Lando Norris is in the best position to claim victory in tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix. The McLaren driver was the fastest in an exciting qualifying session on Saturday afternoon in the principality. Last year, Charles Leclerc won the race in his hometown. Max Verstappen finished the qualifying session with the fifth fastest time. The qualifying session in the principality was a disaster for Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli crashed in Q1, while George Russell was forced to retire due to engine trouble in Q2.
Here is a quick overview of the Monaco GP qualifying session.
Q1: Kimi Antonelli Makes a Mistake
Max Verstappen, in the brilliant sunshine, is the last to go out for the qualifying session in his hometown. In his first fast lap, he immediately takes the top spot on the time list. However, on the increasingly faster track, positions are constantly changing and times don’t mean much yet. In the final phase, Charles Leclerc, last year’s winner of his home race, has the fastest time (1.11,229).
At the back, it’s a scramble to survive the first cut in Q1. Pierre Gasly is hindered by Lance Stroll and expresses his displeasure over the radio. In everyone’s last fast lap, the pressure is on, as Kimi Antonelli in his Mercedes makes a mistake coming out of the tunnel and hits the wall. The red flag signals the end of Q1. Leclerc holds the fastest time, followed by Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen. Antonelli (fifteenth time) misses Q2 due to damage to his car.
Q1 Dropouts: Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, and Franco Colapinto.
Q2: George Russell Triggers Second Red Flag
The qualification resumes after a slight delay, with some drivers (Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Albon, Sainz, and Russell) opting for the medium compound. In contrast, Verstappen heads out on fresh softs. Norris quickly posts the day’s first time under 1.11 minutes (1.10,959), just ahead of Verstappen (1.11, 124). However, the session is immediately halted due to a technical issue with George Russell‘s Mercedes. His engine gives up after turn 1, and the car eventually comes to a halt in the tunnel, prompting the red flag to appear once again.
After the restart, Ferrari takes the initiative with Leclerc (1.10,581) and Hamilton (1.10, 883), while Verstappen’s Red Bull is still in the garage. The four-time world champion soon heads out for a quick lap. It’s not a flawless round, and he seems to lightly touch the wall, but he improves to the third time (1.10,875) at that moment, just behind Norris and Leclerc. Verstappen’s teammate Tsunoda is eliminated with the twelfth time.
Q2 Dropouts: Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hülkenberg, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli.
Q3: Norris Breaks Monaco Lap Record
Veteran Fernando Alonso is the first to start the final twelve minutes of the qualifying session, with Max Verstappen being the last to head out. His first quick run clocks in at 1.10, 669, behind Norris, Piastri, and Leclerc respectively.
Then, the entire field gears up for the ultimate lap, with Lando Norris coming out on top. In his third quick run, he breaks the lap record: 1.09,954. It’s more than enough for pole position. Verstappen, due to a disappointing second sector, has to settle for the fifth time.
It should be noted that Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) still have to serve a grid penalty, of ten places and one place respectively. They will start side by side from the last row on Sunday.
Top-10: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, Verstappen, Hadjar, Alonso, Ocon, Lawson, Albon.
The Monaco Grand Prix starts on Sunday at 15:00 UTC.
