The battle for pole place across the streets of Monte Carlo was a nail-biting affair as McLaren’s Lando Norris narrowly beat Charles Leclerc to the highest of the timesheets to disclaim the Monegasque driver.
It was Leclerc who claimed provisional pole with a blisteringly fast lap throughout the first runs in Q3, however Norris’ ultimate effort noticed him clock a time of 1m 9.954s, 0.103s away from the Ferrari as he broke the circuit document.
FACTS AND STATS: Norris smashes Monaco lap record to claim McLaren’s first pole there since 2007
The margins had been extremely small round Monaco as Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton and reigning world champion Max Verstappen all gave the impression to be effectively matched and within the battle alongside the frontrunners, but it surely in the end got here down as to if the house hero may put collectively the proper lap.
Though Leclerc admitted his try was “the perfect we may do”, McLaren’s dangerous option to go for a later run paid off for Norris, who secured his first pole place for the reason that season opener in Australia.
Hit go on the video participant above to experience onboard as our ‘Ghost Automobile’ characteristic compares Norris and Leclerc’s ultimate Q3 laps.
