MONTE CARLO: Charles Leclerc topped the times to take pole position for Ferrari at his home Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday after Red Bull’s Sergio Perez crashed on his final flying lap in a dramatic qualifying session. The 24-year-old Monegasque driver emerged on top after a tense and dramatic session that saw his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz qualify second to complete a one-two for the Italian team despite colliding with Perez’s car. Perez, who was unhurt after slamming sideways into the barriers at Portier, finished up third on the grid ahead of his Red Bull team-mate world champion and series leader Max Verstappen. It was Leclerc’s fifth pole of the season and the 14th of his career, an oft-decisive advantage at the tight and unforgiving barrier-lined street circuit where he has yet to finish a race. Leclerc clocked a best lap in one minute and 11.376 seconds to outpace Sainz by more than two-tenths in a scrappy end to an intriguing day’s action ahead of Sunday’s classic 78-lap race. The session was red-flagged to a halt when Perez crashed, confirming Leclerc would take pole.
The accident also revived memories of a similar incident last year when Leclerc claimed pole, but crashed and was unable to take part in the following day’s race. Behind the Ferraris and Red Bulls, Lando Norris led the rest of the pack for McLaren taking fifth ahead of friend and fellow-Briton George Russell of Mercedes, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Alpine and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was ninth for Aston Martin ahead of Esteban Ocon in the second Aston Martin. Alonso also survived a late crash unscathed as the teams checked weather forecasts carefully with rain expected to sweep into the Mediterranean principality on Sunday.