Lando Norris clinches stunning Monaco GP pole as Charles Leclerc misses out; Hadjar shines in sixth while Mercedes face disaster.
After three free practice sessions dominated by Charles Leclerc, it is now time for qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. The drivers are set to tackle the streets of the Principality in their 900-horsepower machines, aiming for a high-pressure lap time where there is no room for error.
The battle for pole position could see Ferrari take on McLaren and Max Verstappen, but among these five drivers, three have made mistakes and one has been involved in a collision so far this weekend. No one is safe from a stroke of misfortune.
Further back, the Williams and Racing Bulls drivers appear ready to make their mark, while Mercedes has been lagging behind. But since this is Monaco, surprises cannot be ruled out in Q1, Q2, or Q3, especially with the C6 soft tyre proving difficult to prepare.
Lance Stroll will receive a grid penalty for colliding with Leclerc, while Oliver Bearman will drop ten places for overtaking under red flag conditions.
At 15:40, Franco Colapinto and Carlos Sainz were under investigation for overtaking under red flags, but they were cleared, as they passed cars on slow laps while they themselves were on fast laps, just after the red flags were shown. They immediately slowed down to avoid endangering themselves or others and thus avoided any penalty.
At 15:54, the air temperature is 21 degrees Celsius, the track is at 41 degrees, and the race direction estimates a 20 percent chance of rain for Q1. However, showers remain distant from Monaco for now.
Q1 – 18 minutes
At 16:01, following his FP3 crash, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari underwent a complete rear-end change, including suspension, gearbox, front-right corner, and both wings.
At 16:04, the Haas drivers topped the timesheets, Bearman ahead of Ocon, while Alpine drivers ran on medium tyres. However, the lap times were slow, and Nico Hülkenberg posted the fastest lap with a 1:13.354.
At 16:05, Leclerc improved with a 1:13.063, beaten by Liam Lawson’s 1:12.946. Andrea Kimi Antonelli slotted between them, while the Williams cars completed two warm-up laps. Ocon moved up to seventh.
At 16:06, Lance Stroll set the fastest time at 1:12.878, and Bearman was just one-thousandth behind in second. Pierre Gasly claimed third, only 0.018 seconds off, on medium tyres.
At 16:07, Lando Norris went fastest in 1:12.860, and Oscar Piastri improved to 1:12.439. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon moved into second and third for Williams F1.
At 16:08, Leclerc took the lead with a 1:12.091, and Hamilton slotted into second, two tenths behind. George Russell reported smoke from his front brakes.
At 16:09, Verstappen set the pace with a 1:11.920. Lawson and Hadjar moved up to sixth and seventh ahead of the Williams duo, and Fernando Alonso climbed to third. Bearman improved to fifth, with Ocon in seventh.
At 16:10, Norris went quickest with a 1:11.596. Gabriel Bortoleto took ninth, and Piastri improved to second, 0.195 seconds behind his teammate. Antonelli moved up to seventh.
At 16:11, Albon rose to fifth, and Sainz to sixth, placing between the Ferraris and close to Alonso. Leclerc reclaimed second and Hamilton climbed to fifth.
At 16:12, despite the fastest first sector, Verstappen did not improve and stayed fourth. Gasly was impeded by Stroll at the chicane, an incident noted by the stewards.
At 16:13, Russell moved into third and Bortoleto nearly crashed at Sainte Devote, brushing the barrier. Piastri went top with a 1:11.385.
At 16:14, Hülkenberg posted the sixth-best time with a strong final sector. Hadjar also improved to seventh. Piastri brushed the wall and asked the team to check the car’s left side.
At 16:15, Antonelli moved to sixth, but was overtaken by Ocon, who also went sixth. Leclerc went fastest with a 1:11.229 as Alpine finally switched to soft tyres.
At 16:16, Colapinto could not better his earlier time on mediums, while Gasly climbed to 12th. Tsunoda improved to ninth. The stewards decided to take no further action regarding the Gasly-Stroll incident.
At 16:17, Albon set the fourth-fastest time, four-tenths behind Leclerc, and Sainz also improved to fifth.
At 16:18, Bearman moved to 13th, and Hamilton, with the best second sector, took fourth.
At 16:19, Lawson improved to ninth, Alonso to seventh, and Norris climbed to second. Tsunoda rose to tenth, Bortoleto to only 15th. Hadjar moved to 11th, while Stroll failed to improve. Antonelli crashed into the wall at the chicane, bringing out a red flag at the end of Q1.
The drivers eliminated were Bortoleto, Bearman, Gasly, Stroll, and Colapinto.
At 16:23, Hamilton will be summoned post-qualifying for impeding Verstappen, but onboard footage shows it was due to poor guidance from his engineer.
At 16:24, replay confirmed Alonso hit the wall at Sainte Devote with no consequences.
At 16:26, Q2 will begin at 16:29.
Q2 – 15 minutes
At 16:30, drivers queued in the pit lane and quickly took to the track.
