Max Verstappen wins thrilling Monaco shootout over Fernando Alonso. Max Verstappen beat Fernando Alonso by just 0.084s during a thrilling Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session that was decided in the final sector of Q3.
Max Verstappen was slower than Alonso in the first two sectors, but he managed to improve his time by a significant margin in the third sector.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Esteban Ocon of Alpine both held the first spot for the last few minutes as the track seemed to get better with every lap. However, they ended up being third and fourth. Leclerc, however, will start on the sixth row after the stewards handed out a penalty to him for impeding Lando norris at Q3.
Verstappen, who has already won three races this season, appeared out of sorts when he started Q3, as his first attempt was 0.2s slower that his best Q2 time. He won the most closely fought qualifying session this season, on a track that often determines the race outcome.
After crashing out of qualifying, Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate will start the Monaco Grand Prix in last place. The Mexican did not slow down enough for Sainte Devote during his second flying round in Q1. He slid sideways, and hit the barriers at the exit. The impact damaged the Red Bull’s front, rear and sidepod suspension as well as its sidepod. It left the car stranded on the track.
After Leclerc was penalized, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will be fourth on the starting grid ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who is fifth. Pierre Gasly set the seventh-fastest time in the second Alpine, ahead of Mercedes George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri.
Norris, who broke his suspension in Q2 by clipping the barriers at the exit of Nouvelle Chicane during his last attempt, will start 10th. He improved slightly in Q3, but was blocked in the tunnel by Leclerc. Norris beat teammate Oscar Piastri by just 0.018s to make the top 10, meaning that the McLarens are set to start 10th and 11th in the grid.
Lance Stroll will start in 14th place after a disappointing drive in the second Aston Martin. Nyck de Vries, who was 12th quickest, is ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon. Stroll, who was only 0.516s behind teammate Alonso during Q2, will start 14th on the grid ahead of ValtteriBottas.
Logan Sargeant, who missed a Q2 spot by just 0.059s, will start 16th in front of Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas). Zhou Guanyu, the Alfa Romeo driver who will be starting on the second row behind Perez (last place), will start in 16th position.
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