Welcome to Circuit de Monaco Qualifying Q1, Q2 and Q3. This the second half of the day is the most thrilling in sense of pure racing speed at its best and qualifying for pole position. Qualifying will be divided into three mini-sessions Q1, Q2, and Q3.
The top 15 out of 20 racing cars with the best time from Q1 will advance into Q2. Followed by the top 10 out of 15 racing cars remaining advancing to Q3.
The P1 pole position will be decided by the top ten fastest racing pace and the rest of the lineup down the grind.
The qualifying “time” session is divided into three mini sessions. Each 18 minutes long followed by a seven-minute break.
Q2 is 15 minutes long, followed by an eight-minute break, and Q3 for maximum pole position “P1” is 12 minutes long.
P1 could be taken on the last lap, last sec, or last corner at heightened speeds. Or on this tight, nasty and non-forgiving track it could also be boom into the barrier. Hit one of the apex curbs and there goes the underbelly of the motor racing car!
So much fun and so much speed!
Play by Play – Qualifying and Pole Position
And they are off and onto the track in this Q1 race. With 2:25 left in the session we have a red flag and a slight brush off the barrier for Yuki TSUNODA. A puncture in his front tyre. Time suspended!
We are back on the track and time is running out. We see the first 5 racing drivers eliminated. Albon, Gasly, Stroll, Latifi, and Zhou.
Both Canadian drivers, STROLL and LATIFI do not advance into Q2,
The break is over and they are back on the streets. The track temperature is high and we see drivers striving for track position. We are happy to say, so far no one is into the barriers.
In Q2 time is of the essence and were seeing time running down with hardly any incidents. The next 5 drivers are eliminated. Tsunoda, Bottas, Magnussen, Ricciardo, and Schumacher.
We are now in Q3 and the drivers are racing for maximum pole position “P1”. They are off and running on the track.
Observing Q1, Q2, and now Q3, we notice tyre management and not making a slight mistake on the apex curbs or a slight touch on the barriers, will be crucial for tomorrow’s race
As we near the half-point of Q3, the prancing Ferraris are 1st and 2nd in pace followed by the running Red Bulls in 3rd and 4th. in the final seconds, less than 1 minute two to go and they are pushing the pace and it’s getting frantic out there to get maximum speed!.
It happened! Wow, red flag and all, and Sergio PEREZ goes into the barrier, SAINZ coming around the corner on a yellow flag comes sliding into PEREZ, could be given a penalty for not slowing down from the stewards. The session will not resume less than secs away from ending.
Charles LeClercq of Ferrari, the Monegasque hometown hero, grabs “P1” with a flying lap time of 1:11.376. His teammate Sainz came in 2nd place and in 3rd place was Perez of Red Bull Racing.
Ferrari and Red Bull Racing will have their pedals full at the beginning and during this street brawl. With its tight corners and apex curbs any slight miscalculations and the mid-field teams, of McLaren, Mercedes, and even Aston Martin could pounce into the lead.
We shall see! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s race. Coverage begins at least 30 mins before the race. Our start time is 9:00 am Eastern time zone in the USA and Canada, Track time in Monaco is 15:00 “3:00” p.m. See you then!
Quote
“Perez crashed in front of me, I was on a flying lap. I saw the yellow flag and hit the brakes and had to avoid him as best I could. It’s a shame, another year I couldn’t go for pole position, but it’s Monaco. We will never know but I was feeling good with the car today.” Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Qualification Timesheet Results
| POS | DRIVER | TIME |
| P1 | LEC | 1:11.376 |
| P2 | SAI | 1:11.601 |
| P3 | PER | 1:11,629 |
| P4 | VER | 1:11.666 |
| P5 | NOR | 1:11.849 |
| P6 | RUS | 1:12.112 |
| P7 | ALO | 1:12.247 |
| P8 | HAM | 1:12.560 |
| P9 | VET | 1:12.513 |
| P10 | OCO | 1:12.528 |
| P11 | TSU | 1:12.797 |
| P12 | BOT | 1:12.909 |
| P13 | MAG | 1:12.921 |
| P14 | RIC | 1:12.964 |
| P15 | MSC | 1:13.081 |
| P16 | ALB | 1:13.611 |
| P17 | GAS | 1:13,660 |
| P18 | STR | 1:13.678 |
| P19 | LAT | 1:14.403 |
| P20 | ZHO | 1:15.606 |
En Sorgini is a Formula 1 racing analyst and reporter with GTA Weekly News.
Leave a Reply