A wild and crazy qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix could end up being more edge-of-your-seat than the actual race.
With the track improving with every lap, Max Verstappen managed to put in a last lap, last sector performance that could rank among his best qualifying efforts to snatch pole from fan favorite, Fernando Alonso. This left Charles Leclerc in 3rd but he was given a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Lando Norris’ McLaren on the last lap of qualifying.
A terrific performance from both Alpine’s up in 3rd and 6th for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly respectively. Not so much for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who will start from the back having crashed in Q1.
Qualifying Results:
| POS | DRIVER | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:12.386 | 1:11.908 | 1:11.365 | |
| 2 | 1:12.886 | 1:12.107 | 1:11.449 | |
| 3 | 1:12.912 | 1:12.103 | 1:11.471 | |
| 4 | 1:12.967 | 1:12.248 | 1:11.553 | |
| 5 | 1:12.717 | 1:12.210 | 1:11.630 | |
| 6 | 1:12.872 | 1:12.156 | 1:11.725 | |
| 7 | 1:13.033 | 1:12.169 | 1:11.933 | |
| 8 | 1:12.769 | 1:12.151 | 1:11.964 | |
| 9 | 1:12.642 | 1:12.249 | 1:12.082 | |
| 10 | 1:12.877 | 1:12.377 | 1:12.254 | |
| 11 | 1:13.006 | 1:12.395 | ||
| 12 | 1:13.054 | 1:12.428 | ||
| 13 | 1:12.706 | 1:12.527 | ||
| 14 | 1:12.722 | 1:12.623 | ||
| 15 | 1:13.038 | 1:12.625 | ||
| 16 | 1:13.113 | |||
| 17 | 1:13.270 | |||
| 18 | 1:13.279 | |||
| 19 | 1:13.523 | |||
| 20 | 1:13.850 |
That was a fun qualifying. Seeing new guys on the poll even if only temporary was good. Too much emphasis on Lewis Hamilton, but it is British TV Also interesting to see the bottom of the Red Bull and Mercedes when the cranes picked them up off the tracks. Big day of racing tomorrow.
If this is domination by one team I’ll take it over the true domination we’ve had in the past. In 1992 Mansell was on pole by 0.873 from Patrese (his team mate). Senna in 3rd was 1.113 off pole. Red Bull may be undefeated this year, but their advantage over the rest is tiny compared to what we have seen in the past.