Monaco Grand Prix qualifying chaos as Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz crash before Charles Leclerc takes pole

CHARLES LECLERC took pole ahead of Sunday’s Formula One Monaco Grand Prix after Sergio Perez’s crash brought qualifying to a halt.

Perez spun out at turn 7 just before the tunnel, smashing his back wing into the barrier.

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Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz wasn’t too far behind the Mexican and his back tyre collided with the Red Bull.

Driver’s Championship leader and current F1 world champion Max Verstappen slammed the brakes on just in time, avoiding a pile-up.

Leclerc will start on pole in his hometown after clocking in a time of 1:12.569.

The 24-year-old has finished on pole for the second year in a row but he’ll be hoping there’s no driveshaft issues this time around.

On the qualifying result, Leclerc said: “I’m so incredibly happy. I knew the pace was in the car. I just knew I had to do the job.”

Perez’s spin-out wasn’t the only incident in Q3 with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso crashing head-first into a barrier.

In the Mercedes camp, despite the strong showing in Barcelona last weekend, both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton trailed behind the Ferraris and the Red Bulls.

Alonso is sandwiched in between the two Mercs with Russell starting in p6 and Hamilton in p8.

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Brit Lando Norris turned in a strong showing, racing his McLaren to a p5 start.

More to follow…