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Possible pole position for Verstappen in Monaco should Leclerc have damage

22 May 2021 at 15:47
  • GPblog.com

Max Verstappen might start from pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix after all. Charles Leclerc may have set the fastest time in qualifying; he also sent his Ferrari car into the wall. The damage seems to be substantial so the question is if the Italian team can fix everything within the regulations.

Should the gearbox need to be changed, Leclerc will receive a grid penalty of five places. In this case, the young Monegasque will have to start from sixth and Verstappen, Bottas, Sainz, Norris and Gasly would benefit from this.

Start from pitlane?

If the damage turns out to be much worse than just a broken gearbox, there is even a chance that Leclerc will have to start from the pitlane. This wouldn't be good for Ferrari with it being very difficult to overtake on the narrow Monte Carlo circuit.

With Lewis Hamilton down in P7, Verstappen has a good chance to close the 14 gap in the World Championship in Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.