The most anticipated qualifying session of the year did not disappoint, with no fewer than three drivers in contention for the season’s most coveted pole position. Lando Norris set the early pace in Q3, only to come under fire from Charles Leclerc and his teammate Oscar Piastri. The latter of whom traded provisional pole with Norris in the dying moments of qualifying.
A late surge by Leclerc saw him briefly claim the top spot with 22 seconds to go, only for Norris to hit back with the first sub-70-second lap in Monaco Grand Prix history. The Brit’s time of 1.09.954s proved too much for even his teammate to match, Piastri had to settle for P3. The Australian later stated that it was “difficult to marry myself and the car up this weekend”.
Despite briefly leapfrogging his teammate at the end of Q3, Lewis Hamilton was unable to match the leading trio. The seven-time world champion secured the fourth-fastest time but will start seventh due to a grid penalty he incurred for impeding Max Verstappen in FP3.
Verstappen also lacked pace with slow corners a particular point of concern. The reigning world champion qualified fifth a sizeable seven-tenths of a second off pole.
The standout midfield entry in Q3 was undoubtedly Racing Bulls. Liam Lawson made it into Q3 for the first time this season with ninth, while his teammate Isack Hadjar continued his sterling form with sixth.
The Frenchman will start from a career-best fifth on Sunday thanks to Hamilton’s grid penalty, a performance Hadjar himself described as “mighty”.
Aston Martin’s upgrades have continued to yield one lap pace as Fernando Alonso secured his best starting position of the season so far with seventh. A result that puts him in good stead to end his pointless drought. His former teammate Esteban Ocon will start eighth having set a time less than two hundredths of a second off the two-time world champion.
Williams’ strong form in practice didn’t quite translate to qualifying. Alex Albon made it into Q3 with 10th, one place ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz but neither were able to match the searing pace of the Racing Bulls.
Yuki Tsunoda could only manage 12th for Red Bull, one place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, the Japanese driver gave little in the way of insight after the fact, simply stating that “I know what’s happened and I don’t need to talk here”.
This is not a day on which Mercedes will look back with much fondness. Kimi Antonelli relegated himself to 15th after clipping the barriers at Nouvelle Chicane in Q2, while George Russell’s hopes were dashed by a battery failure that left him stranded in the tunnel.
Having not set a time in Q2 prior, the three-time grand prix winner will start 14th on Sunday after a torrid session that marks the second time in two weeks the team has been hindered by mechanical failure.
Gabriel Bortoleto qualified 16th for Sauber ahead of Ollie Bearman, who along with Lance Stroll in 19th was some way off the pace of his teammate. Having been hit with a ten-place grid penalty for violating red flag procedures in free practice, Bearman will start last on Sunday. However, the Haas driver nevertheless lamented his inability to capitalise on the car’s qualifying pace.
Having struggled with traffic throughout free practice, Pierre Gasly’s frustrations were magnified by a difficult qualifying. The Frenchman having to make do with 18th on the grid, while his teammate Franco Colapinto set the slowest time in qualifying. A difficult session all round for the Enstone based team.
