Sunny. Dry. Air +22…21С, highway +48…43С
Qualifying in Monaco is the most important session of the weekend. Whatever plans are announced, the legendary narrow city highway will not change; everything here will always depend on the starting position. At the same time, the pole holder can be vulnerable to ‘cutting’: in the past twenty years, the driver who started first has won twelve times.
In a short round the results are always tight, the fight is for every tenth. The desire to play a little more forces you to take risks and sometimes leads to accidents – in Monaco the line between success and failure is very thin, and the qualifying turns out to be one of the most interesting of the season.
The training was interrupted more than once by red flags. Leclerc was in the lead on Friday and set the best time on Saturday morning.
Pirelli brought the softest tires to the podium: C3, C4 and C5 in Hard, Medium and Soft roles.
In the first session everyone went to Soft. Traffic was in the way. Everyone tried to guarantee a free section of the track for them, which further complicated the situation. The riders hindered each other, the attempts failed and they had to use rolled-in sets of Soft tires. Stewards have investigated several incidents.
The results were traditionally compact. George Russell showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:11.492. Fifteen riders shared four tenths. Alonso, Sargent, Perez, Bottas and Zhou dropped out of further competition.
In the second session speeds have increased. Hulkenberg hit the barrier with his left rear wheel at the exit of the first corner. Magnussen blocked Ocon in the fourth.
Lando Norris topped the time list with 1:10.732. Ocon, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll and Magnussen did not qualify for the final.
In the final on the first attempt Leclerc was the best with 1:10.418. On the second attempt, Verstappen hit the barrier and Charles recorded 1:10.270.
Charles Leclerc won qualifying in Monaco, taking his third pole position at his home circuit and the 24th of his career. Tomorrow, Oscar Piastri will share the front row with him, Sainz and Norris will start from second place, Russell and Verstappen will start from third place.
Qualifying results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | Session 2 | Session 3 | ||||||
| M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | ||
| 1. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 5 | 1,11,584 | 10 | 4 | 1,10,825 | 10 | 1 | 1,10,270 | 6 |
| 2. O. Piastri | McLaren | 2 | 1,11,500 | 12 | 3 | 1,10,756 | 6 | 2 | 1,10,424 | 6 |
| 3. K.Sainz | Ferrari | 4 | 1.11.543 | eleven | 8 | 1.11.075 | 9 | 3 | 1,10,518 | 8 |
| 4. L.Norris | McLaren | 10 | 1,11,760 | 13 | 1 | 1,10,732 | 8 | 4 | 1,10,542 | 6 |
| 5. D. Russell | Mercedes | 1 | 1,11,492 | 12 | 6 | 1,10,929 | 9 | 5 | 1,10,543 | 7 |
| 6. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 7 | 1.11.711 | 12 | 2 | 1,10,745 | 9 | 6 | 1,10,567 | 7 |
| 7. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 3 | 1,11,528 | 12 | 7 | 1.11.056 | 10 | 7 | 1,10,621 | 6 |
| 8. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | 13 | 1,11,852 | 10 | 9 | 1.11.106 | 9 | 8 | 1,10,858 | 6 |
| 9. A. Albon | Williams | 6 | 1.11.623 | 13 | 10 | 1.11.216 | 10 | 9 | 1,10,948 | 6 |
| 10. P. Gasly | Alps | 8 | 1.11.714 | 12 | 5 | 1,10,896 | 10 | 10 | 1.11.311 | 8 |
| 11. E. Okon | Alps | 15 | 1,11,887 | 12 | eleven | 1.11.285 | 8 | |||
| 12. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 14 | 1,11,876 | 10 | 12 | 1,11,440 | 10 | |||
| 13. D. Ricciardo | RB | eleven | 1,11,785 | 12 | 13 | 1,11,482 | 9 | |||
| 14. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 9 | 1,11,728 | eleven | 14 | 1,11,563 | 6 | |||
| 15. K.Magnussen | Hare | 12 | 1.11.832 | eleven | 15 | 1,11,725 | 7 | |||
| 16. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 16 | 1.12.019 | eleven | ||||||
| 17. L. Sargent | Williams | 17 | 1.12.020 | 12 | ||||||
| 18. C. Perez | Red Bull | 18 | 1.12.060 | 12 | ||||||
| 19. V. Bottas | Sauber | 19 | 1.12.512 | eleven | ||||||
| 20. G.Zhou | Sauber | 20 | 1.13.028 | eleven | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
