Lando Norris takes pole position in qualifying in Monaco. The Englishman thus puts at least one foot on the top step of the podium for tomorrow's race. Great performance by Charles Leclerc, who however fails to beat Norris and will start tomorrow in second place. Third Piastri, followed by Hamilton and an under-par Verstappen. Mercedes do very badly: Antonelli crashes at the end of Q1 and George Russell has to retire from the second session after suffering electronic problems with his power unit.
Qualifying in Monaco is tough from Q1 onwards
The traffic light is still red, but Most of the pilots are already ready in the pit lane. The two are leading the way Alpine, with Colapinto which, during the free tests, found himself in a lot of difficulty on board his new car. After a few minutes, however, all the drivers are on the track with the aim of finding the right lap and accessing the next phase of these Monaco qualifiers. Except for the two Alpines, which are equipped medium tyres, all other stables opt for the red C6s. Furthermore, the track gradually improves and the times begin to decrease.
With less than ten minutes to go, the lead is Lando Norris, almost two tenths behind Oscar Piastri, followed by Verstappen and Leclerc. They are all very close and the time rankings, beyond the first five, are constantly being mixed up. There is already a lot of spectacle from these first moments, just as there are many traffic problems. A first impeding reported (but will not be penalized) is the one between Stroll and, again, Charles Leclerc. The Canadian also hindered Gasly at the port chicane. Il Monegasque, meanwhile, sets his best lap, remaining in the lead until the end of the session.
In the last five minutes of qualifying, the track in Monaco seems to have improved a lot. This can be seen from the time of Nico Hulkenberg, thanks to which he managed to secure sixth position. Lewis Hamilton is also not safeo: he is only twelfth with two minutes to go. The Englishman, among other things, is under investigation for an impeding against Max Verstappen. In the meantime, the two Williams, with Albon and Sainz, manage to get into fourth and fifth position. After a few minutes, however, the checkered flag arrives: eliminated Bortoleto, Bearman, Gasly, Stroll and Colapinto. The session then ends with a red flag: Kimi Antonelli he touches the inside wall at the port chicane with his front left and is forced to retire. He will start fifteenth tomorrow.
Surprise in Q2: Russell out with power unit problems
Once removed from Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes, qualifying begins again in Monaco. He waits for no one Leclerc, who after just one lap, takes back the lead in the standings fitting medium tires. A record that lasts very little, because Norris, on soft tyres, takes first place, with Verstappen following him in second. With ten minutes to go, however, the red flag is shown. George Russell is standing in the tunnel section. The Englishman apparently encountered problems with his power unit after going over a bump after Sainte Devote. And so, Russell will start the race fourteenth, right next to his teammate.
Qualifying in Monaco resume at 16pm local time. The first to return to the track is Nico Hulkenberg. Now, with the two Mercedes out, there will be only four drivers left out of Q3. A great opportunity, therefore, for those who can squeeze the most out of their car on the flying lap. The fight is very close. With almost five minutes to go, Leclerc is first, with Hamilton following him at three tenths of a second. As before, however, Norris composes another nice ride and takes the lead of the times.
Just like in Q1, the track tends to improve, as the drivers try to take more pace e more feeling with the latter. From fifth place down, occupied by Piastri with two minutes to go, no one is safe. The laps of Hadjar and Albon, who pass each other the time record in the first sector. They thus finish in sixth and third position respectively. Norris maintains the best time, while Sainz is eliminated, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg e, naturally, the two Mercedes.
Breathtaking Q3: Pole Position for Max Verstappen
Ferrari, McLaren and Verstappen are chasing pole position. Qualifying in Monaco gets into full swing in Q3, with the two papaya cars first to line up at the end of the pit lane. The Monaco roulette starts spinning with the first flying laps. The McLaren seems to have lit up: Lando Norris is first. Second, sixty-seven thousandths behind, is Oscar Piastri. The two Ferraris are in third and fourth position, respectively with Leclerc and Hamilton. However, Verstappen arrives and separates the two reds, taking the fourth position.
There is also, however, the qualification of the others: the fittest is Alexander Albon who becomes sixth using the medium tyre. Same thing for Ocon, seventh, who overtakes Alonso, Lawson and Hadjar, even if the latter has not yet set a useful time. In the meantime, with five minutes to go, the two McLarens reappear on the track. Lando Norris shows all his value and takes the provisional pole position ahead of his teammate. The gap, now, from the rivals is heavy. Norris has given with his lap a good half a second to Leclerc, who however is relaunching for a second attempt.
Hamilton and Verstappen are out of the game, too slow and are classified in fourth and fifth position. Meanwhile the McLarens return to the track for a new attempt, but the one who amazes everyone is Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque takes provisional pole position, recovering more than half a second from Lando Norris. But it's not over: Oscar Piastres sets an excellent time in the first sector, while losing a tenth compared to the Ferrari in the central sector. Australian fails to improve who will start third tomorrow. Finally, Lando Norris arrives that finally he returns to make all his talent bear fruit e and takes pole position. His time is of 1:09.954, new circuit record.
La McLaren, so, returns to pole position in Monaco. In qualifying, this result has been missing from the English team since 2007, when it got there thanks to Fernando Alonso. Norris thus has the opportunity to play for victory in tomorrow's race. Alongside him, however, will start a combative Charles Leclerc, also the protagonist of a great qualifying. The top ten is completed by: Hadjar in sixth position, then Alonso, Ocon, Albon and Lawson.
