“I didn’t find the same grip that I found in Q1, it seemed to get worse for us while it got better for everyone else”.
Advertisement
However, his pace dropped off in the final two sectors and he was left to rue yet another technical problem affecting his season.
Webber won in Monaco in 2010 and 2012, but since then, Mercedes have emerged as the leading outfit with Nico Rosberg, leader of this year’s title race, claiming victory at the last three Monaco races.
“It was a hard qualifying, and I don’t know what to say”, he said.
Kimi Raikkonen already faced an uphill battle in his bid to win the Monaco Grand Prix before Ferrari failed to get the best out of its Pirelli tyres in qualifying.
“Red Bull have done a great job in recent races, they have progressed quickly and now made a big step with the engine”. “I knew coming into the weekend we’d have a shot at it and it looked good from Thursday”. So, I came into this weekend with a lot of confidence and a lot of belief that I could be in this position now and I am very happy to have fulfilled that.
“My only thought was “I hope I get to go out and at least do one lap”.
“We’ll see tomorrow if it works. we just feel that it opens up a few more options for the race. let’s see, I think today we are sitting pretty, hopefully it turns out in our favour”.
Ricciardo had made his way through the first two sessions easily, finishing both segments in fourth place, even setting his fastest lap of Q2 on the supersoft tyre.
It was also the Red Bull driver’s first ever Formula One pole.
That broke his front suspension, and threw him across the track, over the kerbs of the second part of the corner and into the wall.
“Hopefully the weather will help a bit tomorrow but if you start 21st it will be very hard”. It’s a case of misjudgment – that is all.
Having set a blistering pace in Q2, as Q3 got underway he ground to a halt in the pitlane, his crew having to rescue him and his stricken vehicle.
But Raikkonen was expected to be handed a five-place grid penalty following an unscheduled gearbox change on his Ferrari following the morning’s practice. They’ve done a good job and it’s a well-deserved first pole, so congrats for that. Nico Huldenberg will start an impressive fifth in his Force India, three places ahead of teammate Sergio Perez, with Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat seventh and ninth, respectively, in their Toro Rossos.
Advertisement
Daniel Ricciardo will start from pole position at Monaco after a sensational performance in qualifying on Saturday, but team-mate Max Verstappen will start at the opposite end of the grid.
