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Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the Monaco GP and did so in a rather convincing fashion. Whether the Red Bull of Sergio Perez crashed or not, Leclerc had that pole position sealed for him already. It was a good comeback for Ferrari as well, with the team locking out the front row and looking to score the maximum possible points for itself.
Having said that, let's take a look at the winners and losers of the Monaco GP qualifying.
Monaco GP Qualifying: Winners and Losers
Winner
Charles Leclerc
Talk about making a statement in the championship! Charles Leclerc was on the backfoot before the Monaco GP weekend even started. Max Verstappen had picked up three wins in a row and had gained the championship lead from a deficit of more than 40 points.
Moreover, the race was in Monaco, where Leclerc has not done well historically! Keeping all the negativity away from himself, the Monegasque has been unbeatable this weekend. The Ferrari-Leclerc combo has looked ominous since FP2 and the pole is a just reward for Leclerc's level of performance that he has shown this weekend.
Loser
Max Verstappen
What happened this weekend has not happened in a long time: Max Verstappen does not have the legs on his teammate. Well, that's not entirely true because Verstappen was on a better lap in Q3 when Sergio Perez crashed. Having said that, this weekend has not been the best for the reigning world champion so far, and he's not looked that comfortable with the car.
Now, this does happen to Red Bull in qualifying and the team has shown the ability to turn it around in the race. At Monaco, however, it's difficult to do that. The possibility of anyone pulling an overtake in Monaco is very small and that's where the problem lies for Verstappen. Starting in P4 and trying to challenge a driver in P1 will require a lot of things going his way. Whether they do or not, is a bit of a question mark.
Winner
Lando Norris
Lando Norris once again upstaged his teammate at McLaren, but more than that, he displayed his true worth to the team as well as anyone who would be keeping an eye on him for the future. With George Russell's promotion and subsequent advantage over Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes, Norris has seen some of the spotlight move away from him. This weekend, in rather similarly paced cars, Norris beat Russell again, reminding everyone of his quality in an F1 car.
Loser
Daniel Ricciardo
On the other side of the garage, things only seem to be getting worse for Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian is performing at multiple levels below his teammate Lando Norris.
After getting called out by the team boss in the media ahead of the Monaco GP, Ricciardo seems somewhat shaken by those comments even though he wouldn't admit it. The Q2 elimination does not bode well for the Australian, especially with the team openly claiming that there's a way out of his contract if it needs one.
Winner
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel was the standout driver in Monaco GP qualifying. The Aston Martin is the 9th fastest car on the grid. Just look at where Lance Stroll ended up! Despite that, Vettel dragged this car into Q3 and will start the race in P9. That's a massive achievement, especially for a driver who has been written off so many times now in the last couple of years, with rumors of his replacement flying around every day this year.
Keeping all the media clutter aside, Vettel has been performing at a very high level this season and this performance should rank amongst the best drives today.
Loser
AlphaTauri
There will be a few broken furniture pieces in the AlphaTauri motorhome. This was supposed to be the weekend where things finally came together for the team. The car had been a dream to drive and even one to watch for the spectators. If we look at the timesheets, it should have been around the 4th to 5th fastest car around Monaco.
For the Monaco GP, however, the two AlphaTauri drivers will be starting the race in 11th and 17th. That's not what the team had in mind when it set out for the weekend in the Principality. This was an utter disaster for the team as in Monaco, you just can't overtake and make up places anymore.
