In a sunny Monaco that expects good weather tomorrow too, Charles Leclerc made his voice louder, winning the most important pole position of the year.
The Principality of Monaco with its narrow streets is always able to attract the interest of Formula 1 fans. Leclerc started off strongly in free practice, setting impressive times. Qualifying immediately provided a spectacle for various teams. Traffic affected Q1 with McLaren and Mercedes on top.
Aston Martin, however, did very badly with Alonso excluded in sixteenth position. The second driver of the Red Bull Racing team, Sergio Perez, was also out, as he was unable to find the time and get out of eighteenth position. Tomorrow it will be tough for the Mexican and the Spanish double world champion to come back from the back. Sargeant, Bottas and Zhou were also eliminated. Late night for Sauber which is increasingly in free fall.
In Q2 Max Verstappen lit up. He started to hammer in the first sector after having made an extreme effort in the previous rounds. Red Bull Racing is increasingly on the shoulders of the three-time world champion, but the Dutchman never betrays expectations. For this reason Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have always entrusted him with the reins of the drinks team. A glacial driver like few in the history of the highest category of Motorsport. The Ferraris proved to be in the game with excellent split times in sectors 2 and 3 of the city track. Ocon, the two Haas of Magnussen and Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Stroll were excluded. Inside a great Gasly on an Alpine that only in Monaco can make the difference.
Total tussle for qualification in Monaco
The challenge between Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes was, finally, very close. In the first attempt of Q3, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the best time. The latter recorded a 1:10.418. Inside in 2 tenths in four. Piastri placed just 26 thousandths of a second behind and then Max Verstappen at 149 thousandths of a second.
The last shot was heart-pounding. A sensational improvement for the SF-24. Sainz and Verstappen were the first out to set the final time. Leclerc further improved his time, recording a super pole position ahead of Piastri, Sainz and Norris. Verstappen will start sixth between the two Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman hit the wall in the first sector. This time the Monegasque will have to make the most of the pole.
