Five winners and five losers from F1 Monaco GP qualifying

There were two red flags, crashes and last-lap heroics in F1 qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Here are our biggest winners and losers from an exciting and unpredictable qualifying around the legendary streets of Monte Carlo…

Winner - Lando Norris

Lando Norris left it late to snatch pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix away from local hero Charles Leclerc by producing a sublime final lap of qualifying.

Leclerc had set the pace in every session prior to qualifying but Norris turned the tables on the Ferrari driver when it mattered most to come out on top by 0.109s.

It was a much-needed statement result for Norris, who topped qualifying for the first time since the season-opener in Australia to give McLaren their first pole in the Principality since 2007.

Norris now finds himself in prime position to further cut teammate Oscar Piastri’s 13-point championship lead for the second consecutive weekend.

Loser - Mercedes

Mercedes suffered an utterly abysmal afternoon in Monaco, with their cars lining up only 14th and 15th on the grid for Sunday’s race.

George Russell did not set a time in Q2 after his W16 broke down with a loss of power after a suspected electrical issue was triggered by him hitting a bump in the first sector.

Things went even worse for Kimi Antonelli, who crashed at the Nouvelle Chicance right at the end of Q1. It was a costly error from the 18-year-old Italian rookie who will start P15.

The last time both Mercedes failed to reach Q3 was at the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Winner - Ferrari

Ferrari came to Monte Carlo expecting the slow-speed nature of the iconic circuit to expose the weaknesses of their SF-25, but they appeared to be the team to beat for much of the weekend.

Home favourite Leclerc may not have landed a home pole for a second year running that he would have been dreaming of, but P2, coupled with Lewis Hamilton’s lap to secure fourth, will have exceeded Ferrari’s expectations heading into the event.

Despite being visibly disappointed to have missed out on pole, Leclerc conceded second was ultimately “the best we could do”.

* Hamilton has since been handed a three-place grid penalty.

Loser - Alpine

It was a qualifying to forget for Alpine, with both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto eliminated in the first segment.

Gasly was the big name to be knocked out after he was unable to improve on his time after Antonelli’s accident initially brought out yellow flags.

Alpine teammate Colapinto was slowest in qualifying but will start P18 thanks to penalties for rivals. It has so far been a baptism of fire for the Argentine on his return to F1.

Winner - Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls’ French rookie Isack Hadjar continues to impress.

Hadjar ended up best of the rest in qualifying as he took a strong sixth with an outstanding lap. It marks the 20-year-old’s best qualifying lap so far in F1. He will start P5 as a result of Hamilton's penalty. 

With teammate Liam Lawson also reaching Q3 and starting from ninth, Monaco represents a fantastic opportunity for Racing Bulls to score some vital points.

Loser - Yuki Tsunoda

Another tough qualifying for Yuki Tsunoda, who failed to join teammate Max Verstappen in Q3 fourth time in seven races since his promotion.

12th on the grid will make it incredibly hard for Tsunoda to score any points in reality, though it was actually his best qualifying relative to Verstappen since his debut in Japan - despite a 0.540s deficit.

To make matters worse for Tsunoda, he was out qualified by both Racing Bulls.

Winner - Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso got the most out of his Aston Martin as he was narrowly pipped to P6 by just 0.001s. The two-time world champion was understandably delighted with the result. 

Boosted up to sixth on the grid, Alonso will be desperate to finally notch his first points of 2025 after missing out at Imola.

Loser - Lance Stroll

There were contrasting fortunes on the other side of the Aston Martin garage, with Lance Stroll having a miserable weekend in Monaco.

Stroll, already hit with a one-place grid drop for causing a collision with Leclerc in FP1, could only qualify 19th.

The Canadian then picked up an additional three-place penalty for impeding Gasly in Q1. Stroll won’t actually serve his penalty given his poor qualifying showing.

Winner - Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon delivered in all three parts of qualifying to put his Haas an eye-catching eighth on the grid.

The Frenchman produced a blistering lap to beat Lawson and Williams’ Alex Albon in Q3 and put himself in a strong position to score points on Sunday.

Loser - Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz was left to rue a frustrating afternoon as he narrowly missed out on a place in Q3 and ended up 11th - arguably the worst place to start in Monaco.

Despite feeling like he had a lack of confidence and rhythm across the weekend, Sainz was adamant that he had the pace in his Williams to secure a better starting position. He lamented what he described as being a “terrible” final Q2 lap on soft tyres.

As it turned out, Sainz will only line-up one place behind his teammate.