Nico Rosberg has claimed his third consecutive pole position and the second front-row lock out in a row for Mercedes.
It is also thirty years this weekend since his father, 1981 world champion Keke Rosberg, won the race behind the wheel of a Williams.
The German had dominated the free practice sessions in the principality, and continued his strong form into qualifying, where he finished ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.091 seconds.
Despite his best efforts, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel will line up only third, some 0.104s off of Rosberg’s time of 1m13.876s.
Despite the qualifying hour beginning in drizzly conditions, by the end of the session, the drivers had elected to run with the Pirelli Super-Soft compound, such was the dry nature of the track.
Kimi Raikkonen was fifth, one place ahead of Fernando Alonso.
However, both drivers’ teammates endured difficult sessions after they shunted in the third and final free practice session; Grosjean will line up 13th, whilst Massa will line up 22nd and last, after the Ferrari mechanics failed to fix his car in time for qualifying.
Despite also crashing in FP3, Adrian Sutil managed to split the two McLarens in eighth.
Jean-Eric Vergne put in a notable performance to qualify 10th and make it into Q3 for the first time in his career. The young Frenchman also starred in the wet part of the session.
There were also surprises further down the grid, with Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde finishing 15th, one place ahead of Williams’ Pastor Maldonado.
The result will come as a disappointment to both the Venezuelan and the Grove squad, after they finished at the top of the timing sheets in Q1.
The Caterham team took advantage of a strategic error by Force India in Q1 after the team failed to bolt on a new set of intermediate tires onto di Resta’s car. As a result, the Scotsman will line up 17th.
Van der Garde’s teammate, Charles Pic, will line up 18th in the updated Caterham ahead of Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and Max Chilton.
This is the first time the Briton will finish ahead of teammate Bianchi, after the Frenchman’s failed to complete a lap following an airbox fire at Mirabeau.
Qualifying results* – Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
1.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'13"876 - Q3
2.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'13"967 - Q3
3.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'13"980 - Q3
4.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'14"181 - Q3
5.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'14"822 - Q3
6.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'14"822 - Q3
7.Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'15"138 - Q3
8.Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'15"383 - Q3
9.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'15"647 - Q3
10.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'15"703 - Q3
11.Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'18"331 - Q2
12.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'18"344 - Q2
13.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'18"603 - Q2
14.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'19"077 - Q2
15.Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'19"408 - Q2
16.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'21"688 - Q2
17.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'26"322 - Q1
18.Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'26"633 - Q1
19.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'26"917 - Q1
20.Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'27"303 - Q1
21.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - no time - Q1
22.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - no time - Q1
*Unofficial
It is also thirty years this weekend since his father, 1981 world champion Keke Rosberg, won the race behind the wheel of a Williams.
The German had dominated the free practice sessions in the principality, and continued his strong form into qualifying, where he finished ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.091 seconds.
Despite his best efforts, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel will line up only third, some 0.104s off of Rosberg’s time of 1m13.876s.
Despite the qualifying hour beginning in drizzly conditions, by the end of the session, the drivers had elected to run with the Pirelli Super-Soft compound, such was the dry nature of the track.
Kimi Raikkonen was fifth, one place ahead of Fernando Alonso.
 |
| Romain Grosjean, Lotus E21 (Photo: WRi2) |
However, both drivers’ teammates endured difficult sessions after they shunted in the third and final free practice session; Grosjean will line up 13th, whilst Massa will line up 22nd and last, after the Ferrari mechanics failed to fix his car in time for qualifying.
Despite also crashing in FP3, Adrian Sutil managed to split the two McLarens in eighth.
 |
| Adrian Sutil, Force India VJM06 (Photo: WRi2) |
Jean-Eric Vergne put in a notable performance to qualify 10th and make it into Q3 for the first time in his career. The young Frenchman also starred in the wet part of the session.
There were also surprises further down the grid, with Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde finishing 15th, one place ahead of Williams’ Pastor Maldonado.
The result will come as a disappointment to both the Venezuelan and the Grove squad, after they finished at the top of the timing sheets in Q1.
The Caterham team took advantage of a strategic error by Force India in Q1 after the team failed to bolt on a new set of intermediate tires onto di Resta’s car. As a result, the Scotsman will line up 17th.
Van der Garde’s teammate, Charles Pic, will line up 18th in the updated Caterham ahead of Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and Max Chilton.
This is the first time the Briton will finish ahead of teammate Bianchi, after the Frenchman’s failed to complete a lap following an airbox fire at Mirabeau.
 |
| Sergio Perez, McLaren MP4-28 (Photo: WRi2) |
Qualifying results* – Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
1.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'13"876 - Q3
2.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'13"967 - Q3
3.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'13"980 - Q3
4.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'14"181 - Q3
5.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'14"822 - Q3
6.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'14"822 - Q3
7.Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'15"138 - Q3
8.Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'15"383 - Q3
9.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'15"647 - Q3
10.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'15"703 - Q3
11.Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'18"331 - Q2
12.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'18"344 - Q2
13.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'18"603 - Q2
14.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'19"077 - Q2
15.Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'19"408 - Q2
16.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'21"688 - Q2
17.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'26"322 - Q1
18.Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'26"633 - Q1
19.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'26"917 - Q1
20.Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'27"303 - Q1
21.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - no time - Q1
22.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - no time - Q1
*Unofficial