Top Gear : Monaco GP qualifying: Vettel bags another

Monaco GP qualifying: Vettel bags another

Sebastian Vettel will start in pole position for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix, after he out-paced Jenson Button and Mark Webber in a disjointed, red-flagged qualifying session. Fernando Alonso starts fourth with Michael Schumacher just behind him in a season’s best fifth, with Felipe Massa also on the third row of the grid.

There were no big shocks in Q1 and Q2, and, with grid position on the narrow track more crucial than anywhere else, all teams chose to set a time rather than save tyres for Sunday’s race.

Q3, however, was far more dramatic. The final session was halted with just two and a half minutes left on the clock, after Sauber’s Sergio Perez suffered a massive accident between the exit of the tunnel and the Swimming Pool chicane. After a wait of some 40 minutes, the remaining nine drivers headed back out onto the track, only to find that the delay had compromised tyre temperatures to the point that improving on times already set was impossible. Worst affected by the disruption was Lewis Hamilton, who will start in seventh, just ahead of Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.

Here’s the full starting line-up for tomorrow’s race:

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Jenson Button
3. Mark Webber
4. Fernando Alonso
5. Michael Schumacher
6. Felipe Massa
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Nico Rosberg
9. Pastor Maldonado
10. Sergio Perez
11. Vitaly Petrov
12. Rubens Barrichello
13. Kamui Kobayashi
14. Paul Di Resta
15. Adrian Sutil
16. Nick Heidfeld
17. Sebastien Buemi
18. Heikki Kovalainen
19. Jarno Trulli
20. Jaime Alguersuari
21. Timo Glock
22. Jerome d’Ambrosio
23. Narain Karthikeyan
24. Vitantonio Liuzzi