Vettel gets pole as Monaco bites Perez

It’s often said Monaco is the jewel in the crown of Formula 1’s circus trip around the world. There is certainly no other cliché in the sport which is more right. The glamour of Monaco is often stated, the money of tax exiles pours in to this little principality, many current and former Grand Prix drivers. Yet at its heart there is a ribbon of tarmac that threads its way around the hotels and casinos and alongside the harbour that creates one of the most challenging Grand Prix circuits in the world. Steel Armco barriers line the track, ready to punish any slight error, demanding the highest level of concentration imaginable as these gladiators, cocooned in their space-age machines, thread the needle at speeds that reach 170mph. It’s a sight to behold.

However, sometimes it can go wrong. Sergio Perez crashed his Sauber today with just under two and half minutes left of the third qualifying session. Having impressed in getting into the top 10 shoot out, he exited the tunnel on a wider line than usual, lost it on a bump and went careering into a side impact just past the chicane. There were a worrying few moments, but the latest news is that he was conscious and talking, and hopefully will be fit for the race.

Before qualifying, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso had looked supreme during practice. If any drivers can push their cars beyond the limit and look to challenge the Red Bull might of Sebastian Vettel in particular, it’s these two. Unfortunately Perez’s accident has left Hamilton with too much to do. With low tyre temperatures due to waiting at the end of the pit lane, it looks like he pushed too hard on his only lap of Q3 and starts 7^th when he should have been challenging for pole. Alonso managed 4^th but he’d obviously hoped for more.

Vettel grabbed pole position with a very precise lap. But despite this let us not despair at the continuing Red Bull domination. The field is still very close with four different constructors in the top 5 places. Jenson Button put in a fantastic lap to take second. Mark Webber continues to be overshadowed in third. It almost looks as if he's given up the fight. Michael Schumacher was getting quicker and quicker as qualifying went on and did well to get fifth, his highest grid position of the year and finally out qualifying his team mate Nico Rosberg who ended up 8^th. Pastor Maldonado impressed, getting into the top 10 again. Renault disappointed, Vitaly Petrov finishing 11^th and Nick Heidfeld only 16^th. Hispania will be allowed to race even though neither car actually set a time.

So to the race and there is hope that Vettel won’t run into the distance. Strategy will be everything on a circuit you can’t overtake on, so let’s wait and see how Button manages his tyres. He looks to be the only driver that could stop Vettel tomorrow. The race could be split quite early, as Mercedes still need to work on a better race pace which might mean Schumacher holding up the lower half of the top 10. Hamilton has ruled himself out with his low position, but in Monaco you never know what might happen as they hustle their machines to the end.

The Grid:

1. Vettel

2. Button

3. Webber

4. Alonso

5. Schumacher

6. Massa

7. Hamilton

8. Rosberg

9. Maldonado

10. Perez

11. Petrov

12. Barrichello

13. Kobayashi

14. di Resta

15. Sutil

16. Heidfeld

17. Buemi

18. Kovalainen

19. Trulli

20. Algersuari

21. Glock

22. d'Ambrosio

23. Karthikeyan

24. Liuzzi

edit: Lewis Hamilton has been given a grid penalty for skipping the chicane during his qualifying lap, he will now start 9th. Sergio Perez, although basically ok, has not been given clearance to race.

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