Charles LeClerc clinches pole for Ferrari in the Monaco Grand Prix

Ferrari will start from pole position in the Monaco Grand Prix thanks to a great Q3 session drive by Charles LeClerc.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start on pole in tomorrow’s (Sunday, May 29) Monaco Grand Prix. A dramatic and chaotic climax to Q3 saw the Frenchman pip his teammate Carlos Sainz by just 0.225 seconds.

LeClerc had been the better performer throughout the session, and would probably have secured a bigger time difference over Sainz had the final Q3 lap not been red-flagged when he was flying. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez crashed out at Portier, subsequently taking Sainz with him, so the session was ended abruptly.

Mexican driver Perez still clinched third, with current world champion Max Verstappen once again off the pace in his Red Bull, taking fourth spot on the grid. The Dutchman will have to pull out all the stops if he is to keep pace with LeClerc in the championship.

Perez’s crash had repercussions further down the field, affecting Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Esteban Ocon. All three drivers suffered poor lap times as a result. Hamilton will start from eighth, with Vettel ninth in the Aston Martin, and Esteban Ocon rounding out the top 10 in the Alpine.

Former world champion Fernando Alonso had been heading for a good grid position, but eventually dropped to seventh after crashing his Alpine at Mirabeau. McLaren’s Lando Norris is just in front of him in sixth, while George Russell kept up his great form by taking fifth place.