F1 Monaco GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more

After missing the majority of the opening practice session due to a gearbox problem, Leclerc stormed back in FP2 to top the times with a 1m11.684s on a late soft tyre run, to edge out Sainz by 0.112s after the Spanish driver had held the provisional top spot.

While the Ferrari 1-2 came as a surprise to Lewis Hamilton, who had to settle for third place in FP2 for Mercedes, Sainz was confident the Italian manufacturer’s pace in practice was “very close” to being a genuine threat to the regular frontrunners this weekend.

Max Verstappen slotted into fourth place for Red Bull at the end of the afternoon session despite calling his pace “very weak” compared to Ferrari at the end of Thursday practice.

With Valtteri Bottas in fifth for Mercedes, Lando Norris enjoyed a solid day for McLaren in sixth place – sporting the team’s one-off Gulf oil livery – to keep ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.

After topping FP1, Sergio Perez struggled in the second practice session in eighth place for Red Bull, as Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10 at the end of FP2.

The second practice session was curtailed late on when Mick Schumacher crashed his Haas at Massenet which triggered a red flag end to FP2.

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

What time does qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix start?

Qualifying for the Monaco GP starts at 3pm local time (2pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

Date: Saturday 22nd May 2021
Start time: 3pm local time - 2pm BST

How can I watch qualifying?

In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Monaco GP qualifying coverage starting at 1pm BST.

Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.

When can I watch the highlights?

In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Monaco GP at 8:00pm BST on Saturday. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.

For the entire 2021 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race on the Saturday and Sunday of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.

· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: 8:00pm BST

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR21

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

Will it be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of the Monaco GP qualifying will start at 1:55pm BST on the BBC 5 Live Sports Extra channel.

What's the weather forecast for qualifying in Monaco?

Cloudy and cooler conditions are forecast for Saturday afternoon in Monaco, compared to Thursday practice which was held in sunny and hot weather, but it is expected to remain dry throughout. Temperatures are set to be 17 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying – around seven degrees cooler than qualifying for the Spanish GP.

Will there be fans at the Monaco GP?

Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the Monaco GP spectator attendance allowance is currently capped at 40% of the regular full capacity for the race weekend with a maximum of 7,500 fans permitted on each day of track action. For the Friday ‘rest day’ the cap is set at 3,000 spectators. All fans are required to follow COVID-19 regulations in the grandstands and around the street track.

Results from Monaco GP free practice 2

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	Ferrari	1'11.684
2	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	Ferrari	1'11.796	0.112
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'12.074	0.390
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	Honda	1'12.081	0.397
5	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'12.107	0.423
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	Mercedes	1'12.379	0.695
7	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	Honda	1'12.498	0.814
8	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	Honda	1'12.708	1.024
9	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'12.746	1.062
10	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'12.982	1.298
View full results

Results from Monaco GP free practice 1

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap
1	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	Honda	1'12.487
2	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	Ferrari	1'12.606	0.119
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	Honda	1'12.648	0.161
4	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	Honda	1'12.929	0.442
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'12.995	0.508
6	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'13.131	0.644
7	Lando Norris	McLaren	Mercedes	1'13.236	0.749
8	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'13.732	1.245
9	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	Honda	1'13.746	1.259
10	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'14.081	1.594
View full results