F1 Grand Prix, GP Monaco, Monte Carlo Circuit

McLaren driver Lando Norris took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, fractionally beating home favourite Charles Leclerc in a nail-biting session in the Principality. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers what teams and drivers had to say.

McLaren

"Pole in Monaco, it feels good! We’ve worked hard to have a day like this. It’s very special to do it here in Monaco, the hardest track to take Pole, and I'm very proud of the whole team, here at the track and back at the factory.

"We employed a different run plan to our rivals but it’s what we believed would be best and we stuck with it. The final lap in Q3 around this circuit is about who can risk a little bit more. It was a well put-together lap and it feels good when you cross the line and know it has paid off. I'm going to live in the moment for a little bit and then shift focus to tomorrow.”

“Third is a decent result. It’s been a slightly messier weekend on my end, but we were able to put together some solid laps. My first lap in Q3 felt good, and then on the second lap, I made a small mistake in the Nouvelle Chicane which meant

"I left a little bit out there, but we can be happy. Well done to Lando. It’s going to be an exciting race tomorrow with the two stops, so let's see what happens.”

Ferrari

"Our expectations for this weekend weren't particularly high, so finishing at the top of the FPs was a positive sign. Unfortunately, this brings some disappointment with it, not having taken pole today. It should be an interesting race tomorrow.

"There will be strategic games between the teams with the mandatory two-stop, and it's possible that we will find some cars from further down the grid in the mix, so it should be exciting and I can't wait to race on my home streets again."

"It’s been a demanding day, but there are plenty of positives to take. I’m incredibly grateful to the team for getting the car back out after FP3, their effort was outstanding. We got the most out of qualifying today.

"Obviously, I’m disappointed with the final starting grid position, as I’ve been pleased with how the car has felt all weekend and the steps we’ve made. The two-stop strategy will definitely add an extra layer of complexity to the race, but that also opens up opportunities. The goal is to keep pushing and fight for a strong result."

Red Bull

“In FP3 it was clear that we had limitations but unfortunately in sector two we were fairly slow, which was a shame. We were hoping for a bit more pace but it is clear that we are weaker in low speed.

"We had issues with the kerbs, which has always been the case with this car, and we generally struggle on the low-speed corners. We were just lacking feeling and balance and only managed P5 today. Regarding the moment with Lewis, I understand the Team told him that I was driving slow when in the fast lane so that was not his fault and had nothing to do with him but was a scary moment.

"Tomorrow, we will have to see how the two stop affects the race and what it brings. It can work for you, or against you, so it is impossible to know at the moment how it will work. It is difficult to pass so we will have to really rely on our strategy and see what the race brings for us.”

“It was a frustrating day today. I had the pace in FP3 and Q1 and I was running close to Max. I felt ok and the pace was there to reach Q3, I just wasn’t able to put a normal lap in during Q2 or one to show what we were capable of.

"In Monaco it is always difficult to get a clean lap and there was also a red flag thrown in. It had been a pretty clean race week until today and the car had felt good for me, so I am disappointed. I think we will see some interesting stuff tomorrow with the two-stop requirement and I don’t think it is going to be a straightforward race.

"It is hard to predict what will happen in the race but I will do my best. If I see an opportunity I will go for it, and I will try my best to score points."

Racing Bulls

"I think this is the perfect result and the maximum we could achieve today. We had a difficult FP3 this morning, and going to Qualifying, I didn’t have great confidence in the car.

"Honestly, I wasn’t even sure we would reach Q3, so getting to P6 is outstanding. We played it smart and took it step by step, lap after lap. We made the right adjustments every time we went back to the garage, and we were able to make the right steps forward. In Q2, I really felt the car came more alive.

"The target today was to qualify well before starting to think about tomorrow, so there will be plenty to look at tonight in terms of strategies. I’m optimistic about going to the race, and I think that it’s going to be interesting having to do two stops. We definitely have the car to fight.”

"We were able to unlock the car in Free Practice and I’ve been feeling pretty comfortable all weekend. It was a strong Qualifying for the team, we had a really fast car today but we had even more on the table, as we struggled a little bit with the tyres and had some traffic in Q3.

"It will be exciting tomorrow with the new rules, we are all going to be learning and trying to make the most of every opportunity and the two stops will certainly make it interesting.

"We will plan the best we can but the most important part of the weekend is done. It’s nice that everything has come together to get us to this point, I am stoked for the team with both cars in Q3, we are in a decent position and I’m positive for tomorrow.”

Aston Martin

"I'm very happy with P7 in Qualifying and I think we did the best job possible. It's such a high adrenaline circuit here and you have to take a huge amount of risk around the lap, but this is what makes it the best Saturday of the year.

"It's extremely rewarding as a driver. In a normal Monaco, P7 in Qualifying would normally mean the same result in the race, but with the new rules it creates different strategies and opportunities for everyone. Let's see what happens and if we can be on the right side of the luck tomorrow."

"Unfortunate session for me today, there was lots of traffic at the start of Q1 that cost me valuable time and then a messy end to Q1 with the yellow flag which cost me the chance to improve my lap time and progress to Q2. We'll see what we can do with the two-stop strategy tomorrow, if there are opportunities to fight back some positions and with some luck there could be the Safety Car playing into our hands."

Williams

"Frustrating day. I think my Q2 lap was half a second quicker than my Q3, so we need to understand why. We were in a really good rhythm from FP1 to FP3 and then in Qualifying it seemed that the tyres were not working properly throughout, and they were inconsistent.

"With that Q2 lap I thought we finally got it to work then we lost grip again in Q3. Even though it’s a two-stop it’s still going to be a managed race to some extent so it will be interesting."

"My weekend has been challenging from the beginning, never finding a sweet spot with the car. Despite that, I had enough pace to go into Q3 but for some reason the Soft tyre on our car felt a bit like a lottery and in Q2 we clearly didn’t switch it on, which meant we had no grip at all.

"It’s frustrating, but I think that tomorrow we might have an interesting race with the mandatory two-stops. We’ll try to make the most out of it."

Haas

“I’m extremely happy, it’s very unexpected. Looking at where we’ve struggled at some events now with the front end of the car, we’re not exactly where we want to be.

"We’ve seen the issue more and more at these last events and it’s been good to see that we’ve continued working as a team, even through qualifying to figure it out. That Q2 lap was decent and we saw that something was to play for, and that Q3 lap I was really happy with, I think we maximized the potential. It was a nice effort from everyone, I’m happy with that, but I’m sure we can do better than this.

"Tomorrow, there’s going to be a lot of unknowns – we need to see who’s on which tire, but we’ll enjoy it now and start working on strategy tonight.”

“The feeling was really good in qualifying; the car felt the best it had done all weekend and I had great confidence. I was really happy with that qualifying, but we didn’t want to be in Q2 because of our penalty, although I think my lap would’ve got me into Q2 quite cleanly.

"A good qualifying position wouldn’t have changed my life unless it was in the top five, and we didn’t expect to be there today. I still wanted to push and see, and I was really happy with the two laps I did on new tires. It’s a shame as the pace was really good today but we’re going to have to suck it up and get on with it. I’m sure we can try something though, it’s going to be a crazy race tomorrow."

Kick Sauber

“It was a clean qualifying session today. Reaching Q2 was an important target, and I’m pleased we achieved that: to be honest, however, I was hoping for a stronger grid position than P13. In the final runs of Q2 I wasn’t able to find more lap time, especially in sector one and two; sector three was really strong, but it unfortunately the wasn’t quite enough to make it into Q3.

“Our focus now shifts to tomorrow’s race. We showed solid pace on long runs during yesterday’s free practice, which gives us some confidence.

"The real challenge, though, will be managing the three mandatory sets of tyres. It will be interesting to see how teams approach that, as there are quite a few strategic options on the table. Obviously, teams and drivers will have long meetings tonight and cook up some ideas.”

"It's very painful to miss Q2 by just two hundredths of a second, especially here in Monaco, where everything is so close and the difference hangs on getting every corner perfectly. I braked just a bit too late going into the second-to-last corner, which caused some understeer and likely cost me those crucial milliseconds.

"But in a qualifying session like this, everyone could say the same—there’s always something more you could have done. After a tough FP3, I'm glad we found a better balance for qualifying; it was the first session in which I felt at ease with the car, which is crucial as you need to be on the pace from the first run.

“Tomorrow's race, with the new tyre compound rules, will be interesting—we'll likely see some crazy strategies, some successful and others not, but there will be a few more chances to move up compared to a regular Monaco. We're close to our rivals, and we'll try to maximise any opportunity. Even though today’s result is disappointing, it's part of the unique challenge of Monaco. Now, our focus shifts entirely to tomorrow—we have to be clever with our strategy and fight for every position."

Mercedes

"Today was incredibly disappointing. I felt good in the car in Q1, and the team had done a fantastic job in turning it around after three difficult practice sessions. To not have the chance to show what was possible in Qualifying is both frustrating and a little heartbreaking.

"I believe we had a chance to get the car onto the front two rows of the grid. I had only used one set of the Soft tyres in Q1 and the Medium compound at the start of Q2 felt good. It was definitely coming towards us.

"The issue itself was odd. I hit a bump on the run out of Turn 1 and lost power. It felt like something electronic just disconnected. I tried everything I could to get the car back to the garage and then restart it when I stopped in the tunnel. Unfortunately, there was nothing more we could do.

"Starting P14 tomorrow is obviously far from ideal. That is even more true in Monaco. It will be a struggle to score anything more than minor points but, with the two mandatory stops, let’s wait and see what happens."

"I am gutted by how today's Qualifying session went. We are always close to the limit in Monaco and the line between getting it right and getting it wrong is thin. That is particularly true come Qualifying. I tried to find those missing tenths but ultimately had an unnecessary and costly mistake.

"I turned slightly earlier than usual in Turn 10 and clipped the barrier. I damaged the front, and I know there was nothing I could do from there and was a passenger into the barrier. I had enough pace to get through to the latter parts of Qualifying, so it was a costly error.

"It is such a shame because we were coming back into a good place with the car and I was finding a good rhythm. We had struggled the entire weekend up to that point, but I kept improving lap after lap in Q1. I felt good in the car today and I can only say sorry to the team.

Starting P14 tomorrow in Monaco means that we need to think differently. We did not expect to be starting this far back with both cars so tomorrow we will be looking to take any opportunities we can and chase all the positions possible."

Alpine

“It is always disappointing to be knocked out in Q1 so right now I feel sad for everyone at the team. We were lacking pace today. It is all relative, though, as we were seven tenths off the best time in Q1 and that is the difference between being in the top ten in the session or being in the bottom five and out.

"For some reason we are just too slow here. The car is moving around on the bumps, we are lacking grip and generally sliding too much. We tried different set-ups but we just could not fix those difficult areas. Tomorrow, we have the mandatory two-stops, so it certainly is not over yet.

"We need something to happen and we will see what we can do tomorrow to try and work our way back up towards the points positions. There are a lot of cars ahead in order to make our way to the top ten but tomorrow could be interesting with some variation on strategy. We just have to be on top of it and see what we can achieve.”

“It was not the easiest day for us today. We have struggled with the pace of the car, in particular on the Soft tyres in low speed corners where we face some difficulties with traction. We expected to be able to extract more from the car here but that has not been the case and the result from Qualifying sets us a challenge to move forward tomorrow.

"We will look to capitalise on the uncertainty the new mandatory two-stop at this track will bring to the race. No one knows what advantage the new rule will give to teams, which will make the race even more unpredictable, especially with how a Safety Car could make or break anyone’s strategy. We will keep our heads down and work tonight to prepare for the challenge tomorrow.”