Monaco GP: Lando Norris beats Charles Leclerc to pole in tight qualifying - ESPN

MONACO — Lando Norris set a track record on the streets of Monte Carlo to beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to pole position for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

Norris, who last secured pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, looked quick throughout the session before his final lap tripped the timing beam at 1:09.954. The lap was 0.109 seconds faster than Leclerc's best effort and 0.177 seconds clear of teammate Oscar Piastri in third place.

Norris' qualifying performance could represent a turning point in the British driver's season after he closed the gap to Piastri to 12 points in the drivers' championship at the last round in Imola.

«It means a lot, „Norris said after a run of disappointing qualifying results at recent races. “Not just because it's been a while since the last one but because how things have gone over the last couple of months with qualifyings.

»Monaco is a beautiful place. The hardest track to do it and up against the hometown hero [Leclerc]. I'm very proud of the whole team. We have worked very hard over the past few months. Very pleased," he added.

Leclerc said: «There's always something more to be done, but at the end of the day, this was the best we could do.

»We know that we don't quite have the car to go for wins this year, but this weekend the car felt good, and starting second here, it's going to be tricky to take that first place."

Historically, pole position has been the key to victory on the tight streets of Monaco, but this year a new regulation will force each driver to employ a two-stop strategy rather than the traditional one-stop. The Monaco-specific rule will likely force drivers to push harder throughout the race, while those outside the points-paying positions in the