Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc snatched pole for 2021 Monaco Grand Prix following a dramatic Qualifying session, despite crashing right at the very end of Q3.
Leclerc was the fastest driver after Thursday Practice but was slightly off the pace in FP3 but rebounded throughout qualifying to clinch pole position for his home race, despite causing a red flag with 18 seconds left on the clock after a mistake.
Max Verstappen meanwhile topped FP3 but had to settle for second on the grid as we bring a full roundup of Saturday’s action in the Principality.
FP3
A quiet start to the session saw teams remain in their garages for the opening two minutes until Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen decided to venture out, followed by teammate – Antonio Giovinazzi and others shortly afterwards.
Both Alfa Romeo drivers then traded the fastest lap in the early running until Carlos Sainz seized control with 1m 13.300, only to be quickly bettered by his Ferrari teammate – Charles Leclerc with 1m 12.633 to go top.
Both Ferrari drivers proceeded to trade fastest laps until Verstappen posted a 1m 11.485 in the 23rd minute, which Sainz beat by 0.033 seconds just four minutes later to lead at the halfway mark of this session.
Drivers soon afterwards switched focus to soft tyre qualifying simulations as Kimi Raikkonen went eighth quickest, whilst Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas had wide moments down Sainte Devote escape road.
Sainz however improved to 1m 11.341 to go even quicker at the top just before Williams’ Nicholas Latifi got launched into the barriers via the outside kerb on the exit of the Swimming Pool chicane to cause a six minute red flag.
Once the session resumed, Verstappen was straight out on track and found improvement on his second flier to top the session with a 1m 11.294 just 0.047s quicker than Sainz heading into Qualifying.
The session however was halted for a second and final time as Haas’ Mick Schumacher suffered a snap on his rear on the exit of Casino Square, causing him to hit the wall hard and come to a halt on the run to Mirabeau with the German ruled out of Qualifying with chassis damage.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 11.294 |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.047 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.258 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | + 0.471 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.523 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.694 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.726 |
| 8 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | + 1.004 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 1.063 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.243 |
| 11 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | + 1.245 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.406 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 1.665 |
| 14 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 1.845 |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 2.035 |
| 16 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | + 2.096 |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams | + 2.153 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 2.181 |
| 19 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 2.228 |
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 2.320 |
Qualifying
Q1
A crash at the end of FP3 ruled out Schumacher out of Qualifying due to extensive damage to his Haas car, meaning that only four drivers were eliminated in Q1 along with the German who didn’t take part.
Williams’ George Russell was first out on track but McLaren’s Lando Norris set the initial pace with 1m 12.676 but was soon displaced by several drivers, with Sainz going fastest at the halfway point with 1m 11.341.
The elimination zone meanwhile were made up of Esteban Ocon, Latifi, Russell and Nikita Mazepin, with Ocon and Russell being the only two drivers to escape the drop as Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda finished 17th and 16th quickest ahead of Latifi and Mazepin.
Q2
Pierre Gasly was the first driver to venture out on track as drivers opted for two warm-up laps, except for a select few as Sebastian Vettel set the initial pace with 1m 11.759.
The frontrunners soon set the pace as Leclerc went top only to be surpassed by Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz who went 0.231s quicker with 1m 10.806, as Verstappen was third ahead of Hamilton and Bottas.
Norris soon afterwards slotted into second until Leclerc displaced him with Verstappen going fastest overall on 1m 10.650.
Come the halfway point, Giovinazzi, Lance Stroll, Ocon, Raikkonen and Russell occupied the elimination spots.
In the end, Antonio Giovinazzi was the only driver to escape with a surprise 1m 11.409 as Ocon improved to 11th ahead of Daniel Ricciardo who slipped out of the top ten at the flag.
Stroll was 13th quickest ahead of Raikkonen and Russell who completed
Q3
Like Q2, Gasly was first out on track as everyone decided to venture out in order to try and beat a dark-looking rain cloud lingering across the track, which eventually failed to produce any rain.
Verstappen set the initial benchmark of 1m 10.576 ahead of Bottas who was 0.060s slower but Leclerc produced a stunning 1m 10.346 to go on provisional pole, as Sainz settled for third but was displaced by Bottas’ second flier.
Norris was the last driver to complete his first run which put him fifth ahead of Gasly as Hamilton found himself a low seventh ahead of Vettel, Perez and Giovinazzi.
Verstappen meanwhile decided to go early with five minutes left on the clock for his final run but a mistake on his first flier at Portier saw him abort his first flier, whilst Hamilton also made a mistake on entry to that corner.
Leclerc went on to secure pole for his home race after bringing out the red flag with 18s left following a crash on the exit of the Swimming Pool chicane, just as Verstappen set the fastest first sector time in a moment which has echoes of Michael Schumacher’s crash to deny Fernando Alonso pole in 2006.
Replays showed that Leclerc’s front right tyre snapped upon clipping the inside barrier on entry to the corner, sending the Monegasque steering straight into the barriers and pole position.
Verstappen will start second ahead of Bottas, Sainz and Norris as the top five were all split by 0.274s, with Gasly qualifying sixth on the grid ahead of Hamilton, Vettel, Perez and Giovinazzi.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m 10.346 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.230 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | + 0.255 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.265 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.274 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 0.554 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.749 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.073 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 1.227 |
| 10 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | + 1.433 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1m 11.486 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 0.112 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.114 |
| 14 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | + 0.156 |
| 15 | George Russell | Williams | + 0.344 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1m 12.096 |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 0.109 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 0.270 |
| 19 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | + 0.862 |
| DNQ | Mick Schumacher | Haas | No Time Set |
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