Leclerc took advantage of Verstappen’s touch to the wall and took pole position in Monaco

Charles Leclerc confirmed the good feelings from the training sessions and took pole position in the Monaco Grand Prixeighth date of the Formula 1, by setting a time of 1:10.270. The local driver will start on Sunday from the front row alongside Oscar Piastri (McLaren), while Max Verstappen He will start from sixth place.

The three-time world champion, in his last attempt at a fast lap, He touched the wall at Saint Devote, which caused him to abort the turn at the start. In this way, the Dutchman could not surpass Ayrton Senna’s record of consecutive pole positions, which he had reached last weekend in Imola by reaching eight.

It was a qualifying full of emotions and in which Leclerc did not set the course as expected after dominating Friday’s training sessions and also earlier this Saturday.

With no room for error, in a place where unforeseen events are constant, The first sacrificed in Q1 were two super experienced drivers in the category: the two-time champion Fernando Alonsowho finished 16th with the Aston Martin with a time of 1:12.019, and the Mexican Sergio Czech Pérezwho was 18th with the Red Bull that Max Verstappen makes unbeatable every weekend.

Another pilot who was in danger was Lando Norriswho With 20 seconds left he was out of the 15 classified for Q2. But the Englishman who won in Miami achieved a time of 1:11.760 to place tenth, although far from his teammate in McLaren, Oscar Piastriwho finished second but virtually tied with the surprising Q1 leader, George Russell (1:11.492).

¿Max Verstappen? He passed him 2 centimeters from the wall and was seventh, behind Alex Albon (Williams). Lewis HamiltonMeanwhile, he was able to put the other Mercedes in third place ahead of the Ferrari, where Carlos Sainz was ahead of Charles Leclerc for the first time this weekend.

While Alonso was left out, the other Aston Martin, driven by Lance Stroll, finished ninth, between Gasly’s Alpine and Norris’s McLaren. While the others eliminated were Valtteri Bottas y Guanyu Zhouwith the Sauber in the last places, and Logan Sargeant (17th, Williams). “What a joke,” lamented Checo Pérez, winner in 2022, in radio communication.

In Q2 there were no surprises (Ocon, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll and Magnussen were left out); On the contrary, it was marked with parity with the first four, locked in less than a tenth. Although the second part of the classification was started by Verstappen at the front (1: 11.196 in his first attempt and 1: 11: 019 later), it was the McLarens that set the pace.

First, Piastri stopped the clock at 1:10.756 to be virtually the leader, but it was Norris who kept the best time (1:10.732) to beat Verstappen by 13 thousandths and his teammate by 24. Fourth, at 93, was Leclerc, who did not find his best lap until the end of the day.

Surely, the driver who celebrated the most in Q2 was Pierre Gasly by placing fifth, ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton and the Ferrari of Sainz. The last two passages went to Tsunoda, who beat his RB teammate, and Albon, who put Williams into Q3.

Finally, Leclerc put everything on the track and on his first attempt he set the best time (1:10.418). Although it was not until the end when he secured his pole with a time of 1:10.270, 154 thousandths better than Piastri, who will start from the front row for the second time in F1. Sainz, meanwhile, managed to finish third (248 thousandths away) and It will be key for Ferrari’s strategy to go for victorywhich McLaren will threaten, with Norris from fourth place.

The chance is, without a doubt, ideal: Verstappen (1:10.567) will start in the “distant” third row -along with George Russell- and Red Bull will not have Checo Pérez to help him, due to the Mexican’s poor classification, who this season only added three second places and has not been on the podium since he was third in the Chinese GP.

Mercedes, for its part, will start from fifth (Russell) and seventh place (Hamilton), while Tsunoda managed to be the best of the rest by placing ahead of Albon and Piastri.

The race, which could mark the second victory for Ferrari or McLaren this season, will begin at 10 and will be televised on Star+. Although it is difficult to overtake, no one can still rule out Verstappen, the championship leader thanks to his five victories.