F1: Verstappen nips Alonso to win pole in Monaco (Update)

The right front and rear of Max Verstappen’s wheels after the qualifying where he kissed the wall multiple times.

Las ruedas delanteras y traseras derechas de Verstappen después de la quali. 👁

Right Front and rear Verstappen wheels after the quali. 👁 pic.twitter.com/vIQ2uMGQvZ

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) May 27, 2023

And here’s .25x speed for good measure.

It looks like he takes a small piece of the UBS sign with him. pic.twitter.com/FiT83eocuW

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) May 27, 2023

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Max Verstappen showed everyone why he is the best driver in the world right now.  Down 0.204s on Fernando Alonso through the first two sectors of his final lap, he skimmed barrier after barrier with absolute precision in the final sector to take pole by 0.084s.

Breathless stuff. A qualifying that delivered plenty of drama, with a very interesting grid for tomorrow’s race.

Verstappen’s lap of 1m11.365s in his #1 Red Bull Honda was the fastest of all drivers this weekend and gives him the all-important pole for the Monaco GP.  It may have been Verstappen’s greatest ever pole lap.

“I’m very happy. We knew this weekend would be a little bit of a struggle for us, in qualifying you need to go all out and risk it all,” said Verstappen.

“Turn 1 was a bit cautious, so I knew I was behind. I gave it all in the third sector, clipped some barriers. Race pace wise, the car is quick. Just need to keep it calm.”

#14 Alonso looked to be on pole with his 1m11.449s lap but was beaten in the final seconds.

“I feel good. Pole position means a lot here in Monaco, but today Max was a little bit faster.

“First row on the grid is still a big thing for us. We will try to win. It’s very short into Turn 1, but this year normally we make good starts.”

#16 Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, 0.106s back. He started on pole last year. “I am not satisfied with P3, but we need to look at the situation we are in with the car.

“I struggle a lot with the car, but in qualifying the car was a bit more alive. All in all happy, but I would have preferred to be first of course.

“I don’t know how is the forecast – everything is possible, I’ll go for it anyway.”

Esteban Ocon was 4th for Alpine 0.188s behind and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top-5 in the #55 Ferrari.

Red Bull will have one ecstatic driver tonight, and one despondent one. Sergio Perez knows he only has himself to blame for that Q1 error that saw him crash out.

But for Verstappen, everything is coming together as he hunts a second win here and a chance to extend his lead in the championship. That last lap in qualifying really was something special, but he’ll be hoping for a more straightforward race by contrast tomorrow.

As for Alonso – can he? He’s getting closer and closer this season, and is one good start away from what could be a famous result. That Aston Martin has looked good so far here, but they are another team to have drivers at different ends of the grid.

Monaco Qualifying Results