At 16:31, Leclerc began a run on medium tyres.
At 16:33, Lawson clocked a 1:11.646 on softs, and Leclerc bettered it with a 1:11.314 on mediums. Hamilton was fourth, eight-tenths off, and Hadjar went third, 0.020 behind his teammate.
At 16:34, Alonso went fifth, and Hülkenberg edged out Hamilton. Norris set the fastest time in 1:10.959, with Verstappen second. Russell suffered a power loss and slowed inside the tunnel.
At 16:35, the Briton came to a stop in the tunnel, ending his session. With Antonelli’s crash, the two Mercedes drivers will start 14th and 15th.
At 16:37, Russell attempted to restart but failed, ending his qualifying run.
At 16:41, Q2 resumed at 16:44.
At 16:44, qualifying resumed with 10 minutes left in Q2.
At 16:47, Hamilton switched to soft tyres. Leclerc posted the best time with a 1:10.581, and Hamilton took second.
At 16:48, Piastri moved to fourth. Sainz again ran on mediums and placed seventh, while Albon rose to fifth on mediums.
At 16:50, Alonso slotted into seventh, and Norris reclaimed the top spot with a 1:10.570. Lawson climbed to ninth, and Tsunoda to tenth.
At 16:51, Hamilton advanced to third.
At 16:53, Verstappen improved but remained third. Piastri moved up to fifth. Albon, Alonso, and Sainz occupied sixth, seventh, and eighth without yet using softs. Williams switched to soft tyres.
At 16:54, Alonso, called to the pits, said proudly, “Yes, I’m coming in! Woohoo! I can’t do better!”
At 16:55, Ocon went eighth, Lawson bettered him, and Hadjar improved to sixth. Albon took third. Tsunoda stayed 12th and was eliminated, as was Sainz.
At 16:56, Piastri, on an improving lap, narrowly avoided a crash and went fourth.
The drivers eliminated were Sainz, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Russell, and Antonelli.
At 16:57, Q3 will begin at 17:03.
At 16:59, Sainz explained he had no grip on the softs, while Ocon and his engineer Laura Müller celebrated a great Q3 result for the Frenchman.
Q3 – 12 minutes
At 17:05, after two minutes, Verstappen was the only one yet to leave the pits but finally joined the track.
At 17:06, Albon and Ocon were on medium tyres. Piastri posted the benchmark at 1:10.531. Norris beat it with a 1:10.464, just 0.067 ahead.
At 17:07, Hamilton went third, half a second off. Leclerc slotted into third, 0.189 behind. Ocon did a second warm-up lap, and Hadjar went sixth, with Ocon fifth on mediums.
At 17:08, Alonso went sixth, between Ocon and Hadjar.
At 17:09, Verstappen placed fourth, two-tenths off Norris. Lawson went eighth.
At 17:10, Albon, slightly slower on mediums, took sixth ahead of Ocon.
At 17:11, replay showed Hamilton clipped the inner wall at the Swimming Pool section, without consequence.
At 17:13, Piastri completed a flying lap in 1:10.140 to go top. Norris responded with a 1:10.125 to reclaim provisional pole by just 0.015 seconds.
At 17:14, Monaco’s lap record was broken, which Leclerc had held since last year’s pole.
At 17:15, Hadjar moved to fifth. Hamilton climbed to third, 0.257 off Norris. Leclerc posted the fastest second sector and claimed provisional pole with a 1:10.063. Verstappen did not improve and remained fifth.
At 17:16, Piastri attempted a final lap but fell short, 0.066 behind Norris, who snatched pole with a stunning 1:09.954. What a wild end to Q3.
2025 F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
| Pos | Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 1 | Lando Norris | 1m11.285s | 1m10.570s | 1m09.954s |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | 1m11.229s | 1m10.581s | 1m10.063s |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | 1m11.308s | 1m10.858s | 1m10.129s |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | 1m11.575s | 1m10.883s | 1m10.382s |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | 1m11.431s | 1m10.875s | 1m10.669s |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | 1m11.811s | 1m11.040s | 1m10.923s |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | 1m11.674s | 1m11.182s | 1m10.924s |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | 1m11.839s | 1m11.262s | 1m10.942s |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | 1m11.818s | 1m11.250s | 1m11.129s |
| 10 | Alex Albon | 1m11.629s | 1m10.732s | 1m11.213s |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz | 1m11.707s | 1m11.362s | |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | 1m11.800s | 1m11.415s | |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | 1m11.871s | 1m11.596s | |
| 14 | George Russell | 1m11.507s | No time set | |
| 15 | Kimi Antonelli | 1m11.880s | No time set | |
| 16 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 1m11.902s | ||
| 17 | Oliver Bearman | 1m11.979s | ||
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | 1m11.994s | ||
| 19 | Lance Stroll | 1m12.563s | ||
| 20 | Franco Colapinto | 1m12.597s |
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