Leclerc takes pole position for Monaco GP and ends Verstappen's bid for F1 record

MONACO (AP) — Charles Leclerc took pole position for Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix and ended Max Verstappen's bid for a record-extending ninth straight pole on Saturday.

Verstappen, who shares the Formula 1 record with the late Ayrton Senna, starts Sunday's race from sixth place for Red Bull on arguably the most difficult track for overtaking in the series.

Leclerc secured his third pole in four years at Monaco, where he grew up overlooking the start-finish line, and took his career total to 24 poles.

“This weekend has been incredible," he said.

He finished .154 seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and .248 clear of Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren's Lando Norris qualified fourth followed by Mercedes driver George Russell.

“Really, really happy about the lap,” Leclerc said. “I know more often than not that qualifying is not everything in the race.”

Leclerc took pole in 2021, but could not start due to a gearbox problem. He led from pole in 2022 until Ferrari made an incorrect call to change his tires.

“The team has got a lot stronger since then,” said Leclerc, who also led the second and third practice sessions.

He is well set to end his run of nearly two years without a win, dating to July 2022 at the Austrian GP.

“I just need a good launch (from the start),” said Leclerc, who has won five F1 races in his career.

McLaren is in good form, with Norris winning the Miami GP three weeks ago and almost catching Verstappen at the end of last weekend's Emilia Romagna GP.

“The pace was good,” Piastri said. “We came into this weekend pretty confident that we could be in the fight for the pole and the win again.”

Sainz, however, was not completely satisfied with his Ferrari.

“When you’re so close to the walls it immediately takes away confidence,” Sainz said. “Losing the rear (of the car) in places you don’t expect to lose it.”

Lewis Hamilton starts from seventh place, with Yuki Tsunoda (RB), Alexander Albon (Williams) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) completing the top 10.

“I’ve been pushing the limits everywhere and the qualifying laps felt good,” Hamilton said. “The car is feeling much better than it has in Monaco in previous years.”

Traffic forced a couple of drivers to swerve around other cars struggling for space on Monaco's tight and sinewy 3.3-kilometer (two-mile) street circuit.

Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso narrowly avoided a piece of debris just before heading into the tunnel section during Q1, the first part of qualifying.

Alonso failed to make it into Q2 and so did Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who muttered an expletive on race radio. He is out of contract at the end of the season and Red Bull has yet to confirm he will get a seat for 2025.

Alonso starts 16th with Perez in 18th.

“I got traffic on my lap, enough to lose a couple of tenths. That will have changed the lap dramatically," Perez said. “Unfortunately, we just didn’t put it together, and this is the result of it. Unfortunately we are out.”

Verstappen won the race from pole last year but will be hard pushed to win his sixth race of the season.

Before the third practice, he chatted with Liverpool soccer player Virgil van Dijk as they enjoyed the sunshine on the rooftop of Red Bull’s motorhome.

The two Dutchmen used binoculars to view the scenery; such as the armada of giant yachts and Prince Albert’s palace perched over the track.

Perhaps they chatted about the upcoming European Championship, where Van Dijk captains the Netherlands as it hopes to win its first international trophy since Euro 1988.

Verstappen’s winning habit saw him clinch an F1 record 19 victories last year — beating his own record from 2022 — and he is already third on F1’s all-time list with 59 as he chases a fourth straight world title.

But he did not lead in any of the three practice sessions in Monaco. He was even called to the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly midway though the final session, and received a warning for it.

Early in P3, the red flag came out after Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas scraped a wall exiting the swimming pool chicane.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez of Mexico steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez of Mexico steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Claudia Greco/Pool Photo via AP)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco poses with pole position award after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco, right, is congratulated by Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco is congratulated by Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain, rear, after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands exits his car after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Claudia Greco/Pool Photo via AP)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlandsis flanked by Liverpool's forward Virgil van Dijk as they watch with binoculars ahead the third free practice, at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the third free practice ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco steers his car during the third free practice ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco celebrates his pole position after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is spending $50 million through the end of June, a blitz that includes its first television ad trumpeting Donald Trump’s felony conviction and signals that the Democratic incumbent is seeking to make his Republican opponent’s legal woes a bigger issue heading into November.

The advertising push comes with Election Day still more than five months away. But Biden's campaign says it wants to more clearly define the choice between the candidates ahead of the first debate between them in Atlanta on June 27.

The ad campaign includes more than $1 million geared toward media reaching Black, Hispanic and Asian American voters and a spot highlighting Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts in a New York hush money case. It will air on general market television and connected TV on streaming devices and cellphones in battleground states as well as on national cable.

Besides Trump's criminal conviction, the ad, titled “Character Matters,” notes the former president also was found liable for sexual assault and financial fraud in separate proceedings. Trump also faces felony charges in three other criminal cases, none of which may go to trial before the November election.

“This election is between a convicted criminal who's only out for himself and a president who's fighting for your family,” intones the ad's narrator over images of a Trump mug shot and Biden high-fiving supporters.

Biden also has frequently talked about Trump’s 34 felony convictions while decrying the former president for claiming that the case against him was politically motivated. Biden argues that “it’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.”

Biden's son Hunter last week was convicted in Delaware of three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018, when, prosecutors argued, he lied on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. The president has said he would accept the outcome of the case and “continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.”

A central part of Biden’s reelection strategy is also highlighting Trump’s policy proposals for a second term and firing up disaffected Democrats and independent voters. Still, the campaign producing an ad that leans heavily into Trump's conviction and including it in such a large advertising buy indicates a renewed effort to make Trump’s legal problems an election issue in ways Biden’s team previously resisted.

"It’s a stark contrast, and it’s one that matters deeply to the American people,” Biden campaign spokesman Michael Taylor said in a statement. “And it’s why we will make sure that every single day we are reminding voters about how Joe Biden is fighting for them, while Donald Trump runs a campaign focused on one man and one man only: himself.”

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has argued, without evidence, that Biden or Justice Department officials orchestrated the New York case against him for political reasons. He and his allies also have raised the prospect of prosecuting political opponents in revenge if he returns to the White House.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the Biden administration had “weaponized the justice system against President Trump" and that the contrast between her candidate and Biden "will be very clear on the debate stage.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at 180 Church, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

From left, Maisy Biden, Naomi Biden, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk to depart on Air Force One from Los Angeles International Airport, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Los Angeles. Biden is returning to Washington after a campaign event. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden is seated during a campaign event with former President Barack Obama moderated by Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theater, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)