Great Norris pole in Monaco

For a long time, it was uncertain whether the traditionally incredibly fast Charles Leclerc would be competitive on his home track. Well, this time someone managed to do it...

In Q1, after the first fast laps, the pilots took turns at the front: Verstappen led, followed by the two McLarens, first Lando Norris, then Oscar Piastri. Due to the rapid improvement of the track, it was almost impossible to predict who would win this stage, but a good reference for guessing was Charles Leclerc's success in three practice sessions. In the end, those who bet on the Monegasque were not wrong; he won the first stage ahead of the McLarens. Of course, Kimi Antonelli also contributed significantly to this, as he crashed his car into the wall, causing a red flag phase that left no chance for further fast laps. The five who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, and Franco Colapinto.

In Q2, we anticipated a Ferrari-McLaren battle, and it indeed unfolded that way, as Leclerc opened at the front right away. However, it wasn't long before Norris arrived, and not only did he arrive, but he also took the lead and managed to defeat his Ferrari rival for the first time in a session over the weekend. We couldn't escape a red flag this time either; there was no crash, but George Russell's Mercedes stopped in the tunnel. After the restart, not much changed, only that Alexander Albon managed to sneak in behind Norris and Leclerc. Carlos Sainz in the other Williams wasn't as fortunate, as his qualifying ended alongside Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hülkenberg, and the already mentioned George Russell.

Then came the decisive Q3, where after the first shots, McLaren led the field in the order of Norris – Piastri. However, Leclerc arrived, putting together such a middle sector that we could hardly believe our eyes. Naturally, he immediately jumped to the top. Could this be surpassed? Well, it could. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris tried to do this, and in the end, the latter found an extra something that no one else could, securing the pole position ahead of Leclerc and Piastri.

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