Max Verstappen qualified in P2 for 2021 Monaco grand Prix, he was denied a shot at pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix when Charles Leclerc crashed out in the closing moments of Q3 resulting in a red flag.
The Monégasque driver secured Ferrari’s first pole since 2019 Mexico GP and Max had to settle for his 18th front-row start, but importantly he will be ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton at the starting Grid.
Monaco is one place where qualifying position has much more significant impact on the race result compared to other tracks. Due to heavy damage to SF21, Charles Leclerc might incur grid penalty for any gear box change before race start, that will eventually put Max on the Pole for tomorrow’s race.
Sergio Perez once again couldn’t match his team mate’s performance, The Mexican qualified in ninth place just ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi. The Mexican made solid progress through the first two segments but he endured a messy Q3 in which he was hampered by traffic. And when Leclerc crashed, he too was denied a final attempt.
With overtaking merely impossible on the twisty and tight track, Red Bull needs to come up big with strategy and pit-stop to close the gap to Championship rivals Mercedes.
Max Verstappen (Qualified in P2)
“Qualifying around here is a lot of fun. I did a decent first lap in Q3 but the tyres weren’t quite in the window and I knew it was going to come down to the last run. My last lap felt really good as I was going into the tunnel, but because of the red flag I couldn’t finish it which was frustrating as I felt so comfortable in the car and I knew pole position was on.
Obviously Charles is driving very well so I knew it would be tight but everyone back at the factory and here at the track has done an amazing job to get the car to where it is now, especially after we struggled so much on Thursday.
I think it’s been a very good weekend so far, we recovered well from practice and we’re starting on the front row tomorrow, which is the most important thing in Monaco, so it’s not too bad. I can be quite happy with second after that red flag and now we just need to finish off the job tomorrow!”
Sergio Perez (Qualified in P9)
“I was making good progress throughout qualifying and then in Q3, the session I thought was going to be the smoothest, turned into the worst one. Things got really messy and it just didn’t come together. We seemed to go backwards and we didn’t make the progress we hoped or expected to.
I was struggling a lot with the dropping temperatures so we changed our approach going into the final session and it just made it worse, and then on my final Q3 run I got traffic in the last sector so I lost the lap. We know how important qualifying is here in Monaco but we’ll try and do the best possible job we can to recover tomorrow.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal :
“It’s obviously slightly frustrating not to be on pole and Max was on a mighty final lap, two and a half tenths up on his best and up on Leclerc, but unfortunately with the red flag we were unable to see the end of it.
Our glass is half full rather than half empty though and to be on the front row in Monaco with Lewis in P7 is hugely important for the championship fight, so we will focus on the positives rather than the negatives.
Sergio was just missing that last bit of confidence and was badly compromised in Q3, with three cars ahead of him at Rascasse costing him quite a bit of time. We all know he can hook it up around here and I’m sure he will have good pace in the race, but as we know it’s hard to make progress through the field so he will have a busy afternoon.
There is a real opportunity to make an impact on the championship tomorrow and we have to make the most of that. So now it’s down to a good start and then it’s all to play for.”
