Lando Norris was back on top after beating Charles Leclerc to take F1 pole in Monaco GP, as Oscar Piastri could only manage third.
Q1:
The gamble was on in first part of F1 Monaco GP qualifying where the Alpine pair started the session on the medium tyre. They eventually discarded to switch to softs, but not before Pierre Gasly face impeding from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll at the exit of the tunnel in the chicane.
The move was under investigation as Stroll noted about getting unsighted by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. There was another impeding case noted between Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Replays showed the Brit slowing in the corner which caught the Dutchman out.
It was Leclerc on top with a 1m11.229s ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the Top 3, as the session ended under red flag after crash for Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian clipped the barrier that broke his front-left suspension at the exit of the tunnel.
He made it in Q2 but was not to take part, as Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto (1m11.902s) missed out in 16th along with the likes of Haas’ Oliver Bearman (1m11.979s), Gasly (1m11.994s), Stroll (1m12.563s) and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto (1m12.597s).
Q2:
The start of second part in F1 Monaco GP qualifying was delayed due to remove of Antonelli’s car and clearing of debris. The pair of Williams and Ferrari used the medium tyres to start it off along with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Mercedes’ George Russell and Haas’ Esteban Ocon.
Only when others started to set a time, the session was red-flagged after Russell stopped at the side inside the tunnel. He lost power and tried to re-start, but the loss of battery left him with no choice. It ended the German outfit’s outing in F1 Monaco GP qualifying.
Team confirmed that he hit a bump at the exit of Turn 1 which meant he lost power and couldn’t re-started despite multiple try. While Ferrari ditched the medium tyre for their second run, Alonso retained it along with the Williams pair when the session was re-started.
At the front, Norris topped with a 1m10.570s lap ahead of Leclerc and Williams’ Alexander Albon, who switched to the soft tyre for his final run to end up in Top 3. It was not the same for teammate Carlos Sainz (1m11.362s) after his switch didn’t work to be knocked out in 11th.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m11.415s) was out in 12th and complained about it happening on the radio, as Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg (1m11.596s) rounded the 13 runners in the session from Russell and Antonelli.
Q3:
The final part in F1 Monaco GP qualifying session saw Albon and Haas’ Esteban Ocon start on the medium tyre, with the rest on the soft. It was McLaren 1-2 with Norris (1m10.464s) ahead by 0.067s margin on Piastri (1m10.531s), while Leclerc was third from Verstappen and Hamilton in the Top 5.
The McLaren pair went early for their final lap and were separated by 0.015s margin, with Norris (1m10.125s) still ahead of Piastri (1m10.140s). But they went around again. In the meantime, Leclerc went quickest with a 1m10.063s lap but Norris had other ideas on his final run.
He stepped up with a 1m09.954s lap to take F1 pole in Monaco GP by 0.109s over Leclerc, as Piastri (1m10.129s) could only manage third from Hamilton (1m10.382s) and Verstappen (1m10.669s). It was a solid result for Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar in sixth after his 1m10.923s lap.
Alonso (1m10.924s) was seventh from Ocon (1m10.942s), with Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson (1m11.129s) ninth and Albon (1m11.213s) 10th. The close fight saw the Top 8 finish inside one second of Norris’ time in the end.
UPDATE: The stewards handed 3-place grid drop to Stroll for impeding Gasly in Q1. The Canadian was informed to let by the Frenchman, but not about Hamilton who was moving slow. He let by the Brit assuming it to be Gasly and therefore impeded the Alpine driver.
He cited that the sun didn’t help him distinguish the colour which the stewards accepted, but didn’t think it was good enough reason to escape penalty. Stroll has a total of four places to drop but will lose nothing in the end considering he finished 19th and Bearman has a larger penalty.
Here: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1926314283152851008
Hamilton, meanwhile, was handed a 3-place drop as well after he impeded Verstappen. In the hearing, the Brit noted that the team reminded him of the Dutchman’s arrival but the first message of push lap was changed to slow lap, which left him confused.
Therefore, Hamilton appeared to come back on the racing line when Verstappen arrived in the corner. Eventually the movement hampered the Dutchman. The penalty will drop the Ferrari driver from fourth to seventh, allowing Verstappen, Hadjar and Alonso to move up by a place.
Here: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1926324405178638581
