Monaco – Qualifying: Räikkönen’s big comeback!

In the Principality more than elsewhere, the qualifying session is worth its weight in gold. The stress was therefore at its peak as the drivers returned to their garages to compete in the timed lap exercise.

At Force India, it’s a real hive of activity with mechanics and engineers bustling around Esteban Ocon’s car. The Frenchman made a fatal mistake at the very end of FP3, damaging his suspension after hitting the wall at the exit of the Swimming Pool corner. Even Sergio Pérez’s mechanics came to lend a hand to ensure the #31 car was ready on time.

More crowded than a crossover weekend between July vacationers and August vacationers, 19 hungry cars lined up at the end of the pit lane at 2 p.m. A session held under a blazing sun, 25 degrees in the air, but especially 50 degrees on the track!

Q1: Red Bull comes out of the woods, Ocon loses ground

References from the start of the weekend, the Ferrari drivers immediately secured a first time. Clearly on ultra-softs, Vettel set a time of 1:13.289 on his second flying lap. His teammate was two-tenths behind.

For Bottas and Hamilton, the initial trend was hardly positive. The Finn was pushed back by half a second!

But a third team was determined to join the party. Max Verstappen took the lead midway through the session, with a time of 1:13.278. A few minutes later, it was Ricciardo’s turn to show his nose, with a time of 1:13.219.

Behind the big guns, the battle for passage into Q2 was in full swing. A fight that Esteban Ocon could participate in, released on track thanks to the work done by his team.

The session entered the last five minutes, and the drivers in the danger zone were as follows: Palmer, Magnussen, Ericsson, Wehrlein, and Ocon. On the edge, Romain Grosjean spun at Mirabeau and lost a lap to improve his position.

On the edge, the Haas driver saved himself with a good lap, knocking out his compatriot Esteban Ocon. Among the other four drivers left on the sidelines, Marcus Ericsson didn’t even bring his Sauber back safely after hitting the exit of the Tunnel, at the Nouvelle Chicane.

Eliminated in Q1: Ocon, Palmer, Stroll, Wehrlein, Ericsson

Q2: The Hamilton sensation!

No driver took the risk. While the temptation was great to use the super-soft tire (to get rid of it as late as possible tomorrow in the race), all the drivers went out with the purple-banded tires.

Entering strongly into Massenet’s curve, Hamilton had a scare, in major understeer. The Briton came very close to the wall on the outside!

😮 Close call for HAM at Massenet #Quali #MonacoGP 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/3zBj1F8frv

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 May 2017

On the next lap, he didn’t do better than thirteenth fastest, one second and three tenths behind Räikkönen, the leader with a time of 1:12.231, setting a new circuit record in the process.

Beyond Ferrari’s dominance, his nerves were definitely on edge as he was immediately summoned to the weigh-in!

This end of Q2 was certainly thrilling. Especially since the McLarens were fully participating in the event by vying for a spot in Q3. But it was Lewis Hamilton who was at the center of attention. Clearly lacking grip, the three-time world champion found himself in a tight spot, troubled by traffic during his penultimate attempt.

And in the very last lap, disaster struck! Stoffel Vandoorne caused a yellow flag by ending up in the wall at the exit of the second turn of the Swimming Pool, in a maneuver similar to the one made by Ocon this morning.

Incredible turn of events for the Mercedes driver, who faced headwinds and tricky adjustments, before experiencing an early elimination in Q2. For the first time since the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton will not start in the top 10. On the other hand, both McLarens delivered a strong team performance, unfortunately marred by a last-minute crash.

Eliminated in Q2: Kvyat, Hülkenberg, Magnussen, Hamilton, Massa

Q3: Back to the Future!

The fateful hour struck in Monaco: the battle for the Pole could begin! Only nine cars entered the legendary circuit, with Jenson Button as the guest star (but penalized 15 places on the grid tomorrow).

The first run was dominated by Räikkönen, with a time of 1:12.296. Vettel did not respond to this performance, being provisionally pushed back by seven tenths, just behind Daniel Ricciardo. Off-sequence compared to his opponents, Valtteri Bottas did the job for Mercedes, falling short by two tenths to Räikkönen.

Pushed back to fourth, the pressure was at its peak for Vettel, who was going all out on his final lap. The German limited the damage by climbing back to second place. But the lucky winner of the Monaco lottery was indeed Kimi Räikkönen! For the first time since the 2008 French Grand Prix, Iceman will heat up the Pole position. Meanwhile, Bottas just missed out against Vettel by a whisker: two thousandths to be precise.

Beautiful performance also for Carlos Sainz, who will start sixth in his Toro Rosso.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF QUALIFYING): Kimi claims 50th pole for a Finnish driver 🇫🇮 #Quali #MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/W6p5EwMaTA

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 mai 2017

The big event on Sunday promises to be most spectacular!

Until then, stay tuned to our website for updates and reactions from the various drivers on the grid.

He's still got it…

What a lap from Kimi Räikkönen to take his first #F1 pole for nine years#MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/FSHbWSNPVZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 mai 2017