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Monaco Grand Prix 2016 Qualifying: Saturday's F1 Results, Times, Final Grid
May 28, 2016
Daniel Ricciardo claimed his maiden pole position at the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, as he posted a stunning lap of one minute, 13.622 seconds in a dramatic qualification session.
Nico Rosberg will start alongside the Red Bull man on the front row, with the German's Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton behind him in third. Elsewhere, Spanish Grand Prix champion Max Verstappen crashed out and will now start at the back of the pack.
Hamilton suffered power problems at the beginning of Q3 despite performing well in the opening qualifying phases, but you can take nothing away from Ricciardo, who has been in sensational form in Monaco all week.
Here’s a look at the classified results, per Formula One:
The Monaco Grand Prix has a reputation for being an accident-filled race, and it wasn’t long before the red flags were out on Saturday.
Felipe Nasr’s engine gave up almost immediately before Verstappen crashed out, with the latter now unlikely to claim back-to-back grand prix victories.
The Red Bull starlet smashed into the barriers and was forced to retire in Q1, after which he said that he underestimated the grip, via F1:
In truth, Verstappen never looked comfortable in the opening exchanges, but the same can’t be said of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
The German came into qualifying fresh off the back of setting the pace in the final practice session, and he once again found himself on top of the charts in Q1 by posting a 1:14.610, per F1:
He was in the top three after Q2 as well but sat behind Mercedes duo Rosberg and Hamilton at the top.
The latter looked particularly impressive through the opening two stages throughout the session, yet when it came to Q3, disaster struck.
Hamilton couldn’t get away from the pit lane to start his final flying lap, as F1 revealed:
After numerous tweaks, the Englishman did get himself on the track and did well to place third, but Ricciardo had already done enough.
The Aussie absolutely flew round in 1:13.622, finishing a tenth ahead of Rosberg and a further two-tenths away from Hamilton.
It was nothing more than the Red Bull star deserved, either, as he’s been in exemplary form ever since touching down in the principality.
After the race, Ricciardo was in understandably high spirits, saying that his performances all week were building up to the pole-sealing moment, via BBC Sport:
It's definitely a special place. I knew coming into the weekend we would have a shot at it. It looked good from Thursday. I had it in my mind also after Barcelona that I have been driving well but haven't quite got maximum rewards so I came into this weekend with a lot of confidence and a lot of belief I could be in this position. I have always enjoyed this place. We have a good package behind us and it's nice to be able to make the most of out it.
Ricciardo’s brilliance will stand him in good stead for Sunday’s race, yet he won’t need reminding that anything can happen in Monaco.
Although Rosberg and Hamilton weren’t quite fast enough, they’re both more than capable of nudging in front of the Red Bull man.
If qualifying is anything to go by, Sunday’s race could well be spectacular.
FP3 Recap
Sebastian Vettel set the pace at the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, as the German recorded a lap of 1:14.650 to top the final practice session charts.
The yellow flags were out in force in FP3, and that created plenty of traffic on the Circuit de Monaco track.
However, Vettel found a clear route and took full advantage with an excellent time that was 0.018 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton and a further tenth of a second in front of Nico Rosberg.
Here’s a look at the completed standings from FP3, via Formula One:
Vettel seemed to struggle for grip in the earlier practice sessions, but he looked comfortable on the new ultrasoft tyres.
The German set the pace straight off the bat with a time of 1:15.208 before Red Bull duo Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen found their way towards the top of the leaderboard.
Ricciardo recorded an impressive 1:14.807, just two-tenths ahead of his team-mate.
The Aussie went fastest in FP2, and although he couldn’t improve on that lap time on Saturday, he looks in good form coming into qualifying.
Verstappen, too, continued to impress, yet a tyre lock-up on his third time round prevented him from going higher than fourth, via F1:
Hamilton looked bright on his fastest lap, but once again he found himself in a bit of traffic behind Carlos Sainz. The world champion is looking for back-to-back poles later on Saturday.
Ferrari will be pleased to see Vettel top of the leaderboard heading into qualifying, but mitigating circumstances elsewhere suggests that the team may come unstuck in the fight for pole.
Hamilton and Rosberg impressed without being too glamorous, while the Red Bull duo looked to have plenty more to give. Just one second separates the top 10 heading into qualifying, which means it’s all to play for.