Formula One champion lewis Hamilton clinched his first ever pole at the Monaco Grand Prix after a strong drive on Saturday while his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg will start from second as he bids to win the race for the third straight year.
In last year’s race, Rosberg took pole but angered Hamilton when he crashed under no apparent pressure right at the end of the session, bringing it to a halt just as the British driver was poised to beat his time.
Hamilton, who has taken pole in five of six races, clocked 1 minute, 15.098 seconds, with Rosberg .342 behind and Sebastian Vettel .751 back after being fastest in third and final qualifying.
“Did I get itIJ” asked Hamilton as he finished his run, but there was no doubt he’d taken his 43rd career pole position.
“I can’t express how happy I am, it wasn’t the easiest session. I didn’t have the rhythm until the last two laps,” Hamilton said. “This track is so hard, it’s like climbing a ladder: sometimes you slide back down, sometimes you go back up. This is not even half the job. There’s so much to do tomorrow, it’s going to be mentally and physically challenging.”
The 30-year-old Hamilton has been on pole here before, however, just not in F1.
“GP2 in 2006 was the last time I was on pole here, so a big ‘Thank you’ to the team, their performance was incredible,” said Hamilton, who had been worried about his tires midway through qualifying.
Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat were fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen as drivers switched to the new and faster Pirelli supersoft tires.
Rosberg, who won the Spanish GP from pole position two weeks ago, pushed too hard as he tried to beat Hamilton’s time and locked his tire - just as he had done right at the end of the Q2 session.
“Probably the opposite to lewis. I had a good rhythm starting off and then I lost touch at the end,” said Rosberg, who is looking to become the first driver since Ayrton Senna to win the Monaco GP three times in a row. “I had to go for it and it didn’t work out.”
“I think everyone was struggling a little bit with the tires. It was a shame that the sun was hiding behind the crowds,” Vettel said. “We know it’s Monaco and it’s difficult to pass, so if you start from pole you have a great chance.” Nine of the past 10 winners at the Monaco GP have been from pole, with the only exception being Hamilton when he won from third place in 2008 — the year he won his first title.
Perez to start 7th, NICO AT 11TH
Sahara Force India’s chances of earning points brightened with Sergio Perez securing a seventh place start from the grid while Nico Hulkenberg is likely to start from 11th after finishing 13th in the Qualifying sessioN. Perez improved on his timing as the sessions progressed and his timing of 1:16.808 in Q3 secured him seventh place.