F1 Star Charles Leclerc Takes Monaco GP Pole As Sergio Perez Wrecks Late in Q3

For the second time in the last three races, Ferrari will start both cars on the front row at the Monaco Grand Prix after a frenzied finish to Saturday’s qualifying session. 

Charles Leclerc dominated on his home track, posting a 1:11.376 in Q3 to claim pole position for Sunday’s race. Right behind him was Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who narrowly beat out the Red Bulls of Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen, who finished third and fourth on the grid respectively. 

The second spot wasn’t guaranteed for Sainz, until disaster struck for Pérez on his final flying lap of the qualifying session. The Red Bull driver lost control of the rear of his car and went into the wall, resulting in a yellow flag. However, Sainz didn’t catch sight of the flag and collided with the wrecked Perez, completely blocking the track and preventing any other drivers from continuing their final laps. 

Shortly after, red flags emerged, bringing an end to the session with 30 seconds still remaining.

Once the dust settled, McLaren’s Lando Norris finished fifth ahead of George Russell, who will start sixth in tomorrow’s race. Russell’s Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, will begin eighth after narrowly out-qualifying Sebastian Vettel, who slotted in ninth. 

Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon claimed seventh and 10th respectively, in what was a strong qualifying session for the Alpine team.

Here’s a look at the full results from qualifying in Monaco:

Following Saturday’s performance, Leclerc will start on pole for the second year in a row at his home track after dazzling in qualifying in 2021. He’ll be hoping for a better result during Sunday’s race after he was unable to start in last year’s event due to an issue with the left driveshaft.

Leclerc currently trails Verstappen, the defending world champion, by six points in the driver’s standings through six races this season.

The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix will start on Sunday, May 29 at 8:55 a.m. ET on ESPN.