Monaco – Qualifications: Ace Hamilton, Ferrari in the trap!

The most fateful qualifying session of the season took place on a dry track, from start to finish! In single file, the twenty drivers tackled Q1, on a tarmac heated to 44 degrees, with 21 degrees in the air.

Q1: Monumental tactical error for Leclerc and Ferrari!

A temperature sufficiently mild to properly warm up the Pirellis! Something that certainly pleased the Ferrari drivers. Polite, Sebastian Vettel thanked his mechanics, who repaired his car that was wedged into the Sainte-Dévote wall in FP3. Confident after his good morning time, Charles Leclerc warmed up with a first time of 1:12.825. Just behind him, a very convincing Magnussen, in the same tenth. All this was just seconds before the first times of the two Red Bulls, with Verstappen being the first to drop below 1:12, precisely at 1:11.725.

Adjustment variable of the session, the traffic disrupted the progression of the drivers. Not easy to complete a clear lap with the maximum number of cars on the track! Among the most undisciplined, Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo in the last corner, unintentionally blocking Nico Hülkenberg’s Renault.

With 8 minutes remaining, the top 3 was quite surprising: Verstappen, Magnussen, and Gasly. The Mercedes followed in 4th and 5th positions, Bottas ahead of Hamilton. Poorly placed were Hülkenberg, Pérez, Stroll, Kubica, and Russell, the five drivers in the danger zone. With these nuances: the two Racing Points were half a second away from the cut… the Williams nearly two seconds from Lando Norris’s provisional 15th place. Drifting through the Loews hairpin, Hamilton still managed his best time of 1:11.649. His teammate took the lead: Bottas lapping in 1:11.563. Aggressive, Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in the first sector before flirting with the rail in the Swimming Pool esses. His Ferrari grazed the wall with the left rear wheel but was still able to return to the pits. A big issue for the four-time world champion: his time was insufficient, slipping into the danger zone two minutes from the end due to Hülkenberg’s time.

Vettel hits the barrier! 💥

As it stands he is P17 with just under two mins to go#MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/FO38UeMjDl

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 25, 2019

In a dramatic turn of events, Vettel returned to the track: in his final attempt, the Scuderia driver salvaged the situation by taking first place and bumping out… his teammate Leclerc! An unbelievable conclusion to Q1: at his home race, the Monegasque driver exited the session prematurely. Eliminated with him were both Racing Point cars and the Williams, with Russell ultimately managing to beat Kubica.

Pilots eliminated in Q1: 16. Leclerc, 17. Pérez, 18. Stroll, 19. Russell, 20. Kubica

Q2: Max Verstappen shines, Romain Grosjean gets caught out!

Valtteri Bottas set the tone right from the first lap: 1:10.701, an all-time record in the Principality! The Finnish driver’s benchmark held for most of the session: Lewis Hamilton was half a tenth behind. By comparison, Max Verstappen took third place, three tenths slower than the Finn. Fastest in Q1, Vettel was this time in the background, in ninth place, a second and two tenths behind Bottas, at the end of the first run. Among the provisional eliminations were: Norris, Grosjean, Magnussen, Räikkönen, and Giovinazzi.

A short break was observed by the drivers, who returned to the garage to fit new tires at the end of Q2. The moment of truth for the midfield drivers: Norris improved his time to 1:11.845, just seconds before Hülkenberg, who made it into the top 10.

At the front, Verstappen created a surprise with a stunning time of 1:10.618!!! A rather paradoxical lap, consistent, without the best time in any of the three sectors! Neither Bottas nor Hamilton reacted at this point in the session, preferring to save their tires for the start. Behind this top 3, Vettel secured his place, as did Kevin Magnussen, the two Toro Rosso (Daniil Kvyat 6th and Alexander Albon 7th!), and Pierre Gasly eight-tenths off his teammate’s pace.

Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz were the last two qualifiers. For Romain Grosjean, this end of the session was a cold shower: 13th and eliminated, hindered by Gasly in the descent towards Mirabeau. The driver of number 8 was extremely angry, with a slew of curses in his message to his race engineer at the end of the session.

#MonacoGP 🇲🇨 | Qualifs [Q2]

Grosjean P12 😓#F1 pic.twitter.com/ILJBsKcjeQ

— Secteur F1 🏎🇫🇷 (@Secteur_F1) May 25, 2019

Drivers eliminated in Q2: 11. Hülkenberg, 12. Norris, 13. Grosjean, 14. Räikkönen, 15. Giovinazzi

Q3: Hamilton returns at the best possible moment!

The first act of the battle for pole was in favor of Valtteri Bottas! The Finn responded to Verstappen’s time in Q2, with a time of 1:10.252 and an excellent final sector. This time, the Red Bull was relegated to four-tenths behind. As for Lewis Hamilton, he was in trouble, with a lap thrown out. His second lap was more normal: 1:10.483, a time placing him behind Bottas but ahead of Verstappen.

On another galaxy, the battle for fourth place was between Vettel and Gasly: advantage to the German after the first round. Provisional sixth, Magnussen’s Haas, which at that time was ahead of Kvyat, Sainz, and Albon, with Ricciardo not having set a lap.

Mercedes are in the zone#MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/LQWbI5RYXF

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 25, 2019

First out, Vettel benefited from a clear track for a final attempt. In contact with the wall at the Tobacco Bureau corner, the German had another scare. Insignificant compared to Lewis Hamilton’s performance: attacking, sliding at Rascasse… but on pole! The Briton clocked a 1:10.166 time, less than a tenth ahead of Bottas, enough for his happiness! Sensational performance by the five-time world champion, who responded to his teammate in the last lap. This is his second career pole in the Principality, after the one achieved in 2015.

HUGE LAP! Lewis smashes in a late 1:10.166 and takes P1! #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/Gi6To7cXPv

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) May 25, 2019

In the top 10, the ranking also changed towards the end: Ricciardo finally took seventh place, ahead of Kvyat, Sainz, and Albon. The surprise came from Kevin Magnussen, an excellent 6th in his Haas while his teammate Romain Grosjean is only 13th.

The complete standings of the qualifications:

QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION: Hamilton’s first pole since Melbourne 💪#MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/0SWcz8EImM

— Formula 1 (@F1) 25 mai 2019

From our special correspondent in Monaco