World Champion Max Verstappen claimed pole position for Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix in a mesmerizing final shootout around the streets of the Principality Saturday.
There were multiple contenders for the crucial top spot ahead of Sunday’s 78-lap race as drivers flirted closer and closer to the barriers while track conditions improved.
The top spot changed hands several times through the 12-minute Q3 session as some of the best drivers in the world put on a spectacle and provided a reminder of the magic of Monaco.
Fernando Alonso seized the initiative early; Verstappen stole back the top spot before – unexpectedly – Esteban Ocon and then hometown hero Charles Leclerc vaulted to the front.
Alonso reclaimed the leading position and Verstappen’s final lap looked insufficient after the second sector, two-tenths down on Alonso’s best, and pole appeared to be within sight for Alonso, his first since 2012.
But staging an all-out-attack Verstappen brushed the inside barrier exiting the Swimming Pool chicane, ran millimeters from it on exit, and then tapped the concrete wall through the final turns. If ever there was an example of a perfect sector, then that was it.
“I knew that going into the last sector I was down on them so I had to push flat out in the last sector and risked everything to get back the lap time,” said Verstappen. “And luckily we did.”
Alonso conceded that he was “increasing the level of risk to an uncomfortable level” through his qualifying laps in Q3 but was delighted to capture a front row position.
Verstappen staged an all out attack on his final lap.
“I think even if it feels very close the pole position, we have to be happy,” said Alonso, who radioed his team during the session to say he was “driving like an animal.”
Added Alonso: “We came here with some concerns about our performance on Saturdays, we seem very good on Sundays and taking care of the tires, but we struggle a bit on street circuits to put the temperature to hit the lap in Q3 but we are starting the first row of the grid in Monaco so I think it’s job done today.”
Leclerc, who took pole in Monaco in both 2021 and 2022, missed out on a three-peat and initially claimed third place, but he was later given a three-place grid penalty by the stewards for blocking McLaren’s Lando Norris late in Q3.
“It’s disappointing but at the same time I think I need to look at the weekend as a whole,” the Ferrari driver said. “I’ve been struggling with the car like crazy, we’ve had a lot of problems with bottoming, especially up the hill. In qualifying it was the same but with the new tires you can extract a bit more and I managed to put everything I wanted in one lap, wasn’t enough for the pole but I think that’s the maximum we could do today.”
Sergio Perez crashed out six minutes into Q1.
The penalty promoted Ocon to third, fellow Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz fourth, and Lewis Hamilton fifth, a decent result after a crash in practice and ill-feeling with his Mercedes.
Pierre Gasly was seventh for Alpine, with Mercedes’ George Russell eighth, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who grabbed a superb ninth for the struggling AlphaTauri team.
There will be one Red Bull at the front of the grid but the other one will be at the rear.
Sergio Perez, last year’s Monaco victor, crashed at Sainte Devote only six minutes into Q1 and was eliminated from proceedings.
Verstappen enters Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix 14 points clear of Perez in the championship and the Mexican’s shunt is a sizeable blow to his already diminishing prospects.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Haas as neither Kevin Magnussen nor Nico Hulkenberg made it out of Q1.
That means the pair will start only 17thand 18th respectively on Sunday at a circuit where overtaking is notoriously challenging.
American Logan Sargeant will take the start from 16th position for Williams.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying
- Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
- Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
- Charles Leclerc Ferrari
- Esteban Ocon Alpine
- Carlos Sainz Ferrari
- Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
- Pierre Gasly Alpine
- George Russell Mercedes
- Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri
- Lando Norris McLaren
- Oscar Piastri McLaren
- Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri
- Alex Albon Williams
- Lance Stroll Aston Martin
- Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo
- Logan Sargeant Williams
- Kevin Magnussen Haas
- Nico Hulkenberg Haas
- Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo
- Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing
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