In the final meters of a thrilling qualifying session, Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday. Alongside him on the front row is Max Verstappen, who just missed out on P1 after an incredible session. Behind the duo are Ferrari pair Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
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Read here how the qualifying session unfolded.
Q1: Red flag and Mercedes problems?
Under a radiant sun and with full grandstands, local hero Charles Leclerc sets the tone in Q1 with the fastest time early on. Audi drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg are also surprisingly strong. Max Verstappen initially struggles with traffic but then drives into the top 5.
In the second part of Q1, the Mercedes drivers initially struggle to match the top times. And then suddenly there’s a red flag. Bortoleto crashes and reports that his suspension is broken. An expensive one, this, for Audi. Because the team had a chance to get both cars into the top 10.
After the session resumed, there are still two minutes to go. Verstappen drives to P2 behind Leclerc and ahead of Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, and Hülkenberg. Russell only finishes eighth, Sainz saves himself by qualifying for Q2 in the final second.
Q1 dropouts: Ocon, Pérez, Bearman, Bottas Alonso and Stroll.
Q2: Verstappen speeds to first place
Verstappen is one of the first drivers to hit the track in Q2, though he is almost hit by Sainz who also wants to exit the pits. Once on the circuit, the Dutchman opens the ball with P1. Leclerc then goes underneath him, as does Hamilton. The Ferraris show their muscle. Verstappen then also sees Hadjar, Norris, and Antonelli – as the fastest – pass by. But he makes another attempt and behold, he climbs to second place.
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The battle for the ten available spots in Q3 is decided in the final minutes. Russell has a tough time in this qualifying session, also in Q2. The Mercedes driver initially doesn’t get further than P8. And that’s where it stays. But even more striking: Verstappen outdoing both Antonelli and the two Ferraris with P1. He goes to Q3 as the fastest, and teammate Hadjar is also fast: P3. That bodes well for Q3.
Dropouts: Albon, Sainz, Hülkenberg, Colapinto, Lindblad, Bortoleto.
Q3: Verstappen narrowly beaten by Antonelli
The fastest in Q2, that was Max Verstappen. So the question arises: can the Dutchman take pole in Monaco? That would be a stunt, but he certainly shows how fast the RB22 is this session. What about the McLarens, by the way? We saw little of them, but there are Norris and Piastri driving to P1 and P2! They are faster than Leclerc, but Hamilton then takes the lead.
It gets really exciting afterwards: Antonelli goes to P1, Verstappen drives to second place by one thousandth (!) of a second. That bodes well for the second run.
Once that’s underway, suddenly it’s Leclerc who joins the fight! Will he then take pole in the Ferrari, as was slightly expected beforehand? No, it turns out. Because Verstappen is faster again: he is almost three tenths faster. Hamilton doesn’t match the time, but is faster than Leclerc. And the Mercedes? Yes, there’s Antonelli: pole for the Italian in the final meters of a thrilling session.
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Read everything about the Monaco GP here
