Latest news with #poleposition
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
F1 Monaco GP LIVE: Race latest updates and times with Norris starting on pole
Lando Norris banished his qualifying blues to claim pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix. The British driver set a new record around the streets of Monte Carlo to beat local hero Charles Leclerc to pole by 0.109 seconds. Norris, who has bemoaned his qualifying slip-ups throughout the season, put it together at the death to clinch his first pole since the season-opener in Melbourne. Oscar Piastri, who leads McLaren team-mate Norris by 13 points at the top of the championship standings, will start Sunday's race from third. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton qualified in fourth but was hit with a post-session three-place grid drop for impeding Max Verstappen. As a result, Verstappen, who clinched his second win of the season at Imola last weekend to close to within 22 points of Piastri, will start in fourth despite qualifying in fifth. Pinned What time is the race on Sunday? The Monaco Grand Prix starts at 2pm (BST)! Kieran Jackson24 May 2025 17:09 Time for the Monaco national anthem! Prince Albert of Monaco among the throng of VIPs standing for the national anthem on the grid! Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 13:46 Ex-Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine: 'I'm in Europe now for the summer, back to Miami in 2-3 weeks - still building there. 'I like watching F1 more than driving it!' Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 13:42 NFL star Odell Beckham Jr, speaking on the grid: 'It's always a good race, this might be one of my yearly trips!' Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 13:40 Red Bull boss Christian Horner: On constructors' title: 'To take on McLaren in the constructors will be immensely difficult, our priority is the drivers. We're still in striking difference, it was a timely win last week. 'You've got to stay in touch in the summer, when the pressure really comes in the last quarter of the championship, he strikes!' Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 13:36 PREVIEW: F1 rolls the dice with new Monaco Grand Prix rule – can it save the famous race? Last year's procession around the principality – where the order of the top-10 did not alter once – was the final straw. In an era where the show is king for F1 's owners Liberty Media, something had to change at the sport's most famous race. Where better to roll the dice than Monaco? Ahead of the 2025 season, the team bosses met and concocted a plan to revitalise a grand prix where overtaking is nigh-on impossible, given the immovable parameters of the famous twisty street circuit. All drivers will have to run three sets of tyres in the 78-lap race on Sunday, making two pit-stops effectively mandatory – unless there is a red flag, like last year. Two pit-stops will be mandatory on Sunday as F1 looks to spice up a race which is typically a procession Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 09:01 Adrian Newey on his first trackside weekend with Aston Martin: Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 13:15 F1 driver standings heading into Monaco 1. Oscar Piastri – 146 points 2. Lando Norris – 133 points 3. Max Verstappen – 124 points 4. George Russell – 99 points 5. Charles Leclerc – 61 points 6. Lewis Hamilton – 53 points 7. Kimi Antonelli – 48 points 8. Alex Albon – 40 points 9. Esteban Ocon – 14 points 10. Lance Stroll – 14 points 11. Carlos Sainz – 11 points 12. Yuki Tsunoda – 10 points 13. Isack Hadjar – 7 points 14. Pierre Gasly – 7 points 15. Nico Hulkenberg - 6 points 16. Ollie Bearman – 6 points 17. Liam Lawson – 0 points 18. Fernando Alonso – 0 points 19. Jack Doohan – 0 points 20. Gabriel Bortoleto – 0 points Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 13:09 Lewis Hamilton after qualifying P4: 'Not the greatest day, but the weekend has generally been going quite well - car has felt really good. 'P3 to have that shunt was not helpful. Team did an amazing job to recover the car, worked so hard to fix it. On Max incident: 'Qualifying is so much fun around here, very difficult to keep out the way of everybody. I was doing a good job but then the team said Max was on a fast lap, then they said he wasn't, I was about to get back on power, accelerated for 10m, I was off the line but did have an impact on him.' On the race: 'I don't know about tomorrow's strategy. It's great we have the two stops, for a few people the medium grained massively - I've got two hards, Charles chose two mediums. I'm really hoping that can make some kind of difference.' Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 13:02 Big pile-up in F2 race earlier! Kieran Jackson25 May 2025 12:54
Associated Press
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Norris starts on pole for Monaco Grand Prix as Leclerc predicts strategy 'chaos'
