The Monegasque will have to withstand the pressure on the narrow streets of the Monte Carlo street circuit to continue fighting for first place in the championship, today again in the hands of Verstappen
Leclerc will start from pole (Reuters)
This Sunday, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will start first ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in “his” Grand Prix, that of Monaco (Seventh in the Formula 1 World Championship). Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) completed the podium after beating his teammate the Dutchman Max Verstappén , leader of the standings and defending champion of the title.
The 24-year-old driver of the Italian team signed his fourteenth ‘pole’ in F1, the fifth of the year by covering the 3,337 meters of the circuit of the principality of the Côte d’Azur in one minute, 11 seconds and 376 thousandths, 225 less than Sainz.
The Scuderia , which in Spain lost both the drivers’ and constructors’ leaders to Red Bull, will take the front row of a Grand Prix for the second time so far this year. It will do so in the most iconic and glamorous of the calendar, in the narrow streets of Monte Carlo; in the shortest race and on the smallest track on the course; in which, under normal conditions, it is almost impossible to overtake.
Leclerc topped all the Grand Prix time tables except for the last free practice; who led Czech, third in the World Championship, 25 points behind his teammate: whom he surpassed at all times during the weekend before crashing on his last attempt, leaving the corner before the tunnel.
“It’s been a very good weekend so far, the car has had very good pace all the time. My lap before the red flag was very good. I went to the limit and had some oversteer, having the problem of getting the tires to the proper advantage, as there was some traffic,” Leclerc explained.
“I’m very sorry for my team, it’s going to be a long night for them, but I hope we can recover and be back”, said the Mexican and added: “It will be complicated, but I’m ready for the fight. It could rain, so anything can really happen”
Fernando Alonso will start from the fourth row, alongside seven-time English world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), which will start eighth; and behind the English Lando Norris (McLaren), fifth in qualifying, and George Russell (Mercedes), who will start from third.
From the fifth row will be quadruple German world champion Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), ninth in qualifying; and Frenchman Esteban Ocon, Alonso’s teammate in Alpine, who will start from tenth place in the most iconic and shortest race of the year: scheduled for 78 laps, to complete a journey of 260.2 kilometers.
TIME: 13:00 GMT (10:00 ARG-URU-CHI/09 :00 PAR-VEN-BOL/08:00 COL-PER-ECU-MEX)
TV: Fox Sports/Star+
World Ranking (TOP 5)
1- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 110 points
2- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 104 points
3- Sergio Checo Pérez (Red Bull) 85 points< /p>
4- George Russell (Mercedes) 74 points
5- Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 65 points