Ricciardo seizes pole for Red Bull at Monte Carlo; Vettel P2, Hamilton P3
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo blistered the field in Saturday qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, laying down a track record fast lap of 1:10.810, easily good enough for pole over the other favorites. After his teammate Max Verstappen had a costly crash in free Practice 3 that ruined his gear box and kept the Dutchman out of qualifying entirely, Ricciardo saved Red Bull’s honor by running the fastest laps in every qualifying session including when it counted most. This was Riccairdo’s second career pole at the famed Monte Carlo street circuit and showed once again how dangerous Red Bull’s slippery chassis can be on this ultra-tight course. Now if only his team can remember to put tires out for him during the race the Aussie just might win the big prize on Sunday. It should also be worth the price of admission to see young Max attempt to fight his way back into contention from the very rear of the pack.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the best of rest, outperforming Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton for P2 to the Englishman’s P3 time. Likewise Vettel’s Scuderia stablemate Kimi Raikkonen bested Hamilton’s Silver Arrows wingman Valtteri Bottas P4 to P5 indicating the Prancing Horse may be better suited to this great old street course than the usually superior Mercedes. Force India did well to put both their drivers into the Top 10 on the grid with Esteban Ocon qualifying P6 and Sergio Perez P9, while Fernando Alonso willed his McLaren up to P7. Rounding out the front of the grid, Carlos Sainz will start P8 for Renault and Pierre Gasly will start P10 for Toro Rosso.
Top 10 qualifiers for the Monaco GP:
| POS | DRIVER | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:12.013 | 1:11.278 | 1:10.810 | |
| 2 | 1:12.415 | 1:11.518 | 1:11.039 | |
| 3 | 1:12.460 | 1:11.584 | 1:11.232 | |
| 4 | 1:12.639 | 1:11.391 | 1:11.266 | |
| 5 | 1:12.434 | 1:12.002 | 1:11.441 | |
| 6 | 1:13.028 | 1:12.188 | 1:12.061 | |
| 7 | 1:12.657 | 1:12.269 | 1:12.110 | |
| 8 | 1:12.950 | 1:12.286 | 1:12.130 | |
| 9 | 1:12.848 | 1:12.194 | 1:12.154 | |
| 10 | 1:12.941 | 1:12.313 | 1:12.221 |
Complete qualifying results available via Forumla.com.
The 2018 edition of the classic Monaco GP airs live tomorrow starting at 9AM Eastern on ESPN here in the States. It kicks off the greatest day of the year for motorsports in typically classy Monagasque fashion before the Indy 500 roars into action later in the afternoon. Hope to see you yacht side and with bellinis in hand to see how it all goes down in Monte Carlo!