Leclerc and Piastri on Monaco front row as Verstappen falters
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc sealed pole position for his home race with Oscar Piastri second ahead of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, but Max Verstappen's run of eight consecutive pole pole positions ended with a tap on the wall.
There were impressive second round performances from Williams' Alex Albon and Alpine's Pierre Gasly which saw them all make it through to Q3, ensuring them top ten starts for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
There had been two big shocks at the end of the first round of qualifying when both Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez failed to make the cut. The Aston Martin will start from P16 while the Red Bull will line up in P18 on Sunday.
If there's one weekend where qualifying matters above all else, it's Monaco, where the street circuit makes overtaking in the race all but impossible. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was clearly favourite for pole after topping final practice, but going into the first round there was heavy competition from Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri among others.
Q1: Russell and Piastri on top as Alonso and Perez both miss the first cut
There was no chance of rain this afternoon as the cars headed out on track under vivid blue Mediterranean skies and dazzling sunshine over the Circuit de Monaco. Mercedes were first out with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell straight onto the soft compound, but they didn't have the place to themselves for long.
RB's Yuki Tsunoda made an early appearance at the top of the times with a lap of 1:13.087s, then it was Hamilton followed by Verstappen who moved the goalposts to 1:12.790s. But this was clearly just the start, as demonstrated by the Haas pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen muscling past Verstappen in quick succession and McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri slipping into third and fourth.
Russell found extra time to go top ahead of Carlos Sainz, but Verstappen was again quicker than both. Piastri went two tenths quicker than Verstappen as the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll put in an early bid for P3 and P3. The times were certainly tumbling by the second as track conditions evolved, provided the drivers could find clear space and dodge the congestion.
Leclerc had got out of sync before finally punching in a time of 1:11.653s for P1 ahead of Magnussen and Hulkenberg just as most drivers returned to pit lane. With less than five minutes to go, Alex Albon was on the bubble with Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda, Logan Sargeant, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu all in the drop zone, both Saubers having been in the wars in earlier practice sessions.
Things soon changed with Albon, Tsunoda and Sargeant all improving. It left Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in their place in the bottom five facing the cut. There was only time for one last run with a big queue forming at Rascasse. When the dust settled, Russell was top with 1:11.492s, eighth thousandths from Piastri with Hamilton ahead of the two Ferraris; while Gasly, Norris and Ricciardo had all found safety. But it was bad news for Alonso who just missed the cut in P16 ahead of Sargeant, and utter disaster for Perez finishing 18th ahead of the Saubers.
Q2: Norris pips Verstappen as Gasly, Tsunoda and Albon make it to final round
The remaining 15 cars headed back out for the second round with Hulkenberg and Ricciardo quick to get going. Having used just one set of softs in Q1, Verstappen took early control of the second round with 1:11.196s until Sainz pipped that by 0.019s, and Tsunoda starring again in P3. Verstappen continued to go faster, getting back to the top with a second flier of 1:11.019s.
Hamilton and Russell were at the bottom of the top ten, while those at risk of elimination were Stroll, Albon, Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo. Russell then jumped to the top only to be immediately pipped by Piastri's 1:10.756s and now it was the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly getting backed up into the danger zone. Norris was briefly on the bubble until he followed his team mate's example by bounding to the top, just ahead of Piastri and the latest from Leclerc.
Albon improved to eighth leaving Ocon and Gasly sitting uncomfortably astride either side of the cut line. A final flurry of flying laps resolved the situation: Norris' time of 1:10.732s held on to the top spot by 0.013s from Verstappen, while Gasly pulled off something special to go fifth. Albon clung on to the final transfer spot in tenth leaving Ocon, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll and Magnussen packing up early.
Q3: Leclerc fends off Piastri for pole as Verstappen taps out on final flyier
Going into the top ten final shoot-out round, Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Russell and Piastri all had two fresh sets of soft tyres to play with. Albon put in an early banker of 1:11.805s but this was soon swept aside by Hamilton and then it was Leclerc on top with a time of 1:10.418s, despite complaining that something had moved on the pedals.
Piastri came within 0.026s of matching the Ferrari, while Verstappen was only third quickest when he finally reported in putting him ahead of Sainz, Russell and Norris. Albon used a brief lull in the action to go seventh just 0.008s behind Norris but putting him ahead of Hamilton. The final seconds saw another storm of fliers but Leclerc had enough in hand to keep pole from Piastri with Sainz pipping Norris to third. Verstappen's chances ended when he tapped the wall leaving him in sixth between Russell and Hamilton.
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