Max Verstappen takes pole in Monaco but Fernando Alonso will target turn one
By Tom Cary in Monaco
Monaco gets a lot of stick for being a boring circuit these days, and perhaps this afternoon’s race around the famous harbour will end up being a snooze-fest, but you will rarely see a more exciting qualifying session than we experienced in the Principality yesterday.
In the space of 70-odd dramatic seconds at the end of Q3, pole position changed hands four times, with first Esteban Ocon (Alpine), then Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), then Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and finally Max Verstappen (Red Bull) all lowering the previous mark.
By the finish all four cars were separated by just two tenths of a second. That it was Verstappen who eventually took pole – his first in Monaco – will disappoint the neutral. The Dutchman is almost nailed on to claim a third successive drivers’ title this year, with team-mate Sergio Perez his only realistic challenger (and Perez’s chances nosedived yesterday as the Mexican crashed on the very first corner of qualifying, ensuring he will start from the back of the grid).
Red Bull have won every race this season and if Verstappen gets away cleanly, it will probably take a rainstorm or a mistake to trip him up. There are showers forecast so that is a possibility. But there is no doubt Alonso would have been a more popular pole-sitter.
It is more than 11 years since the Spaniard last took a pole, at the 2012 German Grand Prix, and over a decade since his last win, which came in Spain the following year. You could feel the crowds in Monaco willing the 41 year-old on and they roared their approval when he set the provisional mark with seconds to go of the session.
Verstappen, by that point, was only midway through his final lap and well short of the required pace. As he entered the final sector, the Dutch driver was a full two tenths of a second off Alonso’s split.
But this is when champions show their mettle, and Verstappen’s final sector, in which he clipped the wall at the one point as he literally pushed his Red Bull to the ragged limit, was utterly majestic. Verstappen’s pit crew went suitably potty, while Alonso’s looked crushed.
What a climax to Q3! 😲
Max Verstappen pulls off a miracle final sector to snatch pole from Fernando Alonso in Monaco 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UcC822UYXN— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 27, 2023
Alonso was phlegmatic about missing out on pole, saying he “had to be happy” given Aston Martin’s astonishing progress this year. And the Spaniard, who is famed for his fast starts, definitely still has a chance today. Leclerc less so.
The Monegasque driver had been hopeful of doing something from third, but he was later demoted to sixth on the grid after stewards found him guilty of “clearly impeding” McLaren’s Lando Norris in the middle of the tunnel when the latter was on a fast lap.
Leclerc’s penalty was good news for Ocon, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who will now start third, fourth and fifth respectively. Realistically they are all going to need rain or some other act of God if they are to catch Red Bull’s runaway championship leader who once again showed why he is the man to beat at the moment.
“What a last sector, Max!” Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, exclaimed over the radio after his man had beaten Alonso’s time by just 0.084 seconds.
“Mighty.” The man himself was not getting overly carried away. “We needed to pull that out the bag,” he replied. “But yes, very lovely.”
Horner, though, was still waxing lyrical about it later on. “I think that is one of the best laps he’s ever driven in qualifying,” he insisted to Sky Sports.
“When he arrived at the swimming pool he was 0.2 sec behind Fernando. Then all the time through that last sector, I think he hit the wall on both sides but carried the momentum and the speed. I could see him gaining the time. I knew it was going to be close and he just did it.
“My emotions are somewhere in the middle. I’m elated for Max with probably the best qualifying lap of his career, and then for Checo [Sergio Perez] unfortunately a mistake too early in Q1.” Horner added: “We know the importance of quali here.
That session was gloves off and it’s a track that doesn’t play to the strengths of the car and we needed Max to be on the top of his form to deliver that today. “If we can get a good start I think we’ll be strong in the race. But one lap, a slow-speed circuit like this the car doesn’t get a chance to use its strengths.
That was down to Max today. “There’s a great respect between Fernando and Max, but they’re very similar characters. They’re cut from the same cloth and they’re both hard racers.
They both want to win this race and I’m sure Fernando sees a chance and he knows how valuable that start is. That first 500 metres is what’s going to dictate this grand prix.”
