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Charles Leclerc secured his second consecutive pole position at the Monaco GP after the qualifying session ended due to a red flag. This time around, though, it was not his Ferrari that ended up in the wall, rather it was Red Bull's Sergio Perez who crashed out on his flying lap just before the tunnel.
Ultimately, the session ended with Charles Leclerc on pole, with teammate Carlos Sainz in P2, making it a Ferrari front-row lockout. Moreover, Sergio Perez took P3 for Red Bull, outqualifying Max Verstappen (P4) for the second time this season.
So, in case you missed it, here's what happened.
2022 F1 Monaco GP Qualifying: Here's what happened
#1 Charles Leclerc scores his fifth pole position of the season, Max Verstappen is P4
Charles Leclerc has been unbeatable this weekend. Whenever any other driver, be it from Red Bull or Ferrari, has tried to raise the bar, the Monegasque has been able to raise his game even further.
Even in qualifying, while Sergio Perez was an outside contender, the favorite was always going to be Leclerc. Hence, in Q3, when the Ferrari driver set the benchmark and no one could come within two-tenths of that time, it was obvious that he was going to bag the pole position for the Monaco GP.
For his title rival Max Verstappen, however, the weekend was slightly strange as Perez has been able to make the most of the machinery while he has struggled. While the Mexican driver did not improve on his last lap in Q3 before the crash, the Dutchman certainly was and a front-row start was not out of the question. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what Max can do from P4 on the grid.
#2 Lando Norris secures a third-row start
Lando Norris was sublime once again as he made the most of the competitive McLaren for the Monaco GP. The British driver has been fast throughout the Monaco GP weekend and did not disappoint in qualifying either. A P5 start in Monaco is not bad for a driver who has struggled with Tonsilitis for a week.
#3 Mercedes takes a step back in the pecking order
Mercedes was unable to make the necessary step up it might have expected after an encouraging Spanish GP. The team struggled throughout the weekend, with both drivers complaining about the car not being in the right set-up window. In many ways, a P6 and a P8 start is somewhat lucky for Mercedes because if not for the red flag, the two Alpine drivers had shown the potential to outqualify them.
The team will try to maximize the results here and hope for more competitiveness in the next race.
#4 Sebastian Vettel shines as both the Alpines surprise once again
Sebastian Vettel was the star of qualifying. That Aston Martin is, if you look at where Lance Stroll qualified, easily the ninth fastest car on the grid. However, in the four-time world champion's hand, that car ended up in Q3 once again. Vettel is, dare we say it, back to his old self. He has been driving like he used to in his Torro Rosso days, where he would consistently outperform the car and put it in places it did not deserve to be in.
Alpine, too, was a surprise! The car did not show this kind of pace throughout the Monaco GP weekend. Yet, both the cars landed in Q3, with Fernando Alonso being his fantastic self and qualifying in P7 ahead of a Mercedes.
#5 Daniel Ricciardo underwhelms once again
The world around Daniel Ricciardo is slowly starting to collapse. The Australian has been under extreme pressure to perform ever since Zak Brown made his displeasure public about Ricciardo's performance. The McLaren driver has been unable to adapt to the car for some reason.
The team is starting to lose its patience with the driver, which is probably not helping Daniel Ricciardo's confidence either. A Q2 elimination and starting the race in P14 is a horrible result when your teammate has bagged a P5 in the same car.
Catch the drivers and teams at Sunday's Monaco GP, on May 29, 2022.
