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Leclerc: Second was the best Ferrari could do in Monaco qualifying

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Clock Icon6 hoursMotorsport

Home hero Charles Leclerc was denied a fourth pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, losing out to Lando Norris in the final lap of Saturday's qualifying. 

Norris' McLaren beat Leclerc's Ferrari by 0.109 seconds, leaving the Monegasque in second place ahead of Sunday's race.

The Briton's McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took third place, while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finished the final qualifying session just behind Piastri.

Hamilton, though, later received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was then promoted to fourth.

Reflecting on missing out on pole, Leclerc was candid about his performance ahead of his home race, saying: "There's always something more to be done but at the end of the day this was the best we could do.

"The first lap was a bit of a shame because this gives you a bit more confidence for the second run when you have a first good lap.

"I couldn't do that because I had sector two traffic, but that's the way it is."

The Monegasque also conceded that Sunday's race will be tricky with Norris at the front of the pack. 

"Obviously, I'm frustrated. We know we don't quite have the car to go for wins this year, but this weekend the car felt good," he said.

"Starting second it's going to be tricky to then get that first place."

On his aggressive approach to qualifying on city tracks, Leclerc added: "I like city tracks in general. I like to go all in to qualifying and take maximum risk.

"Most of the time it pays off, sometimes it doesn't.

"But I'm proud of the result today as on paper, it was going to be a difficult weekend for us. But in the end, it's not that bad."

Hamilton, meanwhile, was left to settle for a seventh-place finish following his grid penalty.

The seven-time world champion was given incorrect information by his race engineer, who told him that Verstappen was on a slow lap, prompting Hamilton to accelerate towards the racing line just as the Dutchman approached.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 before his penalty was confirmed, Hamilton explained: "I think I was doing a good job of staying out of the way of everyone. 

"But then the team said Max [Verstappen] was on a fast lap, so I was to the left, and then they said, 'No, he's not on a fast lap.'

"I was just about to get back on power. I accelerated for 10 metres. I was off the line, but I was for sure distracting him."