Leclerc takes stunning Monaco GP pole then crashes, Hamilton P7
Leclerc was 0.230s faster than Max Verstappen during the first runs of Q3 but suffered a heavy crash exiting the Swimming Pool on his final effort, bringing out a red flag that ended qualifying early.
While Leclerc’s 1m10.346s was enough for him to take a surprise home pole and Ferrari’s first since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix, the Monegasque is worried he could have picked up gearbox damage in his accident that might result in a grid drop.
Verstappen had been going quicker on his final flying lap and set the fastest overall first sector but had to abort his run due to the red flags for Leclerc’s crash.
Leclerc’s accident ruined everybody’s final laps with Valtteri Bottas ending up as the highest-placed Mercedes driver in third, some 0.255s down.
World championship leader Hamilton endured an awful qualifying as he struggled for grip and balance in his Mercedes, leaving him only seventh on the grid, behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, the McLaren of Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri in sixth.
Hamilton came into the weekend with a 14-point advantage over Verstappen in the championship, but faces an uphill battle if he is to leave Monaco with his lead intact given that overtaking is almost impossible around Monte Carlo’s tight and twisty streets.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was eighth-fastest for Aston Martin, ahead of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull and Antonio Giovinazzi, who produced an excellent lap to claim Alfa Romeo’s first Q3 appearance of the season.
Esteban Ocon narrowly missed out on a crucial spot inside the top 10 for Sunday’s race as he ended up 11th-quickest for Alpine.
Daniel Ricciardo’s early-season struggles continued at Monaco with the Australian unable to join his McLaren teammate in Q3 on his way to 12th.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was next up and ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo and George Russell, who progressed to Q2 for the fifth time this season in his Williams.
Yuki Tsunoda suffered a Q1 elimination for the second consecutive race as the AlphaTauri driver missed out advancing to Q2 by just 0.018s.
It was a torrid Saturday for two-time Monaco GP winner Fernando Alonso, who endured his worst qualifying result since returning to F1.
The 39-year-old Spaniard was only faster than Nicholas Latifi’s Williams and the Haas cars as he ended up a hugely disappointing 17th.
Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin was the slowest of the 19 runners after his teammate Mick Schumacher was unable to take part in qualifying following a heavy crash in final practice.
As a result, Schumacher will start Sunday’s race at the very back of the grid.
Click here for full qualifying results for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix.
