Charles Leclerc claims superb Monaco F1 GP pole while Mercedes struggle

Charles Leclerc claimed pole for the Monaco Grand Prix with a superb lap on the streets of Monte Carlo for Ferrari. He beat his teammate Carlos Sainz into second, with Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen in third and fourth.

Mercedes struggled with their car a handful on the bumpy circuit, George Russell qualifying in sixth and Lewis Hamilton in eighth. Hamilton was disappointed he was unable to improve on his final lap after the session ended with a red flag when Pérez crashed out. Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren.

Leclerc went out first to set the pace on his first hot run in Q3, pushing hard with the times having improved throughout the session as the track rubbered-in. He went quickest with a time of 1min 11.376sec – Leclerc was completely hooked up, flying over the lap using every inch of track. It was magnificent, a full two-tenths clear of his teammate Sainz.

The final runs were set to be dramatic but with 30 seconds remaining and Leclerc on track to likely even improve his time, Pérez went into the barrier at Portier and was then hit by Sainz. A red flag was immediately issued ending the session.

There was a chance Verstappen might have improved but it is likely the Ferrari driver had enough to hold the pole he had by then won. The flag also prevented Hamilton’s attempt to improve his time and he had been up on his previous lap enjoying a set of new soft tyres.

This is the pole the Monegasque driver wanted, especially after the bitter disappointment he suffered last year. Then he was unable to start from the pole he had claimed, after a crash on his final lap in qualifying inflicted damage to the driveshaft that was only discovered on his way to the grid on Sunday.

The pole is likely to be absolutely