Monaco F1 qualifying: Verstappen curses Hamilton in tense scenes
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have clashed in tense scenes following a frenetic qualifying for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.
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Oscar Piastri will be up against it to win the Monaco Grand Prix after qualifying third on the grid as his McLaren teammate Lando Norris took pole position.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had topped every practice session and the first two qualifying sessions, but he was pipped at the post by Norris on the Brit’s last flying lap in Q3.
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Norris set a new record for the fastest lap in Monaco, dipping under the 70-second barrier in 1:09.954.
Leclerc was 0.109sec behind and his radio messages made for heartbreaking listening when he was told Norris had snatched pole position at the end of qualifying.
Told he had qualified second, Leclerc screamed: “No! F***.”
The Monaco circuit is notoriously difficult to overtake on, so Norris is the clear favourite to win Sunday night’s race and reduce the gap to championship leader Piastri.
Watch the highlights from qualifying in the video above
Lewis Hamilton was fourth fastest in qualifying but will start seventh after being handed a three-place grid penalty for an incident with Max Verstappen.
The Ferrari driver was almost involved in a collision — Hamilton told by his team that Verstappen was on a cool down lap when he was actually on a flying lap in qualifying.
That meant the defending world champion had to react quickly to swerve around his rival, narrowly avoiding a crash, and Hamilton was penalised for impeding the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen was furious his lap was ruined, telling team radio: “F*** whoa! Mate! F*** Lewis! Massive impeding that!”
Hamilton then told his team radio: “You said he was slowing down mate! F*** man.”
Hamilton apologised to a heated Verstappen in the paddock after qualifying, but the Dutchman acknowledged the incident wasn’t Hamilton’s fault.
“I saw it immediately that the team told him I was on a slow lap when I was on a fast lap,” Verstappen said.
“It’s not Lewis’ fault. I already spoke to him about it. It’s the team’s mistake.
“If you look at the history of things yes (he’ll get a penalty) but it’s more the team’s fault.”
Hamilton’s penalty means Verstappen will start fourth on the grid alongside Piastri, who had a few nervy moments including a minor crash in practice.
Piastri was hopeful he could fight for the win despite recent history showing 13 of the past 15 winners having started from the front row.
“It’s just been a very messy weekend. I think I’ve hit more walls this weekend than I have in my whole career,” Piastri said.
“It’s not been that straightforward, but to come out with this result is quite positive. The laps I did at the end of qualifying felt pretty good. Obviously not quite enough, but at a track like this when you’ve had a messy build-up, you’re always going to leave a little bit on the table.”
“I want to win the race too. I think it’s going to be a pretty chaotic race, but we’ll see what happens.”
All drivers will have to do at least two pit stops as part of a new rule introduced this year aimed to shake up the race, which has traditionally been a procession around Monaco’s narrow circuit.
It was a disastrous day for Mercedes, with rookie Kimi Antonelli’s crash prompting a red flag and George Russell’s car grinding to a halt due to power unit issues.
Russell and Antonelli will start 14th and 15th, while Ollie Bearman and Lance Stroll will start from the back row after copping penalties for rule breaches during qualifying.
Monaco Grand Prix starting grid
1st row: Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc
2nd row: Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen
3rd row: Isack Hadjar, Fernando Alonso
4th row: Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon,
5th row: Liam Lawson, Alex Albon
6th row: Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda,
7th row: Nico Hulkenberg, George Russell
8th row: Kimi Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto
9th row: Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto
10th row: Ollie Bearman, Lance Stroll
Watch the Monaco Grand Prix on Kayo at 11pm AEST on Sunday night.
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