Charles Leclerc retained his Monaco Grand Prix pole position on Sunday morning after the Ferrari mechanics succeeded in repairing his car in time and without replacing the gear box.

Leclerc, a 23-year-old Monegasque, set the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday but then crashed his car.

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A gearbox change would still have led to an automatic grid penalty.

“Following further in depth checks this morning, no apparent defects were found on Charles Leclerc’s gearbox, therefore the Monegasque driver will start today’s race from pole position, as per the qualifying result,” Ferrari tweeted at the start of the afternoon.

Leclerc will start from the front row for the first time in Monaco in front of his family and fans, alongside Dutchman Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

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Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes, who leads the championship ahead of Verstappen, will only start seventh.