Qualy: Rampant Ricciardo takes pole

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has taken full advantage of his upgraded Renault engine as he claimed pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.

He posted a blisteringly quick 1:13.622 to seal top spot on Saturday afternoon, his first-ever F1 pole position.

The Aussie will start Sunday’s 78-lap grand prix on the super-soft Pirelli tyres having set his fastest lap in Q2 on the red-marked tyres.

In what was almost a disastrous qualifying session for World Champion Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes managed to get his car back out on the track during Q3 after he reported an engine problem at the start of the final round. The Brit qualified in P3.

Hamilton’s teammate Nico Rosberg claimed P2, 0.169s down Ricciardo’s pole position time, while Sebastian Vettel took fourth as they both failed to keep up with the flying Red Bull. The Ferrari driver was not happy about qualifying and yelled at the team: “This car is getting worse!”

Fifth place went to Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India while despite qualifying in P6, Ferrari speedster Kimi Raikkonen will start down in 11th place after he suffered a five-place penalty grid for changing his gear box.

During Q1, there were no surprise eliminations other than Red Bull driver and Spanish Grand Prix Champion Max Verstappen.

In one of two incidents, Verstappen crashed out, nose first into the barrier, while Felipe Nasr’s Sauber engine blew in spectacular style as he exited the tunnel. They qualified P21 and P22 respectively.

Williams driver Felipe Massa and Valterri Bottas put in a somewhat under whelming performance during the qualifiers, as both of them failed to keep up with their direct rivals. Massa will start in P12 while Bottas qualified in P11

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso out-shined his teammate Jenson Button once again he gained a berth into the final qualifying round for a second time in a row, which is an achievement for his Honda-powered car.

Times:
1. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:13.622
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:13.791 0.169
3. Hamilton Mercedes 1:13.942 0.320
4. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:14.552 0.930
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:14.726 1.104
6. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:14.732 1.110
7. Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:14.749 1.127
8. Sergio Perez Force India 1:14.902 1.280
9. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:15.273 1.651
10. Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:15.262 1.741
11. Valterri Bottas Williams 1:15.273
12. Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:15.293
13. Jenson Button McLaren 1:15.352
14. Felipe Massa Williams 1:15.385
15. Romain Grosjean Haas 1:15.571
16. Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:16.058
17. Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:16.299
18. Jolyon Palmer Renault 16 1:16.586
19. Rio Haryanto Manor 1:17.295
20. Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:17.452
21. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:22.467
22. Felipe Nasr Sauber No time