Monaco GP Qualifying: Leclerc ends Verstappen's record run to claim pole for home race
On Saturday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ended Max Verstappen's record-breaking run of Formula One pole positions and made himself the favourite to win the Monaco Grand Prix at home for the first time since 1931.
The pole on a sunny afternoon was Leclerc's third in Monaco and 24th overall, but he has yet to stand on the podium in front of his home crowd.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri will start alongside the 26-year-old on the front row after a 0.154-second slower lap around the harbourside street circuit.
"We need to put everything together for Sunday's race," said Leclerc, who can become the first Monegasque to win since Louis Chiron drove a Bugatti to victory in the early years of an event that now stands for glamour and history.
"In the past here we didn't manage to do so, but we are in a stronger position and we are a stronger team. I'm sure we can achieve great things tomorrow and the win is the target."
Leclerc took pole in Monaco in 2021 but did not start the race due to a driveshaft failure, and in 2022 where he finished fourth.
Red Bull's triple world champion Verstappen, who was chasing an unprecedented ninth consecutive pole and eighth in a row this season, will start sixth.
"I've hit the wall," the championship leader, who has won five of seven races so far this year and is 48 points clear of Leclerc, exclaimed over the team radio.
Verstappen was third fastest after the first round of fast laps in the final top ten shootout, behind Leclerc at one minute 10.418 seconds and Piastri at 1:10.444.
Leclerc shrugged off the pressure to finish in 1:10.270, while Piastri improved by 0.020 of a second over his previous best.
Verstappen, who had been struggling with his car since Friday practice, threw everything at it, but his first corner mistake cost him three positions on a circuit where overtaking is difficult and races are often processional.
"I'm not disappointed with the position, I'm disappointed with our performance," he told Sky Sports television.
"It's not come as a surprise to me because I knew our limitations coming into this weekend. It's been bad. I can't take any kerbs."
"In the middle sector, I'm driving around the kerbs. It feels like I'm driving a go-kart, with no suspension and no damping."
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz qualified third, but was investigated for allegedly impeding Williams' Alex Albon during the first session.
The Spaniard stated that his priority for Sunday's race would be to assist Leclerc in winning, with Lando Norris of McLaren finishing fourth.
Mercedes' George Russell will share the third row with Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, finished seventh, a disappointment after his strong performance in practice, with RB's Yuki Tsunoda eighth.
"The team have worked really hard back at the factory to bring an upgrade to the last two races and also an upgrade this weekend but we only have one, which George has," said Hamilton.
"I anticipated it would be difficult to outqualify George because he has the upgraded component but it's great to see we are bringing upgrades."
Albon qualified ninth for Williams, while Pierre Gasly finished tenth for struggling Renault-owned Alpine in what is the closest thing to a home race for the French driver.
Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas were disqualified from qualifying because their cars had a non-compliant rear wing element.
Instead of starting from their previous positions of 12th and 15th, they will begin from the back of the grid.
Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez was the biggest casualty of the first phase of qualifying, with the Mexican set to start 18th after getting stuck in traffic before being bumped up to 16th due to Haas disqualifications.
Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, another past Monaco winner, had a bad day and will start 14th.
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