Monaco Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Magnussen and Hulkenberg exited qualifying in Q1 having had two outings on fresh Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires. Magnussen logged a 1:14.340 on his first set of rubber while Hulkenberg recorded a 1:14.381. The flow of Q1 was disrupted with a red flag stop - Sergio Perez connecting with the barrier on the exit of Turn 1.

When the session resumed lap times dropped – Magnussen clocking a best of 1:13.270 (P17) and Hulkenberg with a 1:13.279 (P18), but it wasn’t enough to see either driver progress into Q2 after their second push attempts failed to better their standings.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen swept all three stages of qualifying, the Dutchman claiming pole position in Q3 courtesy of a charging 1:11.365 lap – eclipsing the 1:11.449 set by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in second place.

 

Kevin Magnussen:

“All week we thought we were a little better than this. We opted to do two push laps on the second set of tires in Q1 and everyone else did three and improved a lot. The team did a fantastic job to get the car ready after the issues in FP3, they always do, so I was confident we’d get running but I was also confident we could maybe even challenge for Q3, so I got that wrong. We’ll see, hopefully the weather will play its part and we’ll have a fun race.”

Nico Hulkenberg:

“A disappointing qualifying as we all know how important it is in Monaco. We had the option of two runs after the red flag which would mean using three sets of new tires or, as planned, two runs of fast- slow-fast. We opted for the latter thinking that would’ve been enough. Other people went out immediately after the restart of the session and stayed out, but for us the tire is really only the best in the first lap. I also thought we were a bit faster than it turned out in the end and we would be into Q2, but ultimately, we were missing pace.”

Guenther Steiner:

“It’s not where you want to start in Monaco, but in the end, we need to look into why we ended up where we ended up. Now we have to deal with the situation and that’s trying to find the best place for tomorrow to be in, should something happen. We need to keep our heads up as there are still some chances that somewhere, some mayhem happens.” 

Today's Data:

Event: Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix – Saturday May 27
Location: Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
Layout: 3.337-kilometer (2.074-mile), 19-turn street circuit 
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 24.5 degrees Celsius (76.1 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Kevin Magnussen qualified 17th, Nico Hulkenberg qualified 18th 

Free Practice 3 (FP3) Rundown:

Magnussen: 12th overall (1:13.624), 13 laps completed
Hulkenberg: 13th overall (1:13.650), 16 laps completed
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:12.776)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all 20 Drivers – Top 15 Advance to Q2

Magnussen: 17th overall (1:13.270) 
Hulkenberg: 18th overall (1:13.279) 
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:12.386)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 Advance to Q3

Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:11.908) 

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Pole Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:11.365)