Leclerc keeps Monaco F1 pole after gearbox gets all clear

Charles Leclerc will start Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix from pole position after Ferrari cleared his gearbox to be used in the race.
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari after crashing out of qualifying.
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari after crashing out of qualifying.
© xpbimages.com

The Monegasque secured a sensational shock home pole before crashing on his final lap of qualifying on Saturday, leaving him and Ferrari facing an anxious wait to find out if he would be hit with a grid drop due to the damage sustained to his car.

Qualifying ended under a red flag after Leclerc crashed heavily at the exit of the Swimming Pool section, an impact which took off the front right of his SF21 car, as well as damaging the rear.

Remote video URL

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto had stressed after qualifying that the Maranello squad would not take a reliability gamble on Leclerc’s gearbox despite the team taking its first pole position since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix.

During an initial inspection on Saturday evening, Ferrari found that Leclerc’s gearbox had sustained “no serious damage” in his crash, but said it would make a final decision on changing it on Sunday morning.

Just hours before the race, Ferrari confirmed that the gearbox did not need replacing having found no defects following further checks, meaning Leclerc will avoid triggering an automatic five-place grid penalty and will keep the eighth pole of his F1 career.

He will be joined on the front row of the grid by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with the race due to start at 3pm local time (2pm BST).

Read More

Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter

Get the latest F1 news, exclusives, interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox