Max Verstappen emerged victorious after a mighty battle for pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The reigning champion denied Fernando Alonso his first pole in 11 years with a sensational lap in the final moments of Q3, setting a 1m11.365s to beat the Spaniard by less than 0.1s.
Charles Leclerc’s quest for a third straight pole at his home race just fell short in third, as Esteban Ocon produced arguably the biggest surprise in fourth for Alpine.
Q1
The big story in Q1 was Sergio Perez, who lost the rear and crashed heavily at Sainte Devote, meaning he will start Sunday’s race at the back of the grid in the Red Bull.
? RED FLAG ?
Perez is STOPPED out on track after sliding into the barriers
Driver is okay, but he’s out of Qualifying! ?#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Z7w1mnptWt
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz were also under big pressure in the drop zone starting their final flying laps but managed to improve to avoid elimination.
Verstappen set the pace ahead of Yuki Tsunoda at the front as track evolution played a big role in the session.
A late flier from Oscar Piastri saw him get through at the expense of Logan Sargeant, who dropped to 16th in the Williams.
Haas’ 150th race weekend took a nosedive as Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg could only manage 17th and 18th.
Zhou Guanyu was 19th with Perez falling to 20th after his crash.
Q2
Verstappen continued to set the pace in Q2, dropping into the 1m11s for the first time this weekend.
Hamilton again found himself staring at elimination ahead of his final lap but again found enough to secure a place inside the very tight top 10.
Lando Norris also made it through in P10 but gave McLaren work to do after hitting the barriers twice, first exiting the Nouvelle chicane before running wide at Tabac with damaged suspension.
NORRIS HITS THE BARRIER!
It’s a hefty whack for the McLaren driver ?
He manages to make it back into the pits….#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/13dmAD9EKr
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
Teammate Oscar Piastri was the first driver knocked out in P11, ahead of Nyck De Vries in 12th for AlphaTauri.
Alex Albon finished 13th, while Lance Stroll was only 14th and could also be in trouble for missing the weighbridge entering the pits.
Valtteri Bottas’s promising pace in practice wasn’t replicated as the Finn could only manage 15th in the Alfa Romeo.
Q3
Fernando Alonso unleashed the Aston Martin to claim the provisional pole with a 1m11.706s after the first runs.
? “I’m pushing like an animal mate!” @alo_oficial is looking good out there!!! ?
He’s still in P1! #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/0CqXyFMnvl
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
The two Ferraris were within half a tenth in second and third as Verstappen sat fifth behind George Russell after a so-so initial lap.
Max would continue for a second lap and went fastest before Esteban Ocon shocked everyone by going P1 in the Alpine.
Alonso and the Ferraris emerged for their second run and it was Fernando who moved back to the top, fractionally ahead of Leclerc.
But Verstappen wouldn’t be denied after pitting for new tyres and delivering a remarkable final sector to claw back a three-tenths deficit to snatch pole by just 0.084s.
Take a bow, you two ?
That was BONKERS ?#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Uoz3K3L7vk
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
Alonso will start alongside on the front row with Leclerc and Ocon on the second row. The Monegasque could be in trouble though after severely blocking Lando Norris in the tunnel.
Sainz starts fifth ahead of Hamilton and Pierre Gasly in seventh in the second Alpine.
Russell was left frustrated in P8 as Tsunoda and Norris, who got out after a great repair job by his team, completed the top 10.