Leclerc was the favourite heading into Saturday’s crucial qualifying session in Monte Carlo and the homegrown star held his nerve to take top spot. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will start either side of the Red Bull driver after they qualified fifth and seventh respectively for Mercedes. Leclerc has failed to convert his previous two poles in Monte Carlo into a victory. But, with overtaking notoriously difficult on the unique 2.1-mile course, he will still start as strong favourite to take the win. Max Verstappen could only qualify sixth fastest (Luca Bruno/AP).
