Charles Leclerc in pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, Max Verstappen will start sixth

The Monegasque took pole position at home on Saturday, ahead of Oscar Piastri and his teammate Carlos Sainz.

The Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) won pole position on Saturday May 25, at home in Monaco, and will start at the head of the Grand Prix on Sunday for the eighth round of the Formula 1 season. This is the 250th time in the history of F1 that the Italian team inherits first place in a Grand Prix.

On “his” Rock, Leclerc will start in front of the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), who at the age of 23 won his second career front row, the first in the Principality. The Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and the Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) will start on the 2nd row.

World championship leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will only be 6th on the grid. His teammate Sergio Pérez, eliminated in Q1, will start 18th. On the French side, the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon will start in succession, in 10th and 11th position.

It is the first time this season – and the 24th time in his elite career – that Leclerc, 26, has set the fastest time in qualifying. So far this year, only Verstappen has started from pole. These qualifications were particularly important on the narrow streets of the Principality, where overtaking is generally difficult.

The Scuderia driver therefore leaves with an advantage, even if he has always struggled to shine at home until now. In his streets, he systematically had to abandon between 2017 (when he was still in F2, the antechamber of F1) and 2021, after technical problems or collisions. Last year, he finished in a disappointing 6th place while in 2022, when he started on pole, he fell short of the podium. Far behind, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso will only start 16th, a real poor performance for the double 2005-2006 world champion.