Charles Leclerc takes Monaco F1 pole despite crash, Hamilton starts seventh
The Ferrari driver hits the wall on his final qualifying run. Max Verstappen in second place, Lewis Hamilton struggles
Charles Lechler had to work hard for his pole at the Monaco Grand Prix. So tough indeed, he claimed the top spot despite crashing the streets of Monte Carlo. The Monegasque driver was a surprise winner in his home race qualifying, following an entertaining season that has the potential to dramatically change the shape of this year's Formula One World Championship after Lewis Hamilton finished seventh. Disappointed with how his Mercedes team was handling its weekend.
Lechler had already set the fastest time on his final hot lap in Monaco before hitting the odds that ended the season. It came close to what promised to be a nail-biting finale, but as much as it favored the 23-year-old, it was not intentional. In fact, he now faces a tense wait to assess the damage done to his Ferrari. If he needs to change the gearbox, the pole will be lost to a five-position grid penalty.
The results behind him were equally dramatic. Max Verstappen was second to Red Bull but Hamilton, who leads the Dutchman by 14 points in the championship, was uncompetitive by five places behind. With the Monte Carlo roads overtaking so hard, Verstappen could move within two points of Hamilton if the pair ends up in the same position.
Hamilton struggled to put heat in his tires throughout the season and went no better than seventh in qualifying as a whole. He was not happy with how the car proceeded over the weekend, assuming that Mercedes had made a setup change to the car that went completely the wrong direction. Hamilton rarely criticizes his team openly, but he was clear that there would be vigorous debriefing after qualifying.
"I will have some tough discussions with my engineers tonight or maybe after the weekend," he said. "There are things that should have been done & not done. It is disappointing, it is what it is. I can not really say much because we deal with it as a team & I do not want to criticize the team but I'll be behind closed doors. We'll have to work harder. "
For Lechler, taking his first poll in Monaco, Michael Schumacher's suggestion to stop the intentional session in his favor in 2006 was unfounded. In truth the 23-year-old was pushing very hard.
"If I was doing it on purpose I'd make sure to hit the wall a little less vigorously," he said. "It wasn't on purpose, obviously. I was pushing the limit, for now all I care about is the rear of the car. I hope it's alright, it does not look right." Verstappen, who was ready to go faster than Lechler when his final lap was stopped by red flags, also admitted that there was no premeditation from Lechler.
"If Charles had parked it with a broken front wing it's a different story," he said. "Charles had the wrong decision, it's just unfortunate. We are all working so hard & the round here is not so easy, especially at the border, it's easy to make a mistake." Verstappen scored his 1st in Q3 with a time of 1min 10.576sec. Placed his marker on the run, but Leclerc followed him & hit back immediately, going a full 2-tenths faster, making a profit in sector 2 with a time of 1min 10.346. Offering the most grips. The final runs along the track were critical, but while they were on the way, the Monegasque driver entered the swimming pool chicken and cut the inside barriers with his right front, damaging his suspension & bouncing him into the curb. Wall. Ferrari has said that the initial investigation of the gearbox did not reveal serious damage, but further investigation would have to be done on Sunday to find out if it could be used in the race.
Investigations for Mercedes and limiting the damage on Sunday are just beginning. While the celebrations continue for Ferrari as they hope to retain a remarkable result following their travels last season.
He faced his worst position since 1980 with sixth place in 2020 and this is his first poll since Lechler topped Mexico in 2019. Trying to afternoon in a meeting where Saturday's performance is for everyone and for once the Mercedes Bazigar was found wanting.
Valtteri Bottas finished third for Mercedes. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was fourth and McLaren's Lando Norris was fifth. Pierre Gasli was sixth for AlfaToury; Sebastian Vettel in eighth place for Aston Martin; Antonio Giovinazzi in Sergio Perez ninth for Red Bull and 10th for Alfa Romeo.
Esteban was 11th for Okan Alpine, in front of Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren. For Aston Martin, Lance Stroke was in 13th place and Kimi Raikkonen of Alpha Romeo in 14th place and Williams of George Russell in 15th place.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso fell behind Yuki Tsunoda's Alphatori in the 17th Q3. Nicholas Latifi was 18th for Williams.
Mick Schumacher did not participate in qualifying after crashing his Haas late in the final practice. He will be allowed to participate in the race starting at the back of the grid. His teammate Nikita Majepin was 19th.