The Monegasque track is not conducive for overtaking in narrow streets so the grid positions are critical, even though it could rain at the start of Sunday’s race.
Charles Leclerc won the pole position on Saturday, giving him confidence in his chances of victory.
“It’s very special. It makes me so happy. “The weekend went well so far, and the last lap before red flag was really good,” said the native. He will start ahead Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari teammate), who is second. .
The last qualifying session was cut short by a red flag. It happened after Sergio Perez crashed against the safety barriers in Mexico. Sainz, who was just a few seconds away from the end, took Sainz to the tunnel entrance.
“It’s very damaged, and what made it worse is the hit Carlos gave to us, so we have quite a lot of damage. Perez said that it would be fine tomorrow, but we will have to wait and see.
The Mexican still takes third place in the 7th round, just ahead of Max Verstappen (the Dutchman currently leading the championship), his Red Bull teammate.
Christian Horner, Red Bull boss, admitted that pole wasn’t in their reach today. Charles was tough and it was a shame, as both our drivers could have done better. .
Leclerc’s challenge will not be to win tomorrow at home, but to finish the race.
Since 2017, “his” circuit has not been able to smile on him because at home, the Monegasque had to give up after clashes or technical problems.
As Perez did on Saturday afternoon, Leclerc made a mistake in the final seconds of qualifying in 2021 and severely damaged his car.
The Monegasque would not be able compete in his GP at Home despite taking pole.
He said, “I hope that I can finish the Grand Prix at home,” before this weekend.
Briton Lando Norris, McLaren’s Briton Lando (Mercedes) will start the race from the third row. He will be joined by George Russell (Mercedes), who was 6th in qualifying.
Follows the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, 7th; Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 8, and Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), 9. Esteban Ocon, 10th.
