Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took his 24th career pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, his home race ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz.
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Leclerc had led most of the weekend till this point, comfortably topping two of the three practice sessions however it wasn’t smooth sailing for the five-time grand prix winner as the Mercedes, McLarens and obviously Max Verstappen’s Red Bull all looked competitive at various points of the session. The McLaren duo of Piastri and Norris adorned in their Senna tribute livery proved to be the Scuderia’s closest competitor, as they qualified second and fourth respectively sandwiching Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz between them.
Reigning three-time world champion Max Verstappen, despite putting in a strong performance initially fell short at the final hurdle as he clipped the wall going into the first corner of Saint Devote in a desperate attempt to overcome the sheer speed of his longtime Monegasque rival.
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This relatively uncharacteristic error from the Dutchman meant he incurred a significant setback as he will start the grand prix from down in sixth, on a track that is notorious for being difficult to overtake on. In his post qualifying interview, he attributed this error to having to overcompensate for his ‘slippery’ RB20 struggling over the kerbs and losing time.
Verstappen's mishap allowed Mercedes' George Russell to outqualify him, landing in fifth place. Mercedes had a mixed session with Lewis Hamilton ending up seventh, unable to match his teammate's pace for the seventh time this season.
The stand-out midfield performances came from drivers like Yuki Tsunoda who secured eighth place for VCARB, followed by Alex Albon’s Williams in ninth and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounding out the top ten. Gasly's exceptional performance came at the expense of his teammate Esteban Ocon, who will start 11th after a strong but ultimately insufficient Q2 effort.
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The Q1 session saw major upsets, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso both failing to advance to Q2. Perez, 2022's Monaco GP winner, could only manage 18th after struggling throughout the session. Alonso, hampered by traffic, ended up 16th, continuing his recent run of poor form.
The Sauber drivers had a particularly difficult session, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu occupying the last two spots on the grid.
Starting Grid:
