@Max33Verstappen pips @alo_oficial to pole in sensational #MonacoGP qualifying. #F1

Monaco GP Pole – Reigning world champion Max Verstappen snatched pole position at the last moment from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso by 0.084 seconds in a thrilling qualifying session at the Monaco GP as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the top three.

The Dutchman overcame a two-tenth deficit to Alonso in sector three to make a last improvement for the fastest effort, a 1:11.365 securing his first pole position on the Circuit De Monaco.

Verstappen posted a solid benchmark to start Q3, a 1:12.102, but his lap-time was immediately beaten by Alonso, who scored a 1:11.706.

The Ferrari pairing of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz could not beat Alonso’s benchmark, but jumped ahead of Verstappen in the order as the Dutchman was forced to abort his initial flyer.

Verstappen had another shot on his initial set of softer compounds and fell slightly short of Alonso in sectors one and two but got La Rascasse and Antony Noghes corners to hit P1 on a 1:11.654.

Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon made an impressive charge to the top posting a 1:11.553 as the next round of runs began, until Leclerc put his SF-23 racer above the Frenchman with a 1:11.471.

Alonso then flew to provisional pole setting a 1:11.449, sending his Aston Martin mechanics into cheers, but all eyes were focused on Verstappen as he was set to close a spectacular qualifying session.

Verstappen was a tenth off in sector one and his arrears increased to two tenths, but the Red Bull driver found three tenths to snatch pole off Alonso.

Leclerc’s tour was good enough to start on the second row but is currently under investigation by the stewards for impeding McLaren’s Lando Norris on his final flyer in the tunnel.

Ocon’s strong effort was enough for fourth with Sainz joining Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton on the third row as the other Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the other F1 W14 of George Russell placed seventh and eighth respectively.

AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and McLaren’s Norris completed the top ten, with the latter able to return to the circuit after tapping the wall into Tabac during the second segment of qualifying.

The McLaren driver damaged the right-hand side of his MCL60 racer, forcing the Briton to abandon his hot-lap that he was on. Nevertheless, his earlier effort was enough to keep him out of the drop zone.

In the second qualifying stage, which was topped by Verstappen, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri missed out on a Q3 appearance by 0.018 seconds and starts 11^th and ahead of AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries who took 12^th, Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon who placed 13^th.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas were the slowest of the Q2 runners in 14^th and 15^th with the former being strung over confusion over missing the weighbridge. The Canadian missed the call to get his AMR23 weighed, requiring the Aston Martin mechanics to roll his car back to the weighbridge for the FIA to take it’s corner weights.

In the opening segment, which was topped by Verstappen, his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez suffered a heavy shunt at St. Devote, which brought out the red flag with 11 minutes remaining.

The Mexican carried too much speed into turn one and as a result, the rear end of his RB19 racer stepped out. The momentum pushed him towards the exit wall, whacking the Tech-pro barrier with his left-rear wheel and causing damage to his rear suspension.

Williams Racing’s Logan Sargeant was the quickest of the Q1 eliminatees in 16^th and in-front of Haas F1 Team pairing Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg who were 17^th and 18^th respectively.

Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and the aforementioned Perez brought up the rear.

You can see the full Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco 2023 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2023/races/1210/monaco/qualifying.html

2023 Monaco GP Qualifying – The Top Three

2023 Monaco GP Pole Position – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing – RBPT-Honda, RB19, 1:11.365:

“I’m very happy. We knew this weekend would be a little bit of a struggle for us, in qualifying you need to go all out and risk it all. Turn 1 was a bit cautious, so I knew I was behind. I gave it all in the third sector, clipped some barriers. Race pace wise, the car is quick. Just need to keep it calm.”

2^nd Place – Fernando Alonso, #14, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, AMR23, +0.084:

“I feel good. Pole position means a lot here in Monaco, but today Max was a little bit faster. First row on the grid is still a big thing for us. We will try to win. It’s very short into Turn 1, but this year normally we make good starts.”

3^rd Place – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-23, +0.106:

“I am not satisfied with P3, but we need to look at the situation we are in with the car. I struggle a lot with the car, but in qualifying the car was a bit more alive. All in all happy, but I would have preferred to be first of course. I don’t know how the forecast is – everything is possible, I’ll go for it anyway.”

In the earlier FP3 session it was reigning world champion Verstappen leading team-mate Perez in a Red Bull one-two with Aston Martin’s Stroll completing the top three as Ferrari’s Sainz and McLaren’s Norris rounded out the top five. You can see the full Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco 2023 Free Practice 3 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2023/races/1210/monaco/practice-3.html