Monaco Grand Prix qualifying classification
Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:11.365
Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:11.449
Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:11.471
Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:11.553
Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:11.630
Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:11.725
Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:11.933
George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:11.964
Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:12.082
Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren1:12.254
Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren1:12.395
Nyck de Vries (Ned) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:12.428
Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:12.527
Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:12.623
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:12.625
Logan Sargeant ((USA)) Williams 1:13.113
Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 Team 1:13.270
Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 Team 1:13.279
Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:13.523
Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:13.850
Monaco Grand Prix, as it happened
04:28 PM
A potential penalty for Leclerc?
Looks like he blocked Lando Norris in the tunnel at some point. Could lose his lap or take a grid drop?
04:26 PM
A few standout performances there
Esteban Ocon with a lap that was within two tenths of Verstappen. That is mega.
Tsunoda with a great performance to get into the top 10, too.
04:22 PM
Alonso says he's happy
He acknowledges that the car is perhaps weaker in the final sector. It's a short run to turn one but they will see what they can do.
FERNANDO: "Today, Max was a little bit faster. We will try to win" #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Fgt0NW5ZBd
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
04:21 PM
Watch: How it finished
What a climax to Q3! 😲
Max Verstappen pulls off a miracle final sector to snatch pole from Fernando Alonso in Monaco 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UcC822UYXN— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 27, 2023
Not bad.
04:20 PM
Verstappen reacts to his pole position
MAX: "Of course very happy to be on pole here for the first time. Race pace wise, the car is quick, just need to keep it clean and calm"#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/GrrXmo8kIF
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
04:19 PM
Alonso goes over to Verstappen to congratulate him
Take a bow, you two 👏
That was BONKERS 😆#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Uoz3K3L7vk— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
04:19 PM
Charles Leclerc reacts
CHARLES: "All in all, happy - but I would have preferred to be first of course" #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/hIA0JGzIwX
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
04:18 PM
Well, well done Max Verstappen
In fact, well done to all men in the top four who found superb laps out there.
I am not that confident of an interesting race. It would have been nice for Verstappen to not have been on pole, but there you go. Alonso might not be backward about going forward at the first corner.
04:14 PM
Q3 - Classification
VER 1:11.365
ALO +0.084
LEC +0.106
OCO +0.188
SAI +0.265
HAM +0.360
GAS +0.568
RUS +0.599
TSU +0.717
NOR +0.889
04:13 PM
MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE POSITION FOR THE 2023 MONACO GRAND PRIX!
It is a mighty final sector from the Red Bull driver!
He beats Alonso by just 0.084s! It's a pole in Monaco, his first here.
"Oh my god, I hit the wall a few times. We needed to pull that sector out of the bag," he says.
The Red Bull mechanics go mad.
What a session that was.
04:12 PM
Q3 - Verstappen is two tenths down after two sectors
It needs to be a mighty final sector.
Will it be?
04:11 PM
Q3 - Alonso flying...
Fastest middle sector of anyone.
He crosses the line fastest! By just 0.022s! Is it just down to Verstappen? Verstappen is doing a warm-up lap... he's just started his quick lap.
It wasn't the fastest first sector, but was there or thereabouts.
Where is he after two sectors?
04:10 PM
Q3 - This will be fascinating, I can't wait
Leclerc with the fastest first sector of anyone. Sainz a couple of tenths slower.
Alonso improves massively in sector one! He's more than two-tenths up on Ocon.
Now Leclerc goes fastest by 0.082s! Sainz third.
04:09 PM
Q3 - Ocon goes fastest!
By just over a tenth! Okay... that surprised me. Just over two tenths separate the top six here.
Plenty of laps left to go here.
Norris into ninth, Gasly into seventh.
04:08 PM
Q3 - Norris is out of the garage!
Nice work McLaren.
Not a good lap from Verstappen, though... not so far.
Ooh, he saves his best till last, going fastest in the final sector to take provisional pole by 0.052s. That was on the set of tyres he set his earlier lap time on.
Hamilton into third but on a different set of tyres. A few twists yet?
04:06 PM
Q3 - Order and gaps after the first runs
Russell is the last man to cross the line. No sign of Norris, though the mechanics are working hard on his McLaren and he may just sneak out.
ALO 1:11.706
SAI +0.029
LEC +0.053
RUS +0.258
VER +0.396
OCO +0.527
GAS +0.546
HAM +0.635
TSU +1.538
NOR (NO TIME)
Having seen those laps I think Verstappen could find at least half a second here, it not six tenths.
04:04 PM
Q3 - Not a great lap from Hamilton
He was on used tyres but is down in seventh.
Alonso said her was "pushing like an animal," on that lap.
04:04 PM
Q3 - Alonso goes fastest!
By four tenths! It was an untidy lap from Verstappen, relatively speaking. Leclerc now pips him to the provisional front row, but he is then pipped himself by a tiny margin. They are both within 0.06s of Alonso's lap time.
You would expect that Verstappen has at least three or four tenths to find there. Can he, though?
04:03 PM
Q3 - Verstappen posts a 1:12.102
That's not an especially fast lap, slower than he did in Q2.
Ocon goes 0.131s slower than Verstappen.
Alonso on a fine lap...
04:02 PM
Q3 - Verstappen begins his hot lap
Who can realistically challenge him? Leclerc, Alonso? Not sure about that.
It's an 18.886 for Verstappen in sector one, Ocon goes marginally faster but will surely lose time.
Alonso sets a 18.660 in sector one! Rapido.
04:00 PM
Q3 begins!
12 minutes on the clock, 10 drivers and only one pole sitter.
03:59 PM
Can't see anyone beating Verstappen here, can you?
Just looks that little bit too strong.
03:58 PM
Norris had a bit of a shunt
But makes it into the final part of qualifying.
Lando Norris hits the barriers and damages his car BUT makes it into Q3! 😲 pic.twitter.com/Pg9O5zjZGN
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 27, 2023
Not sure he'll be out, though. Team-mate Piastri does not make it through.
03:55 PM
Q2 - Classification
VER 1:11.908
LEC +0.195
ALO +0.199
RUS +0.243
HAM +0.248
GAS +0.261
SAI +0.302
OCO +0.340
TSU +0.341
NOR +0.469
ELIMINATED:PIA +0.487
DEV +0.520
ALB +0.619
STR +0.715
BOT +0.717
03:54 PM
Q2 ends - Verstappen fastest
Hamilton makes it through but says the "car is hard to drive".
03:53 PM
Q2 - Can Hamilton get through to Q3?
He moves up to fifth, so will be fine.
03:52 PM
Q2 - Looks like Norris hit his front left on the exit of the Swimming Pool chicane
Then that meant he couldn't full turn in to the next corner. Hamilton begins his hot lap needing to find some time to get out of the session. He doesn't think he'll be able to get enough heat in his tyres.
DEV, HAM, STR, BOT, ALB are the men in the drop zone.
Stroll pits and he is out!
03:50 PM
Q2 - Lando Norris hits the barrier
Some bodywork comes off I think but he keeps going... he will come straight back into the pits but whether he can come out again I am not sure. It was at Tabac and he just took too much speed in and rubbed the barrier quite hard.
03:48 PM
Q2 - Hamilton says he feels like there's an issue
It's with his right-rear suspension.
Charles Leclerc has some free track and looks to be on a half-decent lap at least. It's enough for second, 0.195s slower than Verstappen.
03:48 PM
Q2 - Final runs under way
Going well for George Russell. The fastest first sector and a decent middle sector.
He finishes his lap in third, 0.243s off Verstappen. Decent.
Hamilton is about to finish his latest fast lap and does so in 10th... improving just one place. Odd. And slow. Half a second off Verstappen and 0.3 nearly off Russell.
03:46 PM
Q2 - Order and gaps as it stands
VER 1:11.508
ALO +0.199
GAS +0.261
OCO +0.340
SAI +0.395
LEC +0.439
NOR +0.469
PIA +0.487
HAM +0.841
BOT +0.847
DROP ZONE:RUS +0.901
ALB +0.917
STR +1.182
DEV +1.529
TSU (no time)
03:44 PM
Q2 - Alonso improves on his second hot lap
0.069s the gap now from him in second to Verstappen in first.
03:43 PM
Q2 - 10 mins remain
A poor lap from Stroll. He is in 12th, just over a second off Verstappen's pace and well off the time of his team-mate.
03:42 PM
Q2 - Alonso into second
A fine lap but 0.184s off Verstappen. Hmmm. The gap looks small but significant on the early showings.
Gasly, though, beats Alonso! Into second, just 0.131s off his former team-mate Verstappen.
03:40 PM
Q2 - Verstappen with a good first sector
18.804s and then a 34.148s in the second sector.
Verstappen crosses the line with a 1:12.038. George Russell crosses the line not long after and is nearly 0.8s slower... Hamilton is marginally slower than his team-mate.
03:37 PM
Q2 begins
15 drivers, 10 go through to Q3. Mixed fortunes for Red Bull in that session due to Sergio Perez.
03:34 PM
What to make of that?
Verstappen, Tsunoda, Albon, Sainz, Stroll then Russell. It was certainly interesting.
Strong from Verstappen, though.
03:32 PM
Q1 - Classification
VER 1:12.386
TSU +0.256
ALB +0.320
SAI +0.331
STR +0.336
RUS +0.383
HAM +0.486
NOR +0.491
ALO +0.500
LEC +0.526
OCO +0.581
PIA +0.620
GAS +0.647
BOT +0.652
DEV +0.668
ELIMINATED:SAR +0.727
MAG +0.884
HUL +0.893
ZHO +1.137
PER +1.464
03:31 PM
Q1 ends - Verstappen fastest
A bit mixed up in the final classification for that mini-session.
But it's Sargeant, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Zhou and Perez who are eliminated.
03:30 PM
Q1 - Hamilton in real danger here
It's a better middle sector, though...
Albon into third!
Sainz into fourth, he's safe. What does Hamilton do? Seventh. Also safe. He picked it up with a good final two sectors.
03:29 PM
Q1 - Russell into third
He should be safe. Stroll with the fastest first two sectors of anyone and goes third overall.
Verstappen improves again. Hamilton is not on an especially good lap. Sainz is improving as he needs to do. But he cannot mess it up from here.
03:28 PM
Q1 - Tsunoda into first!
Just 0.002s faster than Verstappen. That is a surprise to say the least. Hulkenberg 12th. Verstappen just taps the wall in the last corner, taking some of the sponsor hoarding with him. Should all be fine, though.
Hamilton down to 15th now. Sainz 17th. So no mistakes for either of them...
But Hamilton does make a mistake! He goes straight over at the chicane. He has enough time, just, to get over the line for another lap but that will be a fraught lap now. Will he have enough battery charge to deploy?
And then there's the traffic...
03:26 PM
Q1 - Here's the current top 10
VER
ALO
LEC
STR
OCO
RUS
GAS
TSU
NOR
DEV
Tsunoda with the fastest first sector of anyone. Magnussen moves into 11th.
03:26 PM
Q1 - A fair bit of jeopardy here for a few drivers
Sainz and Hamilton probably cannot afford a sloppy lap again.
03:25 PM
Q1 - Five minutes remain
Max Verstappen is fastest again, 0.242s faster than Alonso. Leclerc slots into third, 0.268s off Verstappen.
Zhou, Sargeant, Perez, Magnussen and Hulkenberg the drivers in the drop zone.
03:24 PM
Q1 - The two Alpines going well
Second and third currently. On fresher tyres, though. Alonso and Verstappen were on used softs. Hamilton begins his next hot lap and definitely needs to hook this one up.
It's okay from Hamilton, but nothing more. He's only 12th after that lap... he will need to go again on fresh tyres, surely?
03:22 PM
Q1 - De Vries into second behind Verstappen...
But Alonso goes fastest of all with a time 0.152s faster than Verstappen.
Seven minutes remain. Looks like Perez could well be starting last. Hamilton is back in the drop zone...
03:21 PM
Q1 - Only seventh for Hamilton as Verstappen goes quickest
Russell slots into second 0.214s off Verstappen. Bottas into fourth, Norris fifth and Sainz sixth.
Alonso with the fastest middle sector...
03:21 PM
Q1 - Verstappen sets the fastest first sector
Hamilton is improving and he needs to, currently being in the bottom five and at risk of elimination.
Albon improves to go fastest with a 1:13.327. Decent, that.
03:18 PM
Q1 - Session resumes
11min12sec remain.
