Max Verstappen beat Fernando Alonso to pole position with a last-gasp lap at the end of a thrilling and unpredictable qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Pole position changed hands five times after the end of the first runs, with Alonso, the Ferrari drivers and even Esteban Ocon rotating through top spot before Verstappen’s final lap.
Track grip was ramping up constantly, and Red Bull hatched a plan to have Verstappen be the last driver on track to take advantage of the conditions.
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The Dutchman completed two laps on his first set of tires, taking top spot with both, but he then made a rapid pit stop for his last fresh set to ensure he could complete an unusual third flying lap. Meanwhile, Ocon took top spot with a superb lap in his Alpine before Charles Leclerc deposed him.
Alonso then assumed provisional pole with a slender 0.022-second margin, but with just seconds left on the clock Verstappen rounded the final corner to start his last lap.
The Dutchman set personal-best sectors at the first two splits but wasn’t projected to have enough to overhaul Alonso. But an all-or-nothing final sector made the difference, propelling him to P1 by just 0.084s – his first pole position in Monte Carlo.
“In qualifying you need to call out and risk it all,” he said. “My first sector wasn’t ideal on my final lap … but then I knew I was behind, so in the last sector I gave it everything I had.”
Alonso said he’d been “pushing like an animal” to take top spot twice through Q3 but said he had to be satisfied with second knowing he’d left nothing on the table.
“It felt good,” he said. “Obviously pole position means a lot here in Monaco, but today Max was a little bit faster, which was a shame. But I think the first row on the grid for us is quite a big thing here.”
In pursuit of his first win since 2013, Alonso said he was still targeting victory on Sunday.
“Let’s see tomorrow what we can do in terms of strategy,” he said. “We have normally good starts this year – Max is a little bit inconsistent, so maybe [he has] one of those bad ones tomorrow!”
It wasn’t a perfect day for Red Bull Racing, however, with Sergio Pérez crashing out of qualifying early in Q1.
Perez’s afternoon lasted just six minutes and three laps after carrying far too much speed into the first corner, giving the outside barrier a hefty whack.
His left-rear corner took the brunt of the impact before the car bounced back into the middle of the track and out of the session.
Having set only one time up to that point, Perez plummeted down the order after the 11-minute suspension, leaving him last on the grid.
Charles Leclerc qualified third and just 0.106s off the pace but under investigation for what appeared to be a clear case of impeding Lando Norris in the tunnel late in Q3, which could earn him a grid drop for Sunday.
Speaking before seeing the stewards, Leclerc said he was trying to look at the bright side of a second-row start after a mixed build-up to qualifying.
“It was a very tricky quali but [also] weekend for me especially. I struggle a lot in the car,” he said. “But in qualifying the car was a bit more alive, I was a bit more at ease with the car. So all in all, I’m happy.”
Esteban Ocon ended up a spectacular fourth for Alpine and only 0.188s shy of Verstappen’s pole time, the Frenchman splitting Leclerc from Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, who was fifth quickest.
Lewis Hamilton could manage only sixth in his updated Mercedes at 0.36s off the pace ahead of Pierre Gasly, George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda.
The impeded Norris was 10th fastest ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, who missed a spot in the top-10 shootout by just 0.018s, leaving him 11th on the grid alongside AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries.
Alex Albon was 13th for Williams ahead of the shock omission of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who ended the session under investigation for failing to step for the mandatory weighbridge check when signaled upon entry to pit lane, and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.
Williams rookie Logan Sargeant will start 16th, missing out on progression by just 0.059s.
Haas teammates Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg followed, the duo split by just 0.009s.
Zhou Guanyu will line up 19th ahead of the crashed Perez in 20th.
