18 May 29, 2022The Sunday Times
Sport
“I’m hoping the weather creates
opportunity and maybe people do
different strategies. It would be nice to
have some luck for once,” the seven-
times world champion said.
Asked if he had been struck by bad
luck in qualifying, he replied: “I’ve
been having that all year. At some
stage it’s bound to stop.”
His team-mate, George Russell,
who qualified sixth to go 4-3 up in the
inter-team battle, was also hoping
for rain.
“The only two people who
wouldn’t want rain are the two people
on the front row,” he said. “Nobody
really knows much about these inter-
mediate tyres, or wet tyres, we don’t
do many laps on them. They might
last the whole race or only 15-20 laps.‘It is very special.
It has been a very
smooth weekend so
far. I knew the pace
was in the car’
Q3 and there’s always a risk of a red flag
when everyone is trying to risk it all.”
Lewis Hamilton also thought that
the red flag cost him, though was not
sure he would have been much higher
than the eighth place he qualified in.
Instead he will be hoping that the
forecast of rain for today is accurate,
to avoid a repeat of last year when “I
was seventh and just drove around
in seventh”.Leclerc enjoyed a
rare good day on
the streets of
Monaco, taking
pole ahead of his
team-mate, SainzI
s this the year that Charles
Leclerc finally breaks his curse in
Monaco? Not since he started
racing around his home streets in
2017 has he managed to see the
chequered flag. But he arrived
this year in his Ferrari with the
fastest car and did everything he
needed to try to end his bad luck here
by securing pole position.
Qualifying position is so important
around the tight and twisty Monte
Carlo track; overtaking is virtually
impossible with the cars now so big
they almost fill the width of the tarmac.Leclerc’s 14th pole of his career
should, in theory, lead to victory. He
has the added benefit of his team-
mate, Carlos Sainz, starting alongside
him on the front row to hold off the
two Red Bulls of Sergio Pérez and Max
Verstappen behind.
If Leclerc can convert it, he will fall
into his own bed tonight having
regained the lead in the champion-
ship. However, his title rival
Verstappen will be hot on his heels
and eager to stop him. It was not the
most satisfying of days for the Red Bull
driver and reigning world champion,
who was clearly unhappy as he
emerged from his car after qualifying
in the unfamiliar position of fourth.
Verstappen took the lead in the title
race for the first time this season in
Barcelona last weekend, but the cush-
ion is a slender six points.
For Leclerc, it is not only bad luck
that he has to contend with but alsoREBECCA
CLANCY
Motor Racing Correspondent
Monte Carloan underwhelming pole-to-win con-
version rate. Leclerc and Verstappen
have the same number of career pole
positions (14), but while the latter has
24 victories, Leclerc has won only
four grands prix.
That said, Leclerc probably had
one of the best qualifying sessions of
his career and at no point looked
under threat for that top spot.
There was a late red flag in the final
part of qualifying after Pérez crashed
at the corner before the entrance to
the tunnel after losing his rear end.
Sainz followed behind and while he
was thankfully going slower after the
yellow flags were quickly waved, he
was unable to avoid the Red Bull and
slowly clattered into it, leading to both
cars lying horizontally across the
track and blocking the way.
The red flag was deployed as
Verstappen joined the traffic jam,
quickly followed by the Alpine of
Esteban Ocon. Further back, the
other Alpine of Fernando Alonso had
ended up in the barrier as well, all of
his own making.
With so little time remaining on the
clock, no driver could improve on
their time, so Leclerc’s quickest was
enough for pole, though in reality it
did not look as if anyone would be
able to get close to his mark.
“It is very special,” Leclerc said. “I
am so incredibly happy. It has been a
very smooth weekend until now. I
knew the pace was in the car and I just
had to do the job, it went perfect.”
For Verstappen, he believed that he
could have improved on fourth but
that pole was never in reach.
“It’s unfortunate, we could have
done better than fourth — not pole,
Charles was too strong, but it would
have been nice to be second,” he said.
“But that’s Monaco, you do one lap inLeclerc ready to end
home-town misery
Premier League stars enjoying the glitz and glamour of Monaco included from
left, Manchester City duo Rúben Dias and Phil Foden, Eric Dier of Tottenham,
Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Dier’s Spurs team-mate Matt DohertyIF WE CAN’T BE IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL...
EAMONN M MCCORMACK/GETTY