Monaco GP qualifying: Lando Norris earns last-gasp pole ahead of Charles Leclerc

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MONACO — Lando Norris secured pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, surviving the red flags and competitors’ close calls in what turned out to be a tight qualifying session.

There seemed to be a bit of a shift between practice and qualifying. Charles Leclerc went the fastest in all three sessions plus Q1, but Norris went the quickest in Q2 and held onto provisional pole, teammate Oscar Piastri just 0.067 seconds off of the Briton after the first Q3 laps. But that lap from Leclerc was slower than his Q2 lap, meaning there was still more pace in the Ferrari.

It became a battle of the McLarens for the final runs, the two drivers heading out much earlier than the rest of the Q3 grid. Piastri put together a brilliant lap that was then beaten by Norris with 0.015 seconds separating the two, and the time to beat for the remaining eight drivers was 1:10.125.

Leclerc managed to do that, setting a time that was 0.062 seconds ahead of Norris. But with that early second run by the McLarens, their timing meant they could go for a third flying lap. Norris came storming back with a lap that was 0.109 seconds quicker than the home hero.

The front row will be made up of Norris and Leclerc, while Piastri rounds out the top three. It remains to be seen where Lewis Hamilton will line up after Ferrari repaired the car following his practice crash, and the seven-time world champion qualified fourth. He faces an investigation for potential impeding of Max Verstappen earlier in qualifying.

Just a reminder: There is a rule change for the Monaco Grand Prix. Teams will be required to execute a minimum of two pit stops. And two drivers already faced grid penalties before qualifying began: Ollie Bearman (10) and Lance Stroll (1).

Here’s how everyone qualified.

1. Lando Norris, McLaren
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
6. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
7. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
8. Esteban Ocon, Haas
9. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
10. Alex Albon, Williams
11. Carlos Sainz, Williams
12. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
13. Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber
14. George Russell, Mercedes
15. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
16. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
17. Ollie Bearman, Haas
18. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
19. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
20. Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Carlos Sainz just missed out on the top ten (HOCH ZWEI)

Q2: Sainz, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg and Mercedes cars fail to advance to Q3.

Mercedes’ weekend got even worse, as Russell reported he had no power and came to a halt inside the tunnel. It triggered a red flag with just over 10 minutes left in Q2. While the Briton asked and tried to turn it off and turn the car back on, Mercedes confirmed to the driver that his day was over. He stayed with the vehicle as the marshals ushered it out. According to the Silver Arrows, “George lost power after hitting a bump coming out of Turn 1 and was unable to restart the car after trying a number of switch changes. It looks like a potential electrical problem at this stage.”

Soft and medium tires were used during Q2, and as qualifying wore on, the track improved and lap times quickened. With three minutes to go in Q2, the gap between Norris, who was quickest at the time, and Leclerc, who was second, sat at 0.011 seconds, while Hamilton was 0.313 seconds off Norris in third.

The drivers pushed to the limit with their final flying laps, Piastri brushing the barriers as he logged the fourth fastest time. Only Racing Bulls, Ferrari and McLaren saw their drivers advance to Q3. Albon continued to star for Williams, setting the third fastest time (0.162 seconds off Norris and ahead of Verstappen). But Williams will face pressure from Haas, as Ocon also advanced to the top 10. The gap between the two teams for the ‘best of the rest’ battle is 31 points, but it’s worth remembering that Williams is not developing its 2025 car. It’s a notable gap with two-thirds of the calendar left.

Antonelli crashed, but made it out of Q1 (ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images)

Q1: Alpines, three rookies and Stroll knocked out

Q1 was nearly a clean session — nearly. Yellow flags turned into a red flag at the end of the session after Antonelli hit the barriers at the Nouvelle Chicane. He was in danger of being dropped, sitting at P15, and clipped the inside wall as he entered the sequence.

Leclerc went the fastest in the session, continuing his clean sweep after going fastest in all three practice sessions. His performance so far this weekend starkly contrasted the warnings from earlier in the week and after Imola that Monaco would expose some of the car’s weaknesses. Meanwhile, both Williams drivers set laps that landed them in the top 10 for Q1, and the McLaren duo rounded out the top three, Norris going second quickest and Piastri third fastest.

All the drivers ended the session on the C6 tire, which debuted last weekend at Imola and faced criticism.

Multiple stewards’ investigations will occur after qualifying, concerning alleged impeding between Stroll and Gasly and Hamilton and Verstappen.

(Top photo: HOCH ZWEI)

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