A rough day for Red Bull was turned around by Max Verstappen, as the flying Dutchman recorded an impressive 1:11.365 lap time during the all important qualifying session on Saturday, May 27.
Last year’s Monaco Grand Prix winner Sergio Perez pushed too hard and crashed into the unforgiving barriers of the Principality’s circuit in Q1, leaving it up to his two-time world champion teammate Verstappen to bring it back for the imperious Red Bull team.
A bemused and perhaps surprisingly fast Fernando Alonso was the second-fastest at the end of qualifying, having pushed his Aston Martin to the second fastest lap time by just under a tenth of a second.
Charles Leclerc was the third-fastest in the session, but frustratingly dropped to P6 on the starting grid hours after the session due to a delayed decision. Leclerc was hit with a three-place penalty when race stewards determined that the Monegasque had impeded McLaren rival Lando Norris during the final phase of Q3.
Thereafter, the home hero ceded his P3 starting position to fourth fastest Esteban Ocon, subsequently promoting Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to P4 and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to P5 on the starting grid.
Seven time world champion Hamilton impressed with his lap time, having crashed through the Mirabeau corner and bringing the third and final practice session to an early end ahead of the qualifying session hours later.
Nevertheless, the starting grid has been established for the big race, which will begin at 15:00 on Sunday, May 28.
Featured image courtesy of @redbullracing on Twitter
