Nico Rosberg claimed his third-straight pole position in the luxury-laden hillside of Monte Carlo. The German-born driver who grew up next to the circuit, did it 30 years and 10 days after his father Keke claimed victory on the same track.
It is the second-straight race Mercedes will start from the top two positions. Teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified just 0.091 seconds back, but has been outqualified by Rosberg this season four times to two.
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa started Q1 from the pits after suffering significant damage from the final practice session. When Grosjean was finally able to make it on track, he posted the fastest session time, until being trumped by William’s Pastor Maldonado. Sutil followed, making it into the next round. Massa’s engineers worked tirelessly to repair the car, but time ran out on the Brazilian before he could get on track, forcing him to start from the back tomorrow.
Marussia’s Jules Bianchi starts one place ahead after his car started smoking on his first out lap.
In Q2, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso snuck into the top 10 on his final lap with time expired. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel took top spot, while Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Grosjean, Valterri Bottas (Williams), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham), and Maldonado were knocked out.
When track conditions dried in Q3, drivers went out on the option tire to take advantage of the fastest conditions of the day. Only the two Mercedes and Vettel were able to break the 1:13 mark, followed by Red Bull teammate and last years winner Mark Webber. Rounding out the top five were Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and Alonso.
Rosberg and Hamilton will look to prove Mercedes’ strong qualifying pace with the team’s first victory of the season. In his previous two poles, Rosberg had disappointing finishes in Bahrain (ninth) and Spain (sixth). Rosberg’s top Monaco finish was second last year, while Hamilton took the win en route to his 2008 World Championship.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:24.620 | 1:16.135 | 1:13.876 | 31 |
| 2 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:23.779 | 1:16.265 | 1:13.967 | 31 |
| 3 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:24.243 | 1:15.988 | 1:13.980 | 29 |
| 4 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:25.352 | 1:17.322 | 1:14.181 | 30 |
| 5 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:25.835 | 1:16.040 | 1:14.822 | 31 |
| 6 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:23.712 | 1:16.510 | 1:14.824 | 32 |
| 7 | 6 | Sergio Perez | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:24.682 | 1:17.748 | 1:15.138 | 31 |
| 8 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:25.108 | 1:17.261 | 1:15.383 | 29 |
| 9 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:23.744 | 1:17.420 | 1:15.647 | 29 |
| 10 | 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:23.699 | 1:17.623 | 1:15.703 | 29 |
| 11 | 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:25.547 | 1:18.331 | 22 | |
| 12 | 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:24.852 | 1:18.344 | 23 | |
| 13 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:23.738 | 1:18.603 | 13 | |
| 14 | 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1:24.681 | 1:19.077 | 22 | |
| 15 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1:26.095 | 1:19.408 | 21 | |
| 16 | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:23.452 | 1:21.688 | 22 | |
| 17 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:26.322 | 14 | ||
| 18 | 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 1:26.633 | 13 | ||
| 19 | 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:26.917 | 12 | ||
| 20 | 23 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:27.303 | 13 | ||
| DNQ | 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | No time | 1 | ||
| DNQ | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | No time | 0 | ||
| Q1 107% Time | 1:29.293 |
Note - Bianchi and Massa failed to set a qualifying time within the 107% requirement. Both race at stewards' discretion. Massa takes five-place grid penalty for gearbox change.
Photos: LAT
