MONACO GP – Lando Norris beats Charles Leclerc by a tenth to claim pole
Lando Norris has beaten Charles Leclerc by a tenth after setting a new track record on his way to pole for the Monaco Grand Prix. The McLaren driver found a tenth in one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season, as he improved massively on his final attempt to deny Leclerc back-to-back poles in Monte Carlo.
At the end of a typically frenetic and gripping qualifying hour around the narrow confines of F1’s most-famous track, Norris held provisional pole after the first runs of Q3 and then improved his time twice more as Leclerc briefly usurped him at the top of the timesheet. Leclerc managed to split the two McLarens after he went just under seven hundredths ahead of Oscar Piastri.
McLaren took a different approach doing back-to-back runs at the end of Q3 allowing Norris to take pole, the Englishman looked quick in his fight with Piastri and the Ferrari’s to take his first pole since the opening race in Melbourne. Piastri looked able to challenge for the front row early on in his final attempt but final sector the time fell away.
It was an important statement for Norris, who has been overshadowed by Piastri this season and the Briton trails his team-mate by thirteen points at the quarter way through the season after tomorrow’s Grand Prix. It is been ten weeks since Melbourne, where he justified his status as championship favourite.
But since teammate Piastri and reigning champion Verstappen share the subsequent six poles and race wins between them, with promising practice pace from Norris often to leading to errors when putting his MCL39 on the absolute limit in the final phase of qualifying.
The Briton has now turned that trend around – and in the one qualifying session of the whole season that is traditionally regarded as being more important than the rest. Until qualifying Leclerc had topped practice, but come Q1 and Q2 Norris was never far off before the different approach saw the McLaren take pole.
Norris said, “It’s been a long time coming. I feel good. I don’t think you realise how good this feels after quite a few struggles in the last few months. Monaco is a beautiful place. The hardest track to do it and up against the hometown hero. I’m very proud of the whole team. We have worked very hard over the past few months. Very pleased.”
Leclerc added, “I think the lap was really good. The first lap was a bit of a shame because that gives you a bit more confidence for the second run when you have a first good lap. I couldn’t have that – I had sector two traffic. But it’s the way it is. Just obviously very frustrated.”
Lewis Hamilton put his Ferrari fourth slightly further behind the top three as he was nearly three-tenths faster than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Hamilton’s best GP qualifying of the season. Ferrari had looked to be the favourite having topped all three practice sessions but they had always been cautious about McLaren’s pace, though they were closer than expected after Imola they were still over half a second off.
Hamilton was given a three place grid penalty for blocking Verstappen at Massent during Q1, which forced the Red Bull to change his line while on a fast lap. He is one of several drivers called to the stewards for impeding during qualifying. Isack Hadjar continued his strong recent form in qualifying going best of the rest just over a quarter of a second behind the Ferrari.
Fernando Alonso put his Aston Martin seventh going a thousandth behind the Racing Bull, after Hadjar had a tough Friday when he hit the wall twice. Esteban Ocon was ninth going nine hundredths faster than Alex Albon to complete the top ten, the Frenchman’s best qualifying of the season. Albon’s teammate Carlos Sainz missed out on Q3 after being a tenth behind Ocon at the end of Q2.
Yuki Tsunoda put his Red Bull twelfth going nearly two-tenths faster than Nico Hulkenberg. Qualifying was a disaster for both Mercedes after both George Russell stopped on track in Q2 and Kimi Antonelli crashed out at the end of Q1, both failed to set a time in Q2.
Antonelli was first to crash at the end of Q1 when he lost control bringing out the red flag, while Russell lost power through Tunnel (Turn Nine) rolling to a stop midway through Q2 at the Nouvel Chicane (Ten & Eleven). It will be a disappointment for Mercedes who in recent races appeared to be on the up.
Gabriel Bortoleto was fastest of those knocked out in Q1, the Sauber missing out after going two hundredths behind Antonelli, whose crash denied several drivers the opportunity to try and improve at the end of Q1. Ollie Bearman was three-quarters of a tenth behind the Brazilian in his Haas.
Pierre Gasly was over half a second faster than Lance Stroll, the Canadian splitting the two Alpine’s with Franco Colapinto four hundredths behind.
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