The Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) won pole position on Saturday, at home in Monaco, and will start at the head of the Grand Prix on Sunday for the 8th round of the Formula 1 season. On “his” Rock, Leclerc will start in front of the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren). The Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and the Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) will start on the 2nd row, while the leader of the world championship Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will only be 6th on the grid.
End of streak of consecutive pole positions for Verstappen
It is the first time this season – and the 24th time in his elite career – that Leclerc, 26, has set the fastest time in qualifying. So far this year, only Verstappen has started from pole. These qualifications were particularly important on the narrow streets of the Principality, where overtaking is generally difficult. The Scuderia driver therefore leaves with an advantage, even if he has always struggled to shine at home until now.
In his streets, he systematically had to abandon between 2017 (when he was still in F2, the antechamber of F1) and 2021, after technical problems or collisions. Last year, he finished in a disappointing 6th place while in 2022, when he started on pole, he fell short of the podium.
Gasly, first Alpine driver in Q3 this season
At Alpine, its first driver Pierre Gasly will start 10th. The Frenchman gave his team their first ticket of the season for Q3 – the third and final qualifying session where pole is at stake and only the ten fastest in Q2 can race. His teammate and compatriot Esteban Ocon will start 11th.
Far behind, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso will only start 16th, a real poor performance for the double 2005-2006 world champion, still in the Top 10 of the fastest drivers during the free practice sessions run earlier this weekend. end. The other Red Bull, that of Sergio Pérez, will only start 18th. Out of action since the start of the weekend, the Mexican registered his worst qualifications in Monaco since the start of the season.