Charles Löckler certainly had a feel for his home streets with a bit of a fine touch and judgment to provide a venue for the Monaco Grand Prix. He has every chance of fulfilling the curse that has struck his fortune here. Even better for the Monegasque Ferrari driver, the qualifier ended with a track reminding his rivals that he punishes even the smallest mistakes, as a two-car crash ended the session and thwarted the title contender, Max Verstappen of Red Bull. to handle better than the fourth on the grid.
Leclerc defeated his teammate Carlos Sainz in second place and Sergio Perez from Red Bull in third place, but only after the two went on their last hot laps.
Perez pressed hard, but lost his back and crashed into the barrier at Portie. This left him sideways on the track, and Sainz could do nothing as he turned the corner and hit Red Bull. A red flag was immediately issued to end the session.
Mercedes struggled, with a handful of cars, solid suspension, and low ride height. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are in sixth and eighth place.
The qualification left the seven-time champion once again regretting his misfortune. Hamilton suffered several unfortunate calls to the safety car this year, and here he was wearing a new set of soft tires and was about to improve his last lap when the session was suspended. Hamilton knows there is a long way to go on Sunday.
“I hope that time will evolve and create opportunities, it would be nice to have some luck once,” he said. “I have this [bad luck] whole year. It will definitely stop at some point. ”
In a race where the grid position is everything, Perez’s accident was the most costly for his teammate Verstappen, who was making his last lap and was also improving when the session was suspended. Starting fourth, overtaking is almost impossible, he faces an afternoon in which Leclerc is in a position to regain the lead in the championship.
Perez raised his hands to the mistake. “The rear tire didn’t catch and I lost it,” he said. “It was a shame what happened and I’m sorry for Carlos and the other boys, but it’s Monaco.”
However, the day belonged to the boy from his hometown, who wanted to overcome his bad move in Monaco. He failed to finish any of his races here, two in F2 and three in F1, and with the form he and Ferrari showed, this is certainly his best shot so far.
Leclerc, quick over the weekend, showed intent from the start. He had come out early to set the pace of his first hot run in Q3, pushing hard and walking the fastest in 1 minute 11.376 seconds. He was completely attached, circling the chicane and moving at great speed through the swimming pool. It was great, with two-tenths of his teammate Sainz.
The last runs were set to be dramatic, but with 30 seconds left the chain went into chaos. Perez and Sainz dropped out, and minutes later Fernando Alonso went straight into Mirabeau’s wall. The track is the worst when drivers know that everything is at stake on Saturday.
Quick guide
Results of the qualifications for Grand Monaco
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1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari: 1 min 11.37 sec
2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari: +0.225 sec
3. Sergio Perez, Red Bull: +0.253 sec
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull: +0.290
5. Lando Norris, McLaren: + 0.473 sec
6. George Russell, Mercedes: +0.736 sec
7. Fernando Alonso, alpine: +0.871 sec
8. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes: +1.184 sec
9. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin: +1.356 sec
10. Esteban Okon, alpine: +1,671 sec
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For Leclerc, who was born and raised in Monaco, it was a time to enjoy. “It’s very special, I’m so incredibly happy,” he said. “It’s been a very smooth weekend so far and the last lap before the red flag was really, really good.”
This is the pillar the Monegasque driver wanted, especially after the bitter disappointment he suffered last year. He then failed to start from the pole he said after a crash in his last lap in qualifying damaged the drive shaft, which was found only on his way to the grid on Sunday.
The pole is likely to be vital, as drivers stress that this year, more than ever, with bigger and heavier cars, crossing is an incredible dream. This is a real chance for Leclerc to regain the lead in the championship after the last round in Spain, where he had to retire and Verstappen took a six-point advantage over his opponent.
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Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren. Sebastian Vettel was ninth for Aston Martin, Alonso and Esteban Ocon were seventh and 10th for Alpine.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda overcame the chicanery wall in Q3, but continued to reach Q2 and finished in 11th place. Valteri Botas was 12th for Alfa Romeo, Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher 13th and 15th for Haas, and Daniel Ricciardo was 14th for McLaren Alex Albon and Nicolas Latifi were 16th and 19th for Williams. Pierre Gasley was 17th for AlphaTauri, Lance Stroll was 18th for Aston Martin and Guanyu Zhou was 20th for Alfa Romeo.
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