Verstappen grabs first Monaco pole with mighty effort in dying seconds of Q3, bumps game Alonso to P2; Leclerc slots in at P3 at home GP; Perez crashes out heavily in Q1
Formula 1 returned to action after the unfortunate cancellation of last week’s planed Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to the catastrophic flooding in that beautiful region with a thrilling Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix. Under clear and sunny skies and with the famed street circuit ever-evolving to the bitter end of Q3, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pulled out a miracle final lap at the death to earn his first-ever pole in Monte Carlo, bumping the seemingly supreme time of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and relegating the veteran Spaniard to P2. That sets things up nicely for the points-leading Dutchman as he seeks to build on his seemingly unstoppable championship momentum after a frankly amazing run from ninth to victory in Miami twenty days ago. As for Alonso, even though he’s now still hunting his first pole in F1 since 2012, he’s certainly in the mix for the win tomorrow if he can get away to a good start and get ahead of Verstappen. The Aston Martin in Alonso’s hands is arguably the second best car on the grid and the Red Bull’s usual DRS advantage should be quite muted at this tight, slow speed circuit. Not to mention that Alonso also out-qualified both Ferraris on the day, bettering hometown hero Charles Leclerc*, who came home with the third fastest time, and teammate Carlos Sainz, who was not as quick at P5. (*Leclerc was subsequently penalized three grid positions post-qualifying when he was adjudged to have impeded Lando Norris.)
One of the greatest Qualifying sessions of all-time in Formula 1 💫
This, is no ordinary sport 💙#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Gvxojnewsu
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
Alonso was also aided by Verstappen’s teammate and main title rival Sergio Perez’s unforced error in Q1, when the veteran Mexican, who has had his share of drama in Monte Carlo, overcooked it going into Sainte Devote and crashed heavily into the outside barriers at Turn 1 there. While Perez was unhurt, it was a heavy shunt that literally smashed the normally robust carbon fiber side pod to smithereens and likely ruined the gearbox and rear suspension, as well. So, on a day where team Red Bull were thrilled to have one driver on pole after a tight multi-car duel, don’t be surprised if Perez is forced to start from the pits tomorrow, making any sort of points finish a rather remote possibility on this near-impossible to overtake track. If Verstappen saunters away from Perez in the championship fight, his teammate’s rather inexplicable crash so early in quali will be pointed at as the season’s key turning point.
Alpine also showed really good pace on the day, with Esteban Ocon at one point topping the timing sheets late in Q3 but settling for P4 when the big boys had their say, and teammate Pierre Gasly notching a solid P7 effort. Lewis Hamilton out-qualified his Mercedes teammate George Russell, P6 to P8, despite having a shunt in the final practice session earlier in the day that required repairs and then struggling for pace in much of qualifying. And AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda did very well to take a solid P9, while McLaren’s Lando Norris had to settle for P10 after damaging his car in Q2 by hitting the outside barrier in the Nouvelle Chicane, his team nonetheless having done yeoman’s work in getting it repaired and able to turn some laps in Q3.
Top 10 qualifiers for the Monaco GP:
| 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 |
Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.
Tomorrow’s race airs live at 9AM on ABC here in the States. While qualifying is usually the more exciting event than the actual race in Monaco, look for Alonso to keep Verstappen on his toes in the early going, as there is really nothing between the Aston and the Red Bull on this short street course. It should also be interesting to see if the Red Bull braintrust can figure out a way to get Perez back in the mix with some sort of bold strategy maneuver. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!