Monaco – Qualifications: Alexander Rossi crushes the clock and snatches pole position

In a manner similar to the Formula 1 drivers, who took part in the Free Practice sessions earlier this afternoon, the GP2 Series drivers started their qualifying session under a light rain.

As is customary here in Monaco, the drivers are split into two groups to prevent them from hindering each other during their attempts.

In **Group 1**, we found the Championship leader, Stoffel Vandoorne. With him, two French drivers, Pierre Gasly and Norman Nato, as well as the Ferrari Driver Academy driver, Raffaele Marciello.

At the green light, despite the soaked track, a few drivers attempt an installation lap on Super Soft tires. They all eventually return to the pits to switch to Rain tires.

With a little over 7 minutes remaining, Pierre Gasly sets the first true benchmark time at 1:42.431.

Two minutes later, Stoffel Vandoorne takes the provisional best time. He is dethroned a few seconds later by Raffaelle Marciello, who improves and becomes the first to go under 1:41, with a time of 1:40:960. The Italian driver holds onto the top spot until the end of the session, even managing to improve by six tenths on his last attempt, despite the rain intensifying.

A few seconds before the end of the session, Daniel De Jong with MP Motorsport suddenly interrupts proceedings by crashing at the Mirabeau corner. Meanwhile, the Swiss driver Zoel Amberg loses control at the Tobacco curve, losing his left rear wheel and having to stop. Therefore, no other driver can improve.

The Top 5 of this Group 1 is as follows: Marciello, Vandoorne, Leal, King and De Jong. Pierre Gasly is 6th while Norman Nato must certainly be disappointed with his modest 12th place.

Top 5 Group 1:

1. R. Marciello (Trident): 1:40.357

2. S. Vandoorne (ART Grand Prix) 1:41.124

3. J. Leal (Carlin) 1:41.655

4. J. King (Racing Engineering) 1:41:895

5. D. De Jong (MP Motorsport) 1:42.150

In Group 2, the leading drivers included Alexander Rossi and Alex Lynn, ranked 3rd and 5th respectively in the World Drivers’ Championship standings. Arthur Pic and Nathanel Berthon are the French representatives in this group.

The weather conditions remain unchanged for now, with a light rain still sprinkling the track in the Principality.

As in Group 1, the drivers miss a few braking points and go straight, particularly at Sainte-Dévote or Mirabeau.

This session was dominated head and shoulders by Alexander Rossi. The former Caterham and Marussia driver took control of the group from the very first minutes: with a time of 1:41.046, he temporarily leads Sorensen and Lynn.

Rossi and his comrades then benefit from milder weather conditions: the rain stops falling and the track gradually dries up. At the start of the last 5 minutes, Rossi continues to improve: he sets the mark at 1:38.776, Arthur Pic is his closest pursuer at 1:39.006.

Alexander Rossi also dominated the end of the session by ultimately setting the absolute benchmark at 1:37.160. The American driver thus ended Stoffel Vandoorne’s unbeaten streak, who had been undefeated in the qualifying exercise since the 2014 Spa-Francorchamps meeting.

He is ahead in this Group of Arthur Pic and Sergey Sirotkin. The other Frenchman, Nathanaël Berthon, is pushed to the edge of the Standings with a 12th position.

Top 5 Group 2:

1. A. Rossi (Racing Engineering) 1:37.019

2. A. Pic (Campos Racing) 1:37.617

3. S. Sirotkin (Rapax) 1:38.391

4. N. Yelloly (Hilmer Motorsport) 1:38.618

5. S. Canamasas (MP Motorsport) 1:38.691

Ultimately, considering the established alternation between the two groups, Alexander Rossi will start in Pole Position ahead of Raffaele Marciello. Arthur Pic and Stoffel Vandoorne will complete the second row. Further back in the traffic, we will notably find the two Dams cars of Pierre Gasly and Alex Lynn in 12th and 17th positions, respectively.

Join us tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. for the start of the main race!