Max Verstappen hit the barrier to take F1 Monaco GP pole by 0.084s from Fernando Alonso, with Charles Leclerc in third.
Q1:
The fist part in F1 Monaco GP qualifying saw a red flag to start the session after a crash for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. The Mexican crashed out at Turn 1 after a heavy hit having set the fifth fastest time then, as McLaren were 1-2 with Lando Norris leading Oscar Piastri.
It was a thrilling end after a late quick laps from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton helped them through despite wild moments from the Brit after his FP3 crash. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led the way with a 1m12.386s lap.
It was AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Alexander Albon in the Top 3, as a late push lap from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri dropped Williams’ Logan Sargeant in the knocked out zone with a 1m13.113s lap in 16th. The Haas pair slotted in 17th and 18th.
It was Kevin Magnussen (1m13.270s) ahead of Nico Hulkenberg (1m13.279s), with Alfa Romeo’s (1m13.523s) Zhou Guanyu in 19th from Red Bull’s Perez in 20th.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Monaco GP qualifying saw minor mishap for Norris with double tap on the barrier but he still made it in the Top 10 where teammate Piastri (1m12.395s) was knocked out by just the 0.018s margin in 11th after late quick lap from Hamilton.
Verstappen (1m11.908s) led the way from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third where his teammate Lance Stroll (1m12.623s) was knocked out in 14th. Interestingly, Alpine only used the one set after a solid lap.
AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries (1m13.054s), meanwhile, did a solid job in 12th from Albon (1m12.706s), Stroll and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m13.038s) in the Top 15.
Q3:
The final part of F1 Monaco GP qualifying started with a quick banker lap where Alonso set the pace with a 1m11.706s lap as he led both the Ferrari of Sainz and Leclerc, with Verstappen only fifth after Mercedes’ George Russell also got ahead of him.
McLaren managed to get Norris out after his issue as Verstappen took over from Alonso with a 1m11.654s lap but Ocon took it away with a 1m11.553s lap. The lap times kept coming down as Alonso went fastest with a 1m11.449s lap.
But Verstappen came back to take F1 Monaco GP pole despite a wall hit with a 1m11.365s lap beating Alonso by 0.084s, as Leclerc slotted in third with a 1m11.471s lap. Ocon’s mighty effort had him in fourth from Sainz and Hamilton in the order.
Teammate Pierre Gasly was seventh in a steady show ahead of Russell, with Tsunoda ninth and Norris managing a lap to be 10th. The Brit was held up by Leclerc in the tunnel as post-qualifying, the Monegasque was put under investigation for impeding.
🏁 QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION 🏁
And now, breathe. #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/GRjqRPj4G6
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
UPDATE: While the stewards agreed that it was difficult for Leclerc to do more inside the tunnel but they stressed that the team did not do enough to alert about Norris coming in. As a result, Leclerc has been given a three-place grid drop for F1 Monaco GP.
He will start from sixth which means Ocon moves to third, Sainz to fourth and Hamilton to fifth.
Here’s what stewards said: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2023%20Monaco%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2016%20-%20Alleged%20Impeding%20of%20Car%204.pdf