Home Featured News Norris takes pole at Monaco GP with record-breaking Lap

Norris takes pole at Monaco GP with record-breaking Lap

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Lando Norris delivered a masterclass on the streets of Monte Carlo, stunning the paddock with a blistering lap that secured pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix and shattered the track record in the process.

The McLaren star lit up Saturday’s qualifying with a 1:09.954 which is a new track record, edging out local favourite Charles Leclerc by 0.109 seconds and teammate Oscar Piastri by 0.177. It was Norris’ second pole of the season, and arguably the most special, given the stakes and the setting.

“Monaco is a beautiful place (and) the hardest track to do it,” Norris said. “I’m very proud of the whole team. We’ve worked very hard the last few months.” After a string of underwhelming qualifying sessions, this felt like a breakthrough moment for the Brit.

Leclerc, chasing a dream pole in front of his home fans, admitted, “This was the best we could do.” Ferrari looked sharper than in recent weeks, but with overtaking notoriously difficult in Monaco, the front row mattered more than ever.

The twist this year? A mandated two-stop strategy. It could disrupt the usual processional nature of the race and reward brave strategy calls, especially for those outside the podium positions.

Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth ahead of Max Verstappen, who was seven-tenths off the pace in fifth. But both face scrutiny from the stewards, with Hamilton under investigation for potentially impeding Verstappen in Q1.

Further back, F1 debutant Isack Hadjar impressed with sixth for Racing Bulls, outpacing Alonso and Ocon. But it was a tough day for George Russell, whose Mercedes broke down in the tunnel and triggered a red flag.

Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed out late in Q1, clipping the chicane and ending his first Monaco outing in the barriers. Fortunately unharmed, the 18-year-old will start 15th.

At the back, penalties shuffled the grid, with Oliver Bearman dropping to last after a red flag infringement. It leaves Sunday’s grid perfectly poised for chaos, risk and maybe a new Monaco legend.

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