Q1

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix started with a typical traffic jam in the pit lane. Most drivers went out on the soft tyres, but the two Alpine drivers tried something different and started on mediums. It didn’t work out well for them though, and they later switched to softs like everyone else.

The lap times kept getting quicker as the session went on and the track improved. Many drivers had apend some time at the top of the timesheets, including Ollie Bearman, even though he has a 10-place grid penalty for the main race, as well as Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Alex Albon and Liam Lawson. Oscar Piastri then set a fast lap of 1:12.439, putting him clearly ahead of Lando Norris.

Things kept changing rapidly in the final minutes. Lance Stroll briefly went fastest, but Max Verstappen quickly beat him. Norris responded with a 1:11.596, but Piastri struck again with a 1:11.385. In the end, it was Charles Leclerc who delighted the home fans by going top with a time of 1:11.229.

There were also several incidents. Lance Stroll was involved in two situations where he may have blocked other driver, first Leclerc and then Pierre Gasly. Lewis Hamilton was also noted for impeding Verstappen at Turn 3.

Just before the end of the session, Kimi Antonelli crashed his Mercedes at the Nouvelle chicane. It wasn't a big impact but it was enough to bring out the red flag, which ended the session early.

The five drivers knocked out in Q1 were Bortoleto, Bearman, Gasly, Stroll and Colapinto. Lewis Hamilton just managed to escape the drop zone, jumping from P14 to P5 with his final lap.

Q2

In the second part of qualifying a handful of drivers, including both Ferraris, the Williams pair, and later George Russell, chose to run the medium compound, hoping to gain an advantage for Sunday’s race.

However, drama soon struck. Just a few minutes into the session, George Russell brought out the red flag after his Mercedes suddenly lost power in the tunnel. He had hit a bump, similar to the incident that sidelined Antonelli in Imola, and came to a halt. The car couldn’t be restarted despite switch changes, and Mercedes later confirmed it was likely an electrical fault. Russell was stuck in P14 and out of the session.

When the session resumed, the Ferraris and others who had started on mediums quickly swapped to softs, realising they wouldn’t be able to post competitive times. Charles Leclerc then went quickest with a 1:10.581, closely followed by Lewis Hamilton, while Max Verstappen sat in sixth after his earlier run. The track remained very busy, and every thousandth of a second mattered.

With four minutes remaining, Lando Norris stormed to the top of the timesheets again, showing excellent pace. The pressure was mounting at the bottom, with Hadjar, Hulkenberg and Ocon all sitting in the danger zone. As the clock ticked down, both Williams cars abandoned the mediums and switched to softs, a decision that paid off as Alex Albon managed to climb into the top ten.

In the final seconds, Hadjar and Albon delivered superb laps, pushing Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda out of Q3 contention. When the dust settled, the five drivers eliminated in Q2 were Sainz, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Russell, and Antonelli.

Q3

The final part of qualifying saw the top ten drivers head out on soft tyres, with the exception of Alexander Albon and Esteban Ocon who opted for a different approach. As the first flying laps came in, McLaren made an immediate statement. Lando Norris went quickest, narrowly ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri by just 0.06 seconds. Charles Leclerc, despite topping the timesheets in practice, could only manage third, while Max Verstappen slotted into fourth after his opening lap.

McLaren were the first to head out again for their final runs, and both drivers were pushing hard. They traded fastest sector times as they chased pole position, with Norris crossing the line just 0.025 seconds faster than Piastri to reclaim provisional pole. Leclerc was not done though. The Monegasque driver was up through the middle sector and delivered a brilliant lap of 1:10.063, putting himself in first place and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

But the McLaren drivers still had one last chance. Piastri could not improve on his previous time, but Norris found even more pace on his final attempt. He delivered a stunning lap of 1:09.954, snatching pole position away from Leclerc by just over a tenth of a second and breaking the hearts of the Monaco fans.

Oscar Piastri will start third alongside Lewis Hamilton who secured fourth place for Ferrari. Max Verstappen took fifth for Red Bull ahead of an impressive lap from Isack Hadjar who qualified sixth. Fernando Alonso will start seventh for Aston Martin just ahead of Esteban Ocon in eighth. Liam Lawson claimed ninth in what was his first Q3 appearance of the season and Alexander Albon completed the top ten for Williams.