Charles Leclerc WILL start on pole for today's Monaco GP as Ferrari give gearbox all-clear; Leclerc and Ferrari feared grid penalty after qualifying crash; Max Verstappen joins Leclerc on front row - watch race live at 2pm on Sky Sports F1 with build-up from 12.30pm
Sunday 23 May 2021 13:48, UK
Charles Leclerc will start from pole position for today's Monaco GP after Ferrari confirmed that no major damage was found on his gearbox.
Leclerc crashed heavily at the end of Saturday's qualifying, effectively sealing his pole time but also sparking fears that he may have to take a five-place grid penalty that would come if his gearbox needed replacing.
But Ferrari detected "no serious damage" on his gearbox on Saturday evening, before giving Leclerc's car the all-clear after final checks on Sunday morning.
It means Leclerc will start on pole position for the first time since 2019 in today's race, ahead of Max Verstappen on the front row.
F1's showpiece race is live at 2pm on Sky Sports F1, with extensive build-up from 12.30pm.
After his crash at the end of qualifying, Leclerc admitted his worry over a grid penalty.
"I am not feeling well," he told Sky Sports F1. "For now I'm just waiting on the mechanics to open the gearbox to know if there is damage or not."
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto added: "We are worried but we are checking it, I think it's too early to know. Let's see in the next hours."
In a crash which curtailed what looked to be a thrilling end to Monaco qualifying, Leclerc turned in too early into the chicane and nudged into the first barrier before slamming into those at the exit of the corner.
"I just tried to push too much," said Leclerc. "I saw that I was one tenth slower than my fast lap and I just went, 'lets go or it'. But that was too much.
"Overall I'm very happy with my first timed lap, I more or less put everything together."
It is not the first time a stoppage at the end of Monaco qualifying has essentially sealed that driver's pole position, with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg both having controversially sealed pole via final-lap incidents.
But Leclerc joked: "If I was doing it on purpose, I would have made sure to hit the wall a bit less hard!"
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, felt he was on for pole without Leclerc's crash.
He eventually finished second, but had posted a 'purple' fastest first sector before red flags brought qualifying to an end.
"It was unfortunate, of course, with the red flag because I felt really comfortable in qualifying just building up to it," said Verstappen.
"It was all going really well, but of course the red flag ruined the chance for pole, but we'll see."
