Verstappen guns for record F1 pole in Monaco as Leclerc aims to end unlucky streak

Lando Norris finished seven-tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen‘s rear wing in Imola, two weeks after securing his first F1 win in Miami. While McLaren is playing down its chances of success this year, it’s the sort of form that leads to a title challenge.

The pair’s ongoing battle is set to continue on the streets of Monte Carlo, where Charles Leclerc — the Monegasque local who has suffered one heartache after the next on home soil — will hope that further incremental Ferrari upgrades will help add his name to the growing list of winning drivers in 2024.

As always, the race day advantage will swing to the man who can set the track alight on Saturday afternoon, in F1’s most spectacular qualifying session. If Verstappen can fend off his rivals, he’ll set a new F1 record for the most consecutive pole positions (nine).

Held since 1929, and on the very first world championship calendar in 1950, the Monaco Grand Prix has changed little over the decades, although its challenge has evolved. In modern cars, the Principality’s tight and twisting streets demand perfect precision and unwavering concentration lap after lap.

This weekend will also see further tributes to Ayrton Senna, following on from Imola where the 30th anniversary of his death at the circuit was marked. The Brazilian became synonymous with success at the Monaco Grand Prix during his F1 career, winning his first with Lotus in 1987 and a further five consecutively from 1989-1993 with McLaren, which will be running its cars in a yellow, blue and green livery inspired by Senna’s helmet.

Verstappen and Norris will be keen to follow in Senna’s wheel tracks in 2024, but the support of the Monaco locals is likely to be directed solely at Leclerc — a driver who has captured pole twice at the Principality but never stood on the podium. Could a little qualifying day rain break his unfortunate streak?

Here’s everything to watch out for at the Monaco GP.

The fight for pole…or more? 

Max Verstappen stands on the verge of breaking Senna’s benchmark for the most consecutive pole positions, having secured eight on the trot. A ninth in Monaco would be a record.

But the challenges to his dominant reign are impossible to ignore, following Lando Norris’s victory in Miami and his close second-place at Imola. Repelling McLaren’s increased performance is more likely to be Verstappen’s focus than the prospect of picking up another F1 record — which he has always professed to have little interest in.

Norris has long been identified as McLaren‘s next world champion in waiting, yet until now he hasn’t had the car to exploit his pace. That can’t be said this year. He now has a car that can win races — as was evident on the Floridian coast — at an early stage in the world championship.

His strong performances in Monaco in the past — including a podium finish in 2021 — as well as some red-hot form suggests that Norris — and team-mate Oscar Piastri — should be in the hunt for pole position this weekend if his McLaren can adapt to Monaco’s tight turns after the high-speed corners of Imola and Miami.

If it does, Norris won’t just be in a formidable position to claim his second F1 win — only three weeks since his first. He’ll reduce the current 60-point gap to Verstappen in the drivers’ standings, and the hint of a title challenge will be in the air.

The Dutchman arguably hasn’t had to contend with a challenge to his dominance since Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez found form in the early stages of 2023. But after the Mexican crashed in qualifying and finished a distant sixteenth in the Monaco GP, Verstappen was allowed to streak into the distance. It was a turning point last year; will it prove the same in 2024?

McLaren’s Senna tribute

In memory of the great Ayrton Senna, McLaren will race in a special one-off livery this weekend which incorporates the yellow, green and blue of the Brazilian’s legendary helmet. The Senna logo will also appear on the halo and inside the cockpit are Senna’s own inspirational words: “I have no idols, I admire work, dedication and competence”.