of practice, recording a best time of 1:14.336 to place P12. Alex's 1:14.801 left him P16 after 24 tours of the Circuit de Monaco.

Available now

Monaco 2026

Collect this badge by tuning in during the Grand Prix weekend.

James Vowles, Team Principal:

“Qualifying in Monaco always brings excitement, and this year was no different. We saw exceptional qualifying from both drivers. With Carlos in Q1 it really was down to one lap with cold tyres, and he did a fantastic lap. Alex put it right on the limit in Q2, we're just missing a few milliseconds to get both cars into Q3. It was small, small details that may or may not have pushed us there, but across three races at very different tracks now we've been either in Q3 or knocking on the door of Q3 and that’s significant progress. I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow. There's still opportunity from where we are on the grid – two cars lined up ready to go.

I also want to say well done to the team. If you look at our car today, you'll notice significant differences in the rear wing area. That was work that was reacted to very quickly and delivered within around 18 hours. And that's exceptional, from aero development, stress work, production to on car. It just shows a willingness to find every millisecond and we will keep hunting it every week.

Separately I wish Fred Vasseur all the best in terms of recovery, and hopefully I get to catch up with him soon."

Alex Albon:

“I'm happy with P11 today. We left Q3 on the table which is a little frustrating, but my final lap was entirely on the limit. I clipped the barrier in sector 3 as I was pushing flat out and I lost a little bit of time but was able to get away with it. As a team, we took a different approach this weekend to try and get into the rhythm early after a series of tougher race weekends and missing out on track time, so we tried to keep it simple and just chip away and build on every session.

This was a result of all the work we've done recently, so P11 and P12 are decent starting positions for tomorrow. The strategy for the race is looking like a one-stop so having a good start will be crucial to hopefully make up some positions and get into the points.”

Carlos Sainz:

"On one hand, I’m impressed that I was able to make it out of Q1 as I had no choice but to go out on a set of used and cold tyres after the red flag, so it was probably one of the best laps I’ve ever done in that situation to make it cleanly into Q2.

On the other hand, in Q2 I made some mistakes and experienced front locking in a few corners that lost me one or two tenths, and it just wasn’t good enough. We know it's tough to overtake in Monaco but we’re not too far from the top 10, so I’ll focus on having a good start and do my best to get back into the points."

Essentials

Latest

Alex shares his Monaco Saturday thoughts

Alex Albon speaks about qualifying in Monte Carlo after taking P11

ARTICLE

—

6 JUN 2026