Leclerc fears gearbox penalty after "big surprise" of Monaco pole

Charles Leclerc fears his pole position will be stripped away by a penalty if the gearbox in his Ferrari has sustained damage following his qualifying crash in Monaco.

After setting the fastest time on his first run of Q3, Leclerc ended the session in a barrier after hitting a guardrail on the exit of the swimming pool complex.

Asked whether he was worried the repair work on his Ferrari could include a five-place gearbox change, Leclerc responded simply, "I am, but let's see."

He added: "It's a shame to finish in the wall. It doesn't feel the same but at the same time, I'm incredibly happy about my first timed lap.

"The first corner was quite tricky. I didn't do a great first corner but then the second and third sector I nailed it and I'm just very, very happy to be on pole obviously.

"It was very, very difficult to manage myself mentally after Q2. I could feel I was very emotional in the car but I told myself 'Now it is Q3. Now it is time to put it all together' and I managed to do so.

"So I am incredibly happy but it is tomorrow that we score points but I have to say that it is a big surprise for everyone to be on pole and in fourth place [Carlos Sainz] for the race tomorrow."

In his two previous attempts, Leclerc has failed to finish the Monaco GP and when questioned on his potential to take an unexpected victory on Sunday, he reflected: "I've always been very unlucky here so let's wait and see."

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 insider claims plan to take cars electric aged badly but says there is a fix

• Yesterday 22:30

F1 star reveals new business venture and you guessed, it's in Monaco

• Yesterday 21:45

Lewis Hamilton's eighth F1 title is ON as 'major' Ferrari upgrades revealed

• Yesterday 20:57

Aston Martin insider says Fernando Alonso is not leaving: 'He will stay with us'

• Yesterday 19:45

Red Bull sealed Max Verstappen's F1 future and it only took them 20 minutes

• Yesterday 18:45

'It will happen' - Aston Martin star convinced seismic change is coming to F1

• Yesterday 17:30