Monaco Grand Prix: Norris holds pole
Sunny. Dry. Air +21C, highway +41C
In an attempt to change the situation, when Saturday in Monaco decides everything, and the race decides almost nothing if there is no rain, the FIA decided to increase the number of mandatory pit stops to two in 2025. But the team's pit stops will be held tomorrow, and today the drivers were looking for an answer to the traditional question: who is the fastest in Monaco?
No matter how the rules change, in Monaco everything depends on the starting position. But if the pole holder was previously vulnerable to "undercutting" – over the past twenty years, the driver who started first has won 13 times, then two mandatory pit stops can negate this vulnerability. However, Barcelona, where the stage will be held next week, has even worse statistics – 15 pole wins in 20 Grands Prix.
In practice on Friday and Saturday, local Ferrari driver Charles Leclair was in the lead, but with each session the rivals got closer and closer. Over the past four years, Leclair has started from pole position in Monaco three times, but has won only once so far – last year.
For the second weekend in a row, Pirelli brought the softest compounds to the stage - C4, C5 and the new C6 as Hard, Medium and Soft. The composition of the C6 raised questions last week at Imola, but it did not provide a big advantage in speed, many were unhappy with the handling at C6 and in Monaco.
In the first session, Gasly and Colapinto chose Medium, while the others opted for Soft. The racers worked for a series of laps, gradually bringing the tires into working mode.
Everyone spent the second attempt on Soft. The track got faster and the speeds increased during the session, but the constant traffic did not allow the riders to complete the lap cleanly and quickly.
The session ended under red flags after Kimi Antonelli's accident. In turn 10, the Mercedes driver hit the corner of the barrier, broke the suspension and crashed into the barrier in the 11th.
Leclair showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:11.229. Bortoleto, Berman, Gasly, Stroll and Colapinto dropped out of the further fight.
The start of the second session was postponed in order to evacuate Antonelli's car and remove the wreckage, but the pause was short – marshals in Monaco always work quickly.
Albon, Sainz, Leclair, Hamilton and Russell went to the first attempt on Medium. Lando Norris managed to lead the minutes with 1:10.959, when the red flags reappeared.
George Russell complained about the loss of power, his car stopped right in the tunnel. The race management waited until the riders returned to the pit lane and allowed the marshals to enter the track - they manually rolled the car to the exit. Both Mercedes drivers dropped out of the competition ahead of schedule.
When the exit to the track was opened, there were 10 minutes left until the end of the session. Elbon, Alonso, and Sainz went to Medium, while the rest went to Soft. In the end, Norris showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:10.570. Sainz, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Russell and Antonelli did not qualify for the finals.
In the final, Okon and Elbon went to Medium, the rest set Soft. In the first attempt, Norris drove the fastest time of all – 1:10.464, six hundredths ahead of his teammate.
Piastri was faster in the second attempt, then Norris topped the protocol with a new track record of 1:10.125, but Leclair beat him, and in the decisive attempt Lando scored another tenth – 1:09.954.
Lando Norris won qualifying for Monaco for the first time, taking the 11th pole of his career and the second of the season.
Over the course of the weekend, the stewards reviewed several incidents, fining the riders by losing positions at the start. Hamilton lost three places, Stroll lost three plus one, and Berman lost ten.
In the race, Norris will share the front row of the starting field with Charles Leclair, Piastri and Verstappen will start from the second, Hajjar and Alonso from the third.
Qualification results
Pilot
Team
1st session
2nd session
3rd session
M
Time
Kr
M
Time
Kr
M
Time
Kr
1. L.Norris
McLaren
2
1:11.285
11
1
1:10.570
8
1
1:09.954
8
2. S.Leclair
Ferrari
1
1:11.229
12
2
1:10.581
9
2
1:10.063
6
3. O. Piastri
McLaren
3
1:11.308
10
4
1:10.858
11
3
1:10.129
8
4. L.Hamilton
Ferrari
6
1:11.575
12
6
1:10.883
10
4
1:10.382
6
5. M.Verstappen
Red Bull
4
1:11.431
9
5
1:10.875
6
5
1:10.669
6
6. A.Hajjar
Racing Bulls
11
1:11.811
12
7
1:11.040
9
6
1:10.923
6
7. F.Alonso
Aston Martin
8
1:11.674
12
8
1:11.182
10
7
1:10.924
8
8. E.Okon
Haas
13
1:11.839
13
10
1:11.262
11
8
1:10.942
8
9. L.Lawson
Racing Bulls
12
1:11.818
11
9
1:11.250
9
9
1:11.129
6
10. A.Elbon
Williams
7
1:11.629
13
3
1:10.732
12
10
1:11.213
9
11. K.Sainz
Williams
9
1:11.707
13
11
1:11.362
12
12. Yu.Tsunoda
Red Bull
10
1:11.800
11
12
1:11.415
9
13. N. Hulkenberg
Sauber
14
1:11.871
13
13
1:11.596
10
14. D.Russell
Mercedes
5
1:11.507
11
14
–
2
15. K.Antonelli
Mercedes
15
1:11.880
11
15
–
0
16. The city of Bortoleto
Sauber
16
1:11.902
13
17. O. Berman
Haas
17
1:11.979
13
18. P.Gasli
Alpine
18
1:11.994
11
19. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
19
1:12.563
11
20. F.Colapinto
Alpine
20
1:12.597
12
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