Lando Norris secured pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, breaking the track record with a time of 1:09.954, the previous record held by Lewis Hamilton since 2019. This marked a significant turnaround for Norris, who had struggled with F1 qualifying and was trying to close the 13-point gap behind his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. Norris expressed relief and happiness at finally achieving pole after facing frustrations this season.
In an intense qualifying session, Norris outpaced local hero Charles Leclerc by 0.109 seconds, and Piastri qualified third. Leclerc, the reigning Monaco GP champion, had aimed for a fourth career pole at his home circuit but fell short. Defending champion Max Verstappen ended up fifth but will start fourth due to Hamilton’s penalty.
Qualifying is especially crucial in Monaco, where overtaking is rare, making grid position vital for race strategy. A new rule mandating drivers to change tires at least twice during the race adds an element of uncertainty to this year’s event, a departure from last year’s race, which ended with the top ten finishing in the same order they started.
Hamilton faced a setback due to a miscommunication that led to a three-place grid penalty for impeding Verstappen. Following a crash earlier in the weekend that required major repairs to his car, Hamilton had shown strong pace until this incident. Mercedes overall experienced a tough day, with George Russell qualifying 14th after a breakdown and rookie Kimi Antonelli hitting the wall for 15th. Oliver Bearman, originally 17th, was relegated to the back of the grid due to a penalty incurred during practice.
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