Monaco GP grid suffers last-minute change as driver set to start from pit lane

Pole position looked to be heading Verstappen's way yesterday, but the Mercedes driver snatched it from him with yet another pole of the season, while his teammate endured another difficult weekend.

The Dutchman will therefore have to settle for second on the grid, though he remains well placed to challenge for victory. Ferrari, meanwhile, appeared to be the favourites for pole heading into qualifying but ultimately had to make do with third and fourth places, with Hamilton ahead of local favourite Leclerc, who will have to fight hard for a podium finish this afternoon.

However, Hamilton heads into the Monaco Grand Prix aware that Ferrari's once-feared advantage off the line is no longer what it used to be, making a charge into the lead at Turn 1 a far less realistic prospect than in the past.

Fifth on the grid is Isack Hadjar, whose impressive performance further underlined the progress being made by the RB22. In sixth is arguably the biggest disappointment from qualifying, George Russell, who once again looked out of sorts and a long way off the pace of his teammate.

Seventh and eighth places are occupied by the two McLarens, which also appeared to struggle throughout qualifying, with Oscar Piastri set to start ahead of teammate Lando Norris.

Rounding out the top 10 are Pierre Gasly, who once again delivered a solid performance for Alpine, and Liam Lawson, who also impressed with a strong qualifying session. It was another disastrous day for Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll lining up on the back row of the grid.

* Update: Gabriel Bortoleto has suffered a problem on the grid and will therefore be forced to start the Monaco Grand Prix from the pit lane, promoting every driver behind him by one position on the starting grid.