Monaco - Qualifying

One of the most anticipated weekends of the year is upon us. The glamorous Monaco Grand Prix attracts many viewers and raises the drivers' appetites for a win. The latter can be said especially for the home favorite Charles Leclerc, who never got a podium on his home race, not only in Formula One but throughout his whole career.

Knowing how unpredictable the Monaco circuit can be, drivers lined up at the pit lane long before Q1 started, eager to get out on track before it got too crowded. In this particular session, they had quite a few possibilities of putting a competitive time on board as the tires used allowed for more than one push lap before coming into the pits. This, paired with the specificity of the track, meant that the leaderboards were changing rather quickly but, as usual, the real fight started in the last few minutes. With only two minutes left in the session, both Perez and Norris were in the bottom five, and while the Brit managed to find a time good enough to secure a spot in Q2, the Red Bull driver did not. The second unexpected elimination was that of the two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, who finished the session in P16. Sargeant, Bottas, and Zhou made up the rest of the bottom five. 

The tension did not ease up in Q2. Once again, the leaderboard changed constantly and a spot in the top 10 was not a safe bet for anyone. Oscar Piastri reported touching the wall but was lucky since it did not seem to affect his performance. Gasly also got dangerously close to the wall. In the end, it worked out for him, as he managed to advance into Q3 for the first time this season. Somewhat ironically, it was his lap that knocked out his teammate, Ocon. Aside from the Frenchman, there was one more first-time guest in Q3: Alex Albon. But not everyone was as happy with their results as the two. Ocon, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll, and Magnussen all found themselves in the elimination zone. 

The last session of the day provided both excitement and fear, especially for Ferrari fans as Charles Leclerc reported that 'something moved in his pedals'. Despite the apparent problems, he was quick to jump into P1. The top ten were separated by very small margins, but ultimately, the fight for pole shaped up between Leclerc, Piastri, and Verstappen. That was until the Red Bull driver hit the wall during his last lap, effectively killing his chances of starting Sunday's race from the front row. He finished the day with P6, breaking his impressive record of 8 poles in a row. And while both Leclerc and Piastri put in great times, in the end, it was the home favorite who took the coveted pole position. 

The qualifying result is especially important in Monaco, but it cannot secure a race win on its own, a fact that Charles Leclerc knows better than anyone with today's pole being his third on the circuit with no win to date. Will he be able to break the 'Leclerc Monaco curse' and finish tomorrow's race on the podium? 

Order of the grid

1. Charles Leclerc

2. Oscar Piastri

3. Carlos Sainz

4. Lando Norris

5. George Russell

6. Max Verstappen

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Yuki Tsunoda

9. Alex Albon

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Esteban Ocon

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13. Daniel Ricciardo

14. Lance Stroll

15. Kevin Magnussen

16. Fernando Alonso

17. Logan Sargeant

18. Sergio Perez

19. Valtteri Bottas

20. Zhou Guanyu