Norris strikes back and claims 'most important' pole position of the season

Norris led marginally ahead of Piastri after the first runs, and they could improve further on their second flying laps as well, with only 0.015 seconds separating the two teammates at that point. Leclerc then took the lead briefly, but Norris did do a third lap and re-claimed pole position.

Lewis Hamilton finished in P4 after his crash in FP3. Max Verstappen couldn't improve on his second lap, and finished in fifth position ahead of Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso.

Esteban Ocon finished in P8, ahead of Liam Lawson and Alexander Albon.

It was a disastrous day for Mercedes, as both of their cars caused red flags. Russell and Antonelli finished in P14 and P15 respectively.

After the Alpine drivers put on mediums in Q1, the Ferraris, Williams and George Russell also did the same during their first stint second session of Qualifying.

With 10 minutes to go, Russell's car stopped on track with a potential electrical problem, the team reported. As a result, the second Mercedes car caused the second red flag of the day as well.

While Alonso was through on the mediums, together with Russell and Antonelli, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hülkenberg were eliminated.

Ferrari had Hamilton's car ready after his incident towards the end of FP3, and the British driver could begin setting laps in Monte-Carlo. It was a busy session, with the driver constantly improving their lap times.

The session ended with Kimi Antonelli hitting the wall in Turn 10, which led to a red flag. As a result, the two Alpine drivers were eliminated together with the two rookies Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman, and also Lance Stroll could not complete his final lap.

Hamilton also impeded Verstappen in the Massenet corner, after the Briton was told over the team radio that the Red Bull is slowing down. The Scuderia's driver will be investigated by the stewards after the session.