A qualification in Monaco all in all positive for the team McLaren with Oscar Piastri who will start tomorrow behind Leclerc in P2 and Lando Norris who will instead start behind Sainz's other Ferrari, in P4.
It was a very tight qualifying from Q1. McLaren expected to be behind Ferrari and Red Bull, but in the end they managed to beat the Milton Keynes team thanks also to a mistake by Max Verstappen at Sainte-Dévote.
Q1 and Q2 were sessions characterized by a lot of traffic and a track that tended to improve after each lap. To reach Q3 you had to be perfect otherwise you would have to pay the price at the Monte Carlo track, see what happened to Perez who will start in P18.
Let's see in detail the words of the pilots team of Woking.
Piastri: “No one thought we could get close to Leclerc”
Oscar Piastri, after Imola, conquers another second position and proves once again that he is a crystal-clear talent. Today, however, the Australian was aware that Leclerc was faster and gave due credit to the Monegasque driver.
![McLaren Monaco qualifying](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_0759-jpg.webp)
“What was missing for pole? I made some mistakes, but in the end you have to give credit to Charles who has been the fastest so far. At one point no one thought we could get close to him. Overall, it's good to start from the front row":
“I think it was a good weekend”, continues Piastri. “We have built the pace to do well tomorrow. We can build a victory if we make a good start. Otherwise, since it's difficult to pass here, we think of a good strategy."
Norris disappointed with the result
A Norris who struggled in some corners compared to his teammate. This cost him around a tenth and a half which will see him start from fourth place tomorrow. The English driver knew he could fight for the virtual podium, but at the same time he is happy with the team's result.
![McLaren Monaco qualifying](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_0760-jpg.webp)
“As a team, we should be happy for second and fourth positions on a street circuit, and for being so close to Ferrari. We knew them (Ferrari) they were the favorites for pole. Having them divided and having Oscar among them is a good sign in my opinion."
“Obviously I would have liked to be at least in third place. But the gap is so low that a small mistake can cost you dearly. I struggled all weekend in turns 3 and 4. That's where I lost time to Oscar."
Crediti foto: McLaren