F1: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc takes controversial pole after crashing in Monaco

It was a bizarre qualifying session at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, as Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took pole position before crashing his car into the wall. It is still unclear if he will be able to start in front of the grid as he awaits the assessment on his gearbox. If it sustained significant damage, a gearbox change would mean a 5-place grid penalty.

Apart from the crash in the closing seconds of Q3, perhaps what is even more bizarre is the fact that the Mercedes cars of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton were not as competitive all weekend as they have been in the past.

23-year-old Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz have dominated the timesheets throughout the practice sessions. Before the qualifying session was red-flagged, it was Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen who appeared to be the only driver who had the pace to beat the Ferraris.

Hometown hero Leclerc was delighted with his pace, but he is probably being eaten up by anxiety as he awaits the verdict on his gearbox. He clipped the wall heading into the second Swimming Pool chicane, damaging his right front tyre and causing him to lose control. He ended up crashing straight into the barriers, effectively ending the session prematurely.

The red flagged effectively aborted the final runs of Verstappen, Bottas and the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. Many have speculated that Leclerc may have done it on purpose, but Verstappen himself was the first to say that it was an easy mistake to make and he himself has ended up on the same barrier twice before.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also came to Leclerc's defence, stating that he believes it was a real crash instead of a deliberate attempt to end the session. Former world champion Fernando Alonso was of the same opinion, saying that he believes the Ferrari driver did not do anything underhanded or suspicious.

Ferrari announced on Saturday that it appears as though the gearbox can be salvaged, but everyone will have to wait until Sunday after the mechanics have worked on the car overnight. It remains to be seen if Ferrari can sustain their pace throughout the race on Sunday, because the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers are always ready to pounce.

In terms of the championship, this will be a good opportunity for Max Verstappen to try to close the gap to championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who is starting all the way back in 7th place.