Good news for the other non-Red Bull cars vying for pole, though. One fewer obstacle. They have removed the car but there is still a fair bit of barrier debris (mostly polystyrene-type matieral) on the outside of turn one.
03:15 PM
That is not great news for Perez's championship
As if it needs to be told. So hard to do anything from where he will start. Which will be 15th at the highest, realistically. The supposed king of the streets comes a cropper in Monaco.
They have hoisted the Red Bull up onto the crane and hopefully we will be under way again soon. It'll be just over 11 minutes when we do resume and it will likely be frantic again.
Looks like we'll be under way shortly.
03:12 PM
Q1 - Order and gaps as it stands under the red flag
NOR 1:13.485
PIA +0.157
ZHO +0.291
VER +0.299
PER +0.365
ALO +0.399
STR +0.442
GAS +0.460
BOT +0.519
LEC +0.589
OCO +0.598
TSU +0.839
RUS +0.846
MAG +0.855
HUL +0.896
DROP ZONE:HAM +0.948
DEV +0.968
SAR +1.163
SAI +1.521
ALB +1.752
03:10 PM
Strange one for Perez
He went in too hot to turn one and lost the rear end and slid quite hard into the barriers. A big hit to the rear left.
🟥 RED FLAG 🟥
Q1 is paused after Sergio Perez collides with the barrier out of turn 1 ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/o9hCOHPesM— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 27, 2023
03:08 PM
Q1 - RED FLAG
Perez has at least clipped the wall but his left side is damaged. A big hole in the sidepod and that is his session over. A red flag with 11 minutes 12 on the clock.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩
Perez is STOPPED out on track after sliding into the barriers
Driver is okay, but he's out of Qualifying! 😳#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Z7w1mnptWt— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
03:08 PM
Q1 - Track evolution likely to be massive here
In other words it will be easier and quicker later in the session.
Zhou Guanyu goes fastest but Perez looks stranded at turn one... it looks like he's been in the wall...
03:06 PM
Q1 - Alonso doesn't quite make it to top
It's third, but 0.1sec off Verstappen. Tidy lap. Stroll is fourth 0.043s slower than his team-mate.
03:06 PM
Q1 - Verstappen fastest ahead of Perez now
Less than a tenth in it but the gap between the two Red Bulls and Leclerc and Sainz is a few tenths.
Alonso has just set the fastest sector times in sectors one and two, though...
Can he hold on?
03:05 PM
Q1 - Mercedes cars pushing
Hamilton goes fifth with a 1:14.433, Russell beats that with a 1:14.331 to go fourth, briefly.
03:04 PM
Q1 - Albon with the first lap on the board
A 1:15.237. Logan Sargeant about seven-tenths slower, before both AlpahTauris beat both Williams cars by a fair margin.
Verstappen with the fastest first sector time so far.
03:02 PM
Q1 - 17 mins remain
Almost every car out on track now. This could get messy.
03:01 PM
GREEN LIGHT: Q1 BEGINS
You know the format. But in case you don't: 18 minutes, 20 drivers start it and only 15 go through to Q2.
🟢 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
Qualifying in Monaco is a GO! 🚀
Live blog 👉 https://t.co/y6g5h3tUdZ#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/9onkjUFAFu— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
02:56 PM
Current weather conditions
Air temperature: 25c
Track temperature:48c
Humidity: 42 per cent
02:50 PM
I also predict at least one penalty for blocking in this session
Probably Gasly or someone like that.
02:47 PM
Just under 15 minutes until Q1 begins
Time for some predictions. I had a good feeling about Ferrari yesterday but after this morning's session I am not so sure. I think Red Bull may still be too strong for their rivals. I am not hoping for much from Mercedes.
02:44 PM
What do we know about the track?
Circuit length: 3.337km
First (championship) grand prix: 1950
Laps: 78
Race distance: 260.286km
Race lap record: 1:12.909 (Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes)
2022 winner: Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Number of corners: 19
Overtaking chances: With these cars? Slim to none.
02:40 PM
How does each team fare in qualifying so far?
02:37 PM
The weather is pretty good out there in Monaco
Qualifying starts in 30 mins ⏰ #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/SQTwm5kmKY
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
02:36 PM
Can Charles Leclerc finally get a good result in Monaco?
Very few Monegasque drivers in the history of F1. Leclerc the most successful but his record here has been poor to say the last. Here's how he has fared since 2017.
2017 F2 feature race: DNF
2017 F2 sprint race: DNF
2018 Monaco Grand Prix: DNF
2019 Monaco Grand Prix: DNF
2021 Monaco Grand Prix: DNS
2022 Monaco Grand Prix: 4th
And that fourth was starting from pole... he has had three poles here in in total which isn't bad.
02:31 PM
How is each driver shaping up in qualifying so far?
Here is a handy stats sheet of each driver vs his team-mate.
02:24 PM
Current constructor standings
02:17 PM
Current driver standings - Top 10
We could do with Perez beating Verstappen this weekend. He has a chance, but I can't see it happening. He got a bit fortunate last year with a qualifying crash which disadvantaged Verstappen, who started a bit further down on the grid.
02:15 PM
Snappers at the ready
A good view of the new Mercedes upgrades for the rival teams after Lewis Hamilton's crash.
Some of the images of the W14 being dangled are... interesting.
02:01 PM
Watch: Lewis Hamilton crashes...
🟥 RED FLAG 🟥
FP3 ends early as Lewis Hamilton wedges his Mercedes into the barrier ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/dJT02coSe6— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 27, 2023
...and then has his Mercedes dangled precariously over the streets of Monaco.
Imagine looking out your 6th floor window and seeing an F1 car looking back at you 😂 pic.twitter.com/ErNErY1Uu4
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 27, 2023
01:54 PM
Final times after third practice
Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1min 12.776secs
Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:12.849
Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:12.942
Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:13.261
Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:13.396
Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:13.453
Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:13.475
Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:13.486
Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:13.496
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:13.521
George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:13.590
Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 Team 1:13.624,
Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 Team 1:13.650
Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:13.697
Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:13.738
Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:13.772
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams 1:13.851
Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:13.930
Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:13.998
Nyck de Vries (Ned) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:14.187,
01:01 PM
Good afternoon F1 fans
Welcome to our coverage for Saturday's Formula One action, qualifying for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. It is traditionally one of the most-followed races and normally one of the least interesting ones. Overtaking in the principality is extremely difficult in the current breed of F1 cars, which makes qualifying even more important. That is a reason to get excited for this afternoon's session.
Who might be in the running for pole position? Well, Red Bull finished first and second in final practice earlier today but is that fully representative of how things are in running? FP3 was a disrupted session with a few yellow flags and stoppages, so not all drivers who might be competing for pole position set a representative lap.
Mercedes have come into this race with a significant upgrade package for their W14, which has been well off the pace of the leaders Red Bull so far this season. It might have been a bit much to expect them to be in the running for the front row going by their Friday practice, but there was a further setback in FP3, with Lewis Hamilton crashing into the barriers towards the end of the session.
The shunt will almost certainly not delay his qualifying attempt but, as if you needed reminding, is itself a reminder of the perils of a street circuit. It might also be a small dent to his confidence approaching a session where it is at its most important. Still, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if he bounced back to put in a competitive lap. He has certainly been looking the faster Mercedes driver this weekend, but finished the session in eighth, three places ahead of team-mate George Russell.
Aston Martin have also been looking tidy this weekend (and so far this season). Fernando Alonso finished way down in 14th, nearly a second off the pace of the lead Red Bull of Verstappen but failed to get a truly representative lap in. Lance Stroll, his team-mate, was third 0.166sec off the pace. Encouragement there, no doubt.
Ferrari took pole position here last year, though home driver Charles Leclerc has not the best record around these streets, DNFing numerous times and generally having a bit of a miserable time about it all. He finished down in seventh in FP3, 0.7sec off Verstappen and complained numerous times about his car. Team-mate Carlos Sainz was closer, finishing fourth and 0.485sec off Verstappen.
So, it looks like Red Bull will be favourites for the qualifying session but it could be tight. And, as ever, it often comes down to timing. If you fail to get a good lap in early in any session you can be compromised by a red flag or yellow flags around the track. Traffic is tricky, especially in Q1.
I cannot promise you anything, but this session should be worth watching. Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix begins in a little over an hour (3pm BST) and we will be here for all the build-up, live updates and reaction from it.