Walking into his home race, Charles Leclerc came in with a big advantage. Ferrari’s superior ability to tackle the slow corners put him in a position to challenge Max Verstappen for the pole position. However, the Dutchman came out on top once again and beat the Monegasque to the top starting position. After the qualifying session, the duo had a little friendly chat. Verstappen took this moment to give his grid rival a piece of advice that could save him the headache that he went through not too long ago.

The Monaco GP has gained quite the notoriety of being among the most boring races on the calendar. That is because the track has sections that are not wide enough for overtakes. That, however, makes qualifying more fun. And more fun is what the fans got right from the start. Sergio Perez, one of the front-runners for the pole position and known for his prowess on the street circuits, had a heavy crash. The Mexican went into the barriers, an incident his teammate Verstappen and rival Leclerc took full advantage of.

Max Verstappen urges Charles Leclerc to keep another possession safe after the watch robbery last month

Earlier in April this year, Leclerc made the headlines for chasing the robbers who stole his $320,000 Richard Mille watch. The robber pretended to be his fan and, after stopping him for a picture, robbed him of the watch. Leclerc chased them in his Ferrari 488 Pista. The robbers later crossed over to Napoli, where the Italian authorities arrested them.

As a special tribute to the legacy race in Monaco, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz wore special white race suits. The suits looked like the red and white Monaco flag and looked good on the Ferrari drivers. Even Verstappen couldn’t help but take notice. While talking with Charles post-qualifying, he jokingly told him to keep it safe at home.

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That was perhaps some banter between the two over Charles’ robbery incident last month. Needless to say, both had a hearty laugh after the Red Bull man’s joke.

Verstappen takes the pole in the final moments of qualifying

Despite carrying a massive advantage, Ferrari drivers seemed to struggle with the car during qualifying. Carlos Sainz more so than Leclerc. The Spaniard made it into Q2 only in the final moments of the Q1 session. Eventually, Leclerc, who was a pole position favorite, only managed a P3 position while Sainz P5.

Fernando Alonso got the crew in his garage celebrating as he delivered a sub-1:11.500 timing in his final flying lap. The Spaniard took the provisional pole and the crew in the garage did not expect Verstappen to better that figure. Well, the Dutchman did exactly that stun the Aston Martin garage. In his final flying lap, he registered a 1:11.365 time, pushing the Aston Martin man into P2.

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That, of course, put local boy Leclerc into P3 with Esteban Ocon separating him and Sainz in P5. Last year, the Monegasque missed out on the race win despite starting from pole position. Perez won the race despite starting P3. Could Charles repeat that tomorrow?