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Leclerc faces Monaco GP qualifying investigation

The Ferrari driver had qualified third for his home race but could see his position changed by the FIA race stewards.

Charles Leclerc faces an anxious wait to find out if he will retain third on the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was edged off the front row by Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso after an enthralling qualifying session at the principality in which a number of drivers had held provisional pole in the closing stages. But Leclerc could be handed a penalty for an incident involving Lando Norris in the tunnel during Q3, which cost the McLaren driver an opportunity to improve on 10th position. Whilst the Monégasque was on a slow lap, he found himself stuck on the racing line in the tunnel as Norris closed in on a flying lap - the Briton forced to brake heavily in avoidance. Leclerc has been summoned to the stewards to offer an explanation for the incident and will hope there will be no effect on his starting position.

Car came alive

Leclerc's result was a strong recovery from troubles in practice where he was forced to lift through La Piscine due to extreme bottoming-out in his Ferrari. Assessing his qualifying session before news of his investigation was announced, Leclerc explained: "I am not satisfied with P3 but on the other hand, we need to look at the situation we are in with the car. "It was a very tricky weekend for me especially, we struggled a lot with the bumps compared to the other cars. "But in qualifying, the car was a bit more alive, I was a bit more at ease with the car and we were P3 and very close to pole position." On his prospects for victory, he added: "It looks like maybe we will have some rain so if this is the case, then anything is possible. "I will go for it anyway, let's see where we end up."

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