Leclerc avoided any slip-ups to safely make it through Q1 and Q2 before unleashing his full potential in Q3, where he provisionally posted a time of 1m 10.418s and then bettered it with an electric 1m 10.270s – a target none of his rivals could beat.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix as Leclerc takes home pole position

Piastri got closest to put his McLaren a fine second, ahead of Sainz and team mate Lando Norris, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen had to settle for sixth after hitting the wall at Sainte Devote on his final qualifying lap.

It means the Dutchman’s run of successive pole positions comes to an end – having claimed the previous eight in a row and drawn level with Ayrton Senna in the all-time list – and leaves him with plenty of work to do on race day.

Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will sandwich Verstappen on the grid in fifth and seventh respectively, as RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’s Alex Albon and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly all starred to reach Q3.

Similar to Ocon’s experience Daniel Ricciardo could do no more than 13th. He had to wait for Tsunoda take over RB’s team during the shootout for pole position while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen completed the Q2 order.

The first qualifying session was a dramatic one that saw a number of traffic-related incidents as well as plenty of fights over track positions attracted two major famous names. Fernando Alonso and Perez, who will be back on the 16th and 18th places each for this the Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Logan Sargeant is set to begin the race between the Aston Martin and Red Bull drivers in his Williams as Kick Sauber’s race in the bottom of the field was a success with Valtteri Bottas as well as Zhou Guanyu ending qualifying as the slowest of runners.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 — Russell is fastest, as Perez and Alonso are forced to leave in shock

After three intense practice sessions during which home favourite Leclerc declared himself the top contender for pole position the race, it was now time for the most crucial qualifying time of the season to start with sunshine and warm temperatures greeted the track.

In the race, track position is vital on the twisty and tight roads that are Monte Carlo, all drivers aside from the Ferraris quickly set off to try and get a pre-determined lap time and try to secure access from Q1 to Q2 – the traffic was most crowded during the initial phase.

Every driver was able to have at minimum one flyer in their name. Hulkenberg was P1 ahead of Haas teammate Magnussen with a time of 1m 12.416s then followed by McLaren pair Norris and Piastri and Piastri, the RB of Tsunoda and Verstappen’s Red Bull, Stroll’s Aston Martin and the pace-setter for practice Leclerc.

The times soon plummeted as the drivers gained the confidence they had and conditions on track improved but he did manage to get a 1m 11.881s from Piastri in the second round of runs. The officials noted potential events in the race between Sainz as well as Albon as well as Ricciardo as well as Bottas.

“This is the worst position… We are out of phase with everybody,” Leclerc was adamant as of this time, having the 12th spot after being among the last drivers to exit the pit lane. Piastri was able to keep pace the pack from Hamilton, Russell, Sainz Verstappen, Gasly, Alonso, Ocon, Stroll and early pace-setter Hulkenberg.

There was drama in other areas in the race as Norris and Perez trying to squeeze clear laps – fell down the order, and then towards the drop zone. But as Perez, the McLaren driver pulled his lap out of his bag after the chequered flag but Perez could not. Red Bull man could not and was a victim of a shocking Q1 exit.

When the final laps were brought into the race, Russell remained fastest with his mid – 1m11s effort with Piastri, Hamilton, Sainz and Leclerc in the top five, with Albon an impressive sixth place to Williams, Verstappen making it through seventh place as well. Gasly, Stroll and Norris finishing off the top 10 places.

Ricciardo, Magnussen, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg all made it with Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo all made it through RB as well as Haas machines Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Magnussen Ocon managed to get through the second section with the help of his the teammate from his previous time Alonso He was also a surprising name to be eliminated in the first hurdle of qualifying.

Sargeant was able to slot among Alonso Sargeant was able to slot in between Alonso and Perez In the third Williams, with Bottas after his FP3 crash and Zhou after his scrape against the barrier on Friday making up the back of an extremely difficult week and Team Kick Sauber. Kick Sauber team.

Killed out Alonso, Sargeant, Perez Bottas Zhou

Q2 Q2 Norris surpasses Verstappen in Q2 as the times fall

After a brief break qualifying resumed, and the Verstappen team caught the attention by putting in one of the most impressive times this weekend thus far, clocking 1m 11.196s in the first part of Q2 and then waiting to allow Sainz to get even faster only a few seconds later with a 1m 11.177s.

Verstappen did it again and ran a 1m 11.019s the next time which put him back in the P1 position after Sainz as well as an inspired Tsunoda as well as Ocon (despite Ocon crashing into some traffic) and then Piastri (1m 10.756s) as well the next race, Norris (1m 10.732s) were able to light the timing screens, forming an McLaren two-two.

Another thrilling rush of speed as the clock slowed as the chequered flag flew out in the race, with Norris having a near miss in Q1 to a top Q2 as Verstappen was just 0.013s slower to finish second in the McLarens and Leclerc was fourth.

Gasly performed a magnificent final lap to get his Alpine to fifth place in the standings, just ahead of Mercedes team Russell as well as Hamilton and the second Ferrari of Sainz and Tsunoda, while Tsunoda and Albon claimed the last two spots in the shootout to be in the top 10 and Ocon was just a few steps away from being able to join his French teammate.

Haas did not sustain their first-quarter pace and both cars were wiped out in the Q2 phase with Hulkenberg ending up in 12th place and Magnussen returned to 15th The RB from Ricciardo as well as Aston Martin of Stroll were the other drivers to be dropped out of the race.

Knocked out: Ocon, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Stroll, Magnussen

Q3 – Leclerc is able to stand on his own for his dream home pole

Hamilton is the very first driver to move in the Q3 phase, which was awaited with great anticipation. began, setting the first benchmark at 1m 10.975s and then Leclerc beat that mark by a whopping 1m 10.418s despite announcing on his radio station the fact that “something moved in the pedals”.

Piastri was second and was just 0.026s from Leclerc and Verstappen just just a few tenths further back in third. Sainz being fourth behind Russell, Norris and Albon as well as Hamilton dropping from the preliminary P1 to eighth behind Gasly as well as Tsunoda.

In the last laps before the chequered flag Leclerc adjusted the screw one more, lowering the benchmark to a record-breaking 1m 10.270s and ensured that no one could steal the top spot away from him. This also earned the driver a third place on his home track between 2021 as well as 2022.

Piastri defeated the twin Ferrari that was Sainz to finish second, with Norris third, Russell fifth and Verstappen dropped to sixth despite ongoing battles on the track – video replays show him crashing into the wall near the end into Sainte Devote during his final lap.

Hamilton was seventh on one of two Mercedes cars, squeezing ahead of a midfield dispute among Tsunoda, Albon and Gasly All of them did their best to make it through the final stage and finish the rest time of qualifying.

Key quote

“It was nice,” said Leclerc. “The feeling following the qualifying lap is always unique in this place. It is a real, genuine joy to complete the lap. The excitement is so exhilarating. It’s really satisfying but I’m aware that more often than I have previously that qualifying isn’t the only thing. While it can help to be able to race on Sunday it is important to get everything in place for Sunday.

“In the past we were unable to win. We are now a stronger team and are in a better position, and I’m confident that we will accomplish great things in the coming days and of course, winning is our goal.”

What’s next?

It is expected that the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix is set to start in the afternoon at around 1400 local time this Sunday. Go to the RACE HUB for more information on what you can do to catch the action live from Monte Carlo.