Monaco Grand Prix Predictions & Betting tips - Formula 1

Prediction published on 24/05/2024, 06:30  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 25/05/2024 at 14:57

Round eight of what is shaping up to be an incredible 2024 Formula 1 season takes us to Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Max Verstappen currently leads the F1 driver standings with 161 points, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (113 points) in second and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez (103 points) in third.

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend was nothing short of incredible, as we saw home favourite Charles Leclerc emerge as the driver to beat - and the home-town boy did not disappoint. Leclerc, who was favoured for pole position after a very strong practice program, duly delivered in Q3 as the Monegasque went quickest on the first two qualifiers and found even more pace on the final runs to finish with a time of 1:10.270. That was enough to put him 0.154 seconds clear of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, with the Australian having headed the team's Monaco GP qualifying effort throughout as Norris struggled to keep up with the pace. Carlos Sainz put in another workman-like effort to claim third for Ferrari, further underlining Ferrari's progress this season, while McLaren's Lando Norris took fourth place heading into the main race at the Monaco GP on Sunday. 

However, the big news from qualifying was seeing F1 Championship leader Max Verstappen denied what would have been a record-breaking ninth consecutive pole position for Red Bull after a wall tap forced him to bail out of his final effort. That puts him sixth for the Monaco GP, trailing George Russell's Mercedes in P5. Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez, who was unhappy with the handling of his Red Bull RB20 all weekend, endured an even worse qualifying, dropping out in Q1, and he will start ahead only of the Sauber duo all the way back in 18th. Another shock was Fernando Alonso, as the Spaniard couldn't replicate his strong Friday form and was knocked out, leaving him to start the race in 16th. Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly - with Alpine's first Q3 appearance of the year - completed the top 10.