Kimi Raikkonen has won pole for the Monaco GP 2017 and will start from the front row alongside teammate Vettel. Bottas will start from third as a lone Mercedes man, Hamilton failed to make it to Q3 after a tough Q2 session that ended with with the yellow flags when Vandoorne crashed his McLaren.

Monaco GP 2017 Qualifying Results
1. Raikkonen – Ferrari
2. Vettel – Ferrari
3. Bottas – Mercedes
4. Verstappen – Red Bull
5. Ricciardo – Red Bull
6. Sainz – Toro Rosso
7. Perez – Force India
8. Grosjean – Haas
9. Button – McLaren
10. Vandoorne – McLaren

Vettel was the first man out in Q1 followed by several others all on ultrasofts. Raikkonen set the clock ticking with a 1m14.2s, which was quicker than Vettel’s. A few more lead changes, with Vettel topping the timesheet until Verstappen set a 1m13.0s flat, taking P1. Grosjean meanwhile spun his Haas at the exit of Mirabeau. The top eight were covered by less than half a second, with four minutes remaining.

Ericsson’s car broke just before the chequered flag flew. Eliminated in Q1 were Ocon, Palmer, Stroll, Wehrlein and Ericsson. The top ten comprised of Verstappen, Vettel, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Bottas, Vandoorne, Sainz, Perez, Magnussen and Hamilton. Button was 11th. Just 0.562s covered the top ten in Q1.

Bottas led the action in Q2. The top ten will start on the tires used to set the best time in this session. Everyone opted for ultrasofts just like in Q1, and Raikkonen set the first time on 1m12.780s. Vettel’s time placed him behind Raikkonen and ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton had a near incident at Massenet but managed to correct it, Grosjean ran off at Sainte Devote too.

Hamilton dashed into the pits for some adjustments after complaining about lack of grip, the Brit was then ushered to the weighing bridge.

For his second stint, Raikkonen did a 1m12.231s, elsewhere, Hamilton locked up at Mirabeau as he came out of Casino Square, a tough session for the Brit.

“Lewis held me up so badly,” Magnussen said after that shunt. More bad luck for Hamilton as he crashed into the barriers, forcing Hamilton to slow down under the yellow flag.

Eliminated in Q2 were Kvyat, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Hamilton and Massa. The top ten in Q2 comprised of Raikkonen, Vettel, Verstappen, Bottas, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Vandoorne, Sainz, Perez and Button.

Raikkonen again got things going in Q3 by setting the first time on 1m12.296s. Ricciardo slotted into second ahead of Vettel with most cars dashing back to the pits after the first stint. An even faster lap by Raikkonen, a 1m12.178s lap to end the session.

“It’s pole, Kimi, it’s pole,” shouted Ferrari as Kimi scored pole for the Monaco GP 2017.

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