MONACO (AP) — Lando Norris has his first Formula 1 pole position in more than two months at the Monaco Grand Prix. Now he needs his first win since then to boost his title chances. There usually is no better place to be on pole position than Monaco, where overtaking is near-impossible, but a new rule change could shake up everything. Drivers will have to change tires at least twice in Sunday's race, adding an uncertain element of strategy to what was a one-stop procession last year. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, last year's winner, starts second alongside Norris and is predicting a chaotic race. 'I think it's going to be a bit of chaos tomorrow, but we'll see how it plays out,' he said after qualifying. 'I think there'll be a lot of strategy games, and we'll see who comes out on top. But I think we might be under pressure from cars that we probably don't expect, from the back, which might make everything interesting. We'll see.' Potentially, teams could seek to gamble by making two early stops and hope to leapfrog rivals later, or else take a chance on a safety car or red flag making it possible to change tires without losing places. ___ AP auto racing:
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Norris starts on pole for Monaco Grand Prix as Leclerc predicts strategy 'chaos'
MONACO (AP) — Lando Norris has his first Formula 1 pole position in more than two months at the Monaco Grand Prix. Now he needs his first win since then to boost his title chances. There usually is no better place to be on pole position than Monaco, where overtaking is near-impossible, but a new rule change could shake up everything. Drivers will have to change tires at least twice in Sunday's race, adding an uncertain element of strategy to what was a one-stop procession last year. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, last year's winner, starts second alongside Norris and is predicting a chaotic race. 'I think it's going to be a bit of chaos tomorrow, but we'll see how it plays out,' he said after qualifying. 'I think there'll be a lot of strategy games, and we'll see who comes out on top. But I think we might be under pressure from cars that we probably don't expect, from the back, which might make everything interesting. We'll see.' Potentially, teams could seek to gamble by making two early stops and hope to leapfrog rivals later, or else take a chance on a safety car or red flag making it possible to change tires without losing places. ___ AP auto racing: The Associated Press
Malay Mail
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
Norris conquers Monaco gremlins with record-smashing lap to snatch historic pole and revive title hopes
MONACO, May 25 — Lando Norris shrugged off his gremlins and revived his world championship bid on Saturday when he became the fastest driver in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix to claim pole position for Sunday's classic race. Driving with impeccable judgement, pace and purpose, the 25-year-old Briton clocked a best lap in one minute and 9.954 seconds to outpace local hero and last year's winner Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.109. It was the first time any driver had lapped the sinuous barrier-lined Mediterranean street circuit in less than 70 seconds and came only seconds after Leclerc had appeared to have secured his fourth Monaco pole position. For Norris it was his first Monaco pole, his second this year and the 11th of his career – and a critical advantage for the slowest and shortest circuit of the season where only 10 drivers have won from lower than third on the grid since 1950. While a disappointed Leclerc lamented traffic that hampered his first flying run, affecting his overall rhythm, Norris was buoyant after ending a dismal run in qualifying and falling 13 points behind McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in the drivers' title race. 'The team has done a fantastic job so thank you to everyone here and back at the factory,' he said. 'These days don't come easy and I am proud to give something back to them. 'It's been a long time coming. I feel good and I don't think you realise how good this feels with quite a few struggles over the last couple of months, especially here in Monaco. It's a beautiful place and the hardest track probably to do it. 'Up against the home-town hero (Leclerc), I'm very proud of the whole team so I am pleased after all the hard work in the last few months.' Norris's McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri was third ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari. Hamilton though was later hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen. As a result Red Bull's four-time champion moved up a place to fourth, with remarkable rookie Isack Hadjar of RB and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin on the third row, ahead of Hamilton. 'Tricky' Norris agreed that his mentality had been a key part of his success after admitting to self-doubts in recent weeks. 'Honestly, that's the tricky part and to consistently find a lap time because you know it's what the others are going to be doing and improving more and more. 'You've got to take a similar amount of risks, but when you get to Q3, the final lap is just about who can risk a little bit more and commit a little bit more. 'It was a nice and well put together lap and it feels very good when you cross the line and you know it's all paid off.' He said he had not considered the mandatory two pit-stops strategy required on Sunday. 