Charles Leclerc made it back-to-back pole positions for the Monaco Grand Prix as a crash for Sergio Perez ended Q3 early.
The Monte Carlo native produced a brilliant first lap of the final top 10 shootout and was on course to improve before the red flags flew.
Carlos Sainz is set to start second but may be in trouble for failing to slow under the yellow flags in the initial aftermath of Perez’s accident.
Q1
At the front, the two Ferraris led the way with Leclerc ahead of Sainz.
In the battle to make Q2, a brief red flag resulted in a two-minute dash to make it around before the chequered flag.
that wasn’t the quali we were after.
after crushing every session so far @PierreGASLY gets unlucky with the timings and wasn’t able to set a final lap. P17. pic.twitter.com/tG9tDvSwk7
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) May 28, 2022
Pierre Gasly was the most disadvantaged as the Frenchman failed to start a final lap and slipped to 17th, likewise Zhou Guanyu who was slowest overall.
Alex Albon was among the first cars on track and would pay the price, slipping to 16th as the grip level improved for those behind him.
Lance Stroll was 18th with Nicholas Latifi 19th.
Q2
As the lap times continued to fall, Leclerc and Perez went sub-1m12s for the first time in Q2 with less than a tenth between them.
On a weekend where the Monaco curse looms large, the Ferrari driver also avoided a possible disqualification when he missed the weighbridge entering the pits but was wheeled back by his mechanics.
Leclerc overruns the weigh bridge and is helped back into position by his mechanics #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ZhsY56xSl9
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2022
Further down, an impressive final lap from Sebastian Vettel thrust him into the top 10 demoting Yuki Tsunoda to P11.
Valtteri Bottas could do no better than 12th in the Alfa Romeo as both Haas cars were eliminated in 13th for Kevin Magnussen and 15th for Mick Schumacher.
In between was Daniel Ricciardo in 14th for McLaren as his tough weekend continued.
Q3
Leclerc set a mighty benchmark of 1m11.376s on his first run, half a second faster than his Q2 time.
And that lap would prove to be enough when Perez spun into the barriers at Portier, triggering the red flags with 30 seconds to go.
Sainz then also slid into the Red Bull as he rounded the corner at close to normal speed, damaging the left rear of his car.
In the dying seconds Perez hits the barriers at Portier and Sainz can’t avoid contact#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/EpNO9CnhBl
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2022
Pending any penalties, the Spaniard will start second ahead of Perez and Max Verstappen in fourth, with the three drivers’ lap times covered by just 0.065s.
Lando Norris claimed best of the rest in fifth with George Russell the lead Mercedes in sixth.
Fernando Alonso hustled into seventh and the double world champion will have former teammate Lewis Hamilton alongside in eighth.
Sebastian Vettel completed the trifecta of world champion’s in ninth as Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10.
Full results from qualifying can be seen below:
FULL QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION ?#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/gCo3jFgJQS
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2022