Monaco - Qualifying

If there is one race on the calendar in which Saturday can end up being more important than Sunday, it is the Monaco Grand Prix. The iconic track provides very few opportunities for overtakes, so even with the new 2-pit stop rule, a good starting position can make or break the weekend. Last year, it was Charles Leclerc, the home hero, who jumped a level above anyone else. Will he be able to repeat the feat once more, or will the pole position go to someone else? 

The drivers appeared on track as soon as the clock struck 4pm and began pumping out lap after lap. The names on the leaderboard kept jumping and switching places, never staying static for long. The two McLarens and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen were fast, but never quite fast enough to match the efforts of Leclerc. Every time someone managed to knock him out of the top spot, he found a way to reclaim it. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, wasn't doing quite as great. With only a few minutes left in the session, he found himself dangerously close to the elimination zone. On top of that, he impeded Verstappen and was set to be investigated after the end of the session. Thankfully for all Tifosi, he managed to finish the session with a lap that was more than enough to secure him a spot in the top 15. 

Not all drivers were lucky enough to finish their last flyers. As the session was coming to an end, Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes into the wall, right by the famous Nouvelle chicane. His accident brought out a red flag and prematurely ended all ongoing attempts. Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stoll, and Franco Colapinto made up the elimination zone when the session was suspended. Bearman and Stroll will be moved to the very back of the grid due to outstanding penalties. Bearman was supposed to drop 10 places, due to overtaking a car under a red flag during free practice 2. Stroll stacked up two penalties: a one-place drop for an incident during one of the practice sessions, and a three-place drop for a separate incident in qualifying. 

Q2 was stopped before it could even properly begin. With 10 minutes still on the clock, George Russell could be heard on the radio, complaining about his car losing power. Soon after, his Mercedes stopped completely. He tried to restart it, but there was nothing he could do as his hopes of getting his first pole in Monaco slowly disappeared. The early qualifying retirement was a harsh blow for Mercedes, who were left with no driver in the remaining sessions. 

Once the session was resumed, the fight for the top was, once again, between Leclerc and the McLarens. This time, it was Norris who came out on top. Both the Mercedes fell into the bottom five and were joined by Sainz, Tsunoda, and Hulkenberg.

The McLarens started Q3 strong, immediately securing a 1-2. Behind them, the two Ferraris, with Leclerc at the helm, were split by the persistent Verstappen. Both Norris and Piastri only improved their laps as time went on, but so did Leclerc. The Monegasque's last attempt was great, and for a while seemed like it would be enough to secure the pole, but right before the time ran out, Norris put together an impressive lap that catapulted him right to the top. Leclerc had to settle for second, with Piastri closing out the top three. Hamilton was supposed to be starting the race from the second row, but after the session, he received a penalty for impeding Hamilton in Q1. Instead of 4th, he will be starting tomorrow's Grand Prix 7th.

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. Charles Leclerc

3. Oscar Piastri

4. Max Verstappen

5. Isack Hadjar

6. Fernando Alonso

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Esteban Ocon

9. Liam Lawson

10. Alex Albon

11. Carlos Sainz

12. Yuki Tsunoda

13. Nico Hulkenberg

14. George Russell

15. Kimi Antonelli

16. Gabriel Bortoleto

17. Pierre Gasly

18. Franco Colapinto

19. Lance Stroll

20. Oliver Bearman