'Honestly, at the minute, I have no idea. I'm going to enjoy today and I've worked hard for today. I'm happy with qualifying and I'm going to live the moment a little bit and then I will focus on tomorrow.' Team-mate Piastri, who leads him by 13 points after seven of this year's 24 races, admitted he had endured a messy two days of practice and qualifying. 'I think I've hit more walls this weekend than I have in my whole career so it's been untidy. I've been struggling to get into the groove a little bit and I think in qualifying I was much happier with things and I felt pretty good. 'We've been doing some digging this weekend and to come out with this result is a decent effort.' He added: 'We're in good positions, but it's still going to be an exciting race tomorrow with the two-stop so let's see what happens.' Last year's winner and local hero Leclerc said: 'I'm just frustrated. We know we don't have the car for wins this year.' — AFP
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Monaco pole 'a big thing' for Norris but there's jeopardy
Lando Norris said his pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix was a "step in the right direction" and "quite a big thing" after being unhappy with his form since the start of this McLaren driver trails team-mate Oscar Piastri by 13 points in the championship after the Australian's four victories to Norris' pole was Norris' first since the Australian Grand Prix at the start of the season, while Piastri has taken said: "To classify it as a breakthrough, you also need consistency of results."I can look at it both ways. It's a breakthrough that I had a good Saturday. For me it's at least a step in the right direction, which I'm very, very happy about."But it's one weekend. Consistency is a big part of it, too, and I will be happier if I know and can get to that point where I am confident into every session that I can perform like I did today, because I think my performance was at a very, very strong level."If I go into Barcelona and Canada and the next few races and I can perform at this level, that is my certainly today is a step in the right direction, whether it's a small step or big step, it's a step and that's all I need for now."Norris beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 0.109 seconds in an exciting session in Monaco, as pole swapped between Norris and the Monegasque over their did one flying lap, while McLaren chose to do two, staying out on track but cooling their tyres in between. Norris took pole, Leclerc snatched it from him, before the Briton grabbed it back has been working hard on improving his qualifying performance this season, after explaining that he has been finding it difficult to trust the McLaren car enough to be able to take it consistently to the limit in to explain his step forward, he said: "Things from the car, just it being Monaco and a very different layout, a very different kind of style of driving that's needed here. It's a lot more risk commitment rather than just absolute car balance, in a way."And also things that I've been working on to improve, to do a better job."Never because I've not had the pace - just more that I've never put it together come Q3. today was probably the first time since Australia that I've really put it all together."It's not like I'm driving quicker, it's I'm driving in a better way, in a smarter way."But there's been a lot of work that's gone on. For me, even if I was pole in any other track, I think it probably would have been the pole that's meant the most to me."It probably means even more that's in Monaco, but more because of what's happened over the last couple of months. It may not seem like a lot, but for me, it's quite a big thing. So, yeah, like I said, a very, very good moment."He said he always believed he would get on top of the problem."I don't think I have ever doubted what I can do," Norris said. "I have got frustrated. I have been unhappy, because that's normal if you don't win, don't get pole, you're not going to be happy, especially when it's where you should be. It's what the objective is."Of course I've had those moments but I have never certainly this year doubted what I am capable of doing and having a day like today backs all that up so I'm happy with that." Jeopardy for the polesitter McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Norris had done a "phenomenal job" in applying the work the team had done with him in recent weeks, and described Norris' performance as "an important step in the process" which "will somehow reassure Lando".But he added: "I kind of have a sense that there is quite a lot more to be extracted, so I take this very positively, but I am excited and I look forward to the steps further that we will be able to do in the future."Were this a normal Monaco weekend, Norris could be pretty confident of converting his pole into a win because overtaking is so new rules this year introduce a mandatory minimum of two pit stops, in an attempt to increase the level of said that the situation facing the teams was "tricky" and a "material threat" to McLaren's chances of a win."As a function of red flags, safety cars, team work, we may see cars helping each other of the same team," Stella said."The scenarios to consider are definitely many more than what you normally consider, not only in Monaco, but in any other race that we need to prepare."
