2025 F1 Monaco GP: Qualifying Predictions

The first day of running for the F1 Monaco GP is now done and dusted, and we have Charles Leclerc ending the day at the top. The Ferrari driver came to his home race in a pessimistic mood after what had been a disappointing race in Imola.

So far so good, though, as he ended the first day at the top of the timesheets. More often than not, Fridays at the F1 Monaco GP are all about that one lap. If the car is comfortable enough in executing that, then most of the things fall in line.

There would be an added element, though, which would be the mandatory two-stopper on Sunday (May 25). With that being said, track position is the king at the F1 Monaco GP, and more often than not, it decides and dictates what happens on Sunday.

The Saturday is going to be the most crucial bit of the weekend, and every team would be geared around maximizing it. So what can we expect from the F1 Monaco GP qualifying? Let's take a look.

#5 Haas and Sauber might be at the back of the grid

It does appear that Haas and Sauber might be the two teams that are at the back of the grid this time around. For a while during the running on Friday, Nico Hulkenberg was quite close to the top 10, but as the track ramped up, it did appear that the Sauber continued to just fall back.

The same goes for Haas at the moment, as Esteban Ocon appears to not have the pace of Ollie Bearman at the moment, and neither of the two seems to have the performance that's good enough to get closer to the front.

#4 It's not going to be a straightforward session with midfield mixing things up in Q3

When it comes to making it to Q3, it's going to be very tricky, primarily because it does appear that the margin for the frontrunners to the midfield teams is much smaller around Monaco.

It's not going to be a straight shootout between the top four teams and then a couple of cars from the midfield. We're looking at a scenario where drivers from the midfield teams don't make it to Q3 while midfield contenders make the jump.

#3 Fernando Alonso is the dark horse

This might be a bit of an outlandish pick, but Fernando Alonso might just be the dark horse for the F1 Monaco GP qualifying. The Spaniard has been seething this season, and you could just see him hustling that Aston Martin maybe a little more than he would have in the past. The good thing about all of this is that the car is responding to him as well.

Aston Martin has looked good on track more often than not, and Alonso has been impressively high on the timesheets as well. We're putting Fernando Alonso as the dark horse for the F1 Monaco GP qualifying, as he might just be the driver that turns heads this weekend.

#2 McLaren duo and Max Verstappen make it to top five

The McLaren duo was not at their usual placings this Friday, as it was Charles Leclerc who just made the top position his own in both sessions. The car does look good around the track for sure, but it's safe to say that the Ferrari maybe look a bit better.

The same goes for Red Bull, as well, as the team expected a level of struggle in Monaco, but the car looked impressive on track. In the battle of pole position, expect both the McLaren duo, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, to be right up there as they potentially constitute the top five for the F1 Monaco GP.

#1 Charles Leclerc secures pole position for the F1 Monaco GP

The Friday promised something special from Charles Leclerc. The driver is racing in his hometown and around the F1 Monaco GP track, there aren't many who have been better than him.

If we take Friday at face value and things don't go haywire, Charles Leclerc is the outright favorite for pole position. He's secured pole in three of the last four races here, and there's the potential of him making it four in five races.