Monaco – Qualifications: Lewis Hamilton takes the lead

The tension has risen a notch this early afternoon in the Principality: we are certainly at the beginning of the most important Qualifying session of the season! Here, more than anywhere else, a good position is crucial in order to aim for a good place at the finish tomorrow afternoon.

Will Lewis Hamilton take his revenge for last year? After securing 2 poles in 2013 and 2014, will Nico Rosberg confirm his dominance in Monaco?

After a great final practice session this morning, can Sebastian Vettel create a surprise by clinching the Pole Position?

The weather remains on its side satisfactory: it will not rain during the session. Nevertheless, the sky is still overcast: the air temperature is 19 degrees for a little over 25 degrees on the track.

At 2 p.m., the 20 drivers are released on the 3.340-kilometer track!

Q1: As expected, a lot of traffic between drivers: everyone is fighting to find a clear lap.

The very first driver to set a reference time is Will Stevens in his Manor. He is largely beaten by Verstappen, who sets an initial time of 1:19:803. Many drivers start with a medium-paced lap to get their bearings.

On Soft Tyres, Lewis Hamilton set a time of 1:16.884. He is a good tenth ahead of Nico Rosberg. 17 drivers set a time: the two Force India cars of Perez and Hülkenberg as well as Alonso’s McLaren have been slow to get on track.

The first driver to switch to Super Soft tires is Felipe Nasr in his Sauber: 1:18.101 for the Brazilian.

At 8 minutes from the end, Nico Rosberg gets back into the action and takes the lead: he sets a time of 1:16.528. On the initial runs with Soft Tires, Mercedes is so far in a league of its own. Nico suddenly loses control and hits the barrier at Mirabeau with the rear of his Force India.

5 minutes before the end of the session, the eliminated would be as follows: Bottas, Ericsson, Button, Merhi, Stevens.

Jenson Button finds relief with a provisional 7th place time. The McLaren team can aspire to reach Q3 today.

Nice surprise also for Force India’s Sergio Pérez, who achieved a very convincing time of 1:17.376.

Daniel Ricciardo temporarily falls into the danger zone. Less than two minutes remain in this Q1. The Australian gets out and climbs to 5th place. Hülkenberg improves but only slightly. Valtteri Bottas is struggling: the Finn cannot manage a clear lap; he can no longer improve: he is already eliminated!

The very last lap doesn’t allow the drivers in the danger zone to make it out. A slight surprise with the elimination of Bottas’s Williams.

**Eliminated in Q1:** Nasr, Bottas, Ericsson, Stevens, Merhi.

Q2: The battle is expected to be intense for the passage to Q3: all drivers are on track with the softest range of Pirelli.

Once again: the drivers’ primary objective is to secure a clear lap. Nico Rosberg is discussing with his engineer to obtain an optimal position on the track.

Sebastian Vettel sets the very first time: an anecdotal time for the German driver at 1:18.721. Sergio Pérez surpasses him with 1:17.592. Vettel retakes the provisional first place.

New blow for Fernando Alonso: the McLaren-Honda engine cuts out instantly. The situation is very frustrating for the Spaniard: after an already tricky weekend in Spain, here he is stopped on the side. He will therefore be classified 15th at the end of this session.

The Mercedes drivers were slow to get on track: with less than 8 minutes remaining, Nico Rosberg set a time of 1:15:471. Hamilton was slightly behind: he posted exactly the same time as Vettel with 1:16:224. He complained over the radio about a bad stint.

With 5 Minutes remaining, the provisional eliminations are as follows: Grosjean, Pérez, Massa, Hülkenberg, and Alonso.

Romain Grosjean temporarily gets out of the rough patch. Both Lotus cars are currently in the Top 10. Sergio Pérez moves up in the standings. Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button fall into potential elimination positions.

It’s the moment of the final lap: Nico Rosberg went straight in the Sainte-Dévote runoff area, causing a yellow flag. It particularly dashes Jenson Button’s hopes for improvement: both McLarens do not reach Q3.

Romain Grosjean also misses the mark. Not only penalized with a 5-place grid penalty, the Frenchman is this time regularly beaten by his teammate, as Pastor Maldonado will participate in the final qualifying session.

Eliminated in Q2: Grosjean, Button, Hülkenberg, Massa, Alonso.

Q3 Here is the crucial moment of this Qualifying session. The battle for Pole is on! Both drivers head out as soon as the Green Light is given: Lewis Hamilton is just ahead of Nico Rosberg. One can sense an extreme tension in both cockpits.

Here we go for the first attempt: Nico Rosberg eases the gap by a few meters. At the end of the first lap: Hamilton eases his effort by a few meters, like Rosberg: the first real time will therefore be set in the second lap. The very provisional pole is in the hands of Sergio Pérez with a 1:17.912.

But Lewis Hamilton improves the first two sectors: he sets the time to 1:15.304, Nico Rosberg is beaten and is over a tenth behind. Behind them, Sebastian Vettel is at 0.545 seconds. Kimi Räikkönen, on his part, is only eighth more than 2 seconds off the Pole: the reason for his delay is a mistake at the Loews corner.

At the end of the first run, the provisional Top 10 is as follows: Hamilton leads Rosberg. They are followed by Vettel, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Pérez, Verstappen, Sainz Junior, Räikkönen, and Maldonado.

After a few seconds of pause, the drivers set off for their final attempts. In these atmospheric conditions, Mercedes seems unbeatable: Ferrari and Vettel do not seem capable of challenging for the Pole.

As during the first run, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg take the time to warm up their tires.

Here we go for the conclusion of this Q3: Kimi Räikkönen is hindered by Carlos Sainz Junior. Nico Rosberg misses his braking at Sainte-Dévote! Hamilton drives the point home with a 1:15.098. Few significant improvements for this final lap: Daniil Kvyat nonetheless moves up to 5th position ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.

Lewis Hamilton clinches Pole Position here in Monaco! It’s simply the first Pole Position of his career in the Principality. No particular outpouring of joy for the Englishman, but the satisfaction of a job well done. However, Nico Rosberg will still be one to watch tomorrow at the start.

Behind, Vettel is once again the closest pursuer, but the four-time World Champion is certainly disappointed not to have been able to compete with the Mercedes. On the Red Bull side, there is satisfaction with the best overall performance of the season: Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat can look forward to a possible podium finish. It was also a strong session for Sergio Pérez and Force India.

On the disappointed side, Kimi Räikkönen struggled with the settings of his Ferrari.

Here is the final ranking of this qualifying session: