Monaco GP | Qualifying - Lewis Hamilton gets pole with lap record, disastrous Ferrari, Leclerc is only 16h
The five time world Champions gets Pole Position with an incredible lap. Ferrari messes it up with Leclerc as the local hero doesn't even make it to Q2. He will start 16th.
The Qualifying session in Monaco is the most important overall: in a tight circuit like this, it is fundamental to qualify in the top 3.
This morning Charles Leclerc scored the fastest lap time, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton. The other Ferrari driver, Sebastian Vettel, hit the wall at the Sainte Devote.
Leclerc was under investigation for a Virtual Safety Car infringement, but the race direction gave him onlya reprimand, meaning the Monegasque will have no penalty.
Leclerc scored a lap time of 1.11.265s. Yesterday, Lewis Hamilton has been faster than him for 1 tenths. The lap record is held by Daniel Ricciardo who, last year, scored pole position with a lap time of 1.10.810s. Who is going to take Pole?
The Q1 starts and the Monegasque circuit is super busy with all 20 drivers on track.
The session start with Antonio Giovinazzi who gets under investigation as he impeded Nico Hulkenberg at the Rascasse.
😮
— Formula 1 (@F1) 25 maggio 2019
Hulkenberg and Giovinazzi almost get in a tangle #MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/1DKc9jkNqi
After 10 minutes Verstappen leads, followed by Gasly and Magnussen. Vettel struggles to put a quick lap together as he is still 10th. Bottas quickly fix the standings, as he takes position number 1.
Leclerc also had a lock -up with his front left tyre at the Rascasse and he almost hit the wall. Vettel, instead, slightly touched the wall at the Pool turn, so he comes back to the garage when there are only two minutes left on the timer. He is currently out.
Sebastian Vettel puts himself in 1st position putting Leclerc out! The Monegasque is out and will start 16th on the grid tomorrow. Another mistake in the Ferrari garage: first they almost made Leclerc miss the FIA check, then they left him in the garage, making him lose time and the chance to get to Q2 in his home Grand Prix. The camera spotted Leclerc shaking his head to his team man: it is not going to be a quiet briefing.
😧#MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/aRcfpWTpxY
— Formula 1 (@F1) 25 maggio 2019
Out at the end of Q1 Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, George Russell and Robert Kubica.
The Q2 sees, then, only one Ferrari.
First fastest time is set by Valtteri Bottas with a new lap record: 1.10.701s, 1 tenth faster than the previous one. The Finn is followed by his team mate Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Vettel is 9th, but in his second stint puts himself in 4th.
Verstappen scored another lap record: 1.10.618s, things get interesting for Q3.
Verstappen closes Q2 on top, followed by Bottas, Hamilton and Vettel.
Out at the end of Q2: Nico Hulkenberg, Lando Norris, Romain Grosjean, Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovinazzi.
Gasly is under investigation for impeding Romain Grosjean in Turn 4.
The Q3 starts and another lap record is here: 1.10.252s, this is the lap time clocked by Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton follows, with Verstappen in 3rd and Vettel in 4th.
In his second attempt, Lewis Hamilton scores an incredible 1.10.166s, and he was even slower in Sector 3.
The five -time world champion takes Pole Position, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstppen. Vettel is 4th, he will start from the second row.
"This is the race every driver dreams of. You put everything into it. We've arrived with a great car. This pole means so much. I had to dig deeper than ever. The lap was beautiful." Said a surprised Hamilton at the end of the session. 
