Michael Schumacher on pole! Well it only lasted for a moment before the reality of the five-place grid penalty from the Spanish Grand Prix kicked in but still, even the most hardened Schumacher hater must have had a smile (if only because of the penalty!) Once again, Monaco served up a thrilling qualifying session: First the circuit once again bit back at Sergio Perez as he crashed out, then Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel had a nervous Q1 calling for the supersoft tyres early while Jenson Button struggled to a poor 13th place. Then Schumacher stole the limelight – although it’ll be Red Bull’s Mark Webber who will start from the coveted pole position slot on the grid.
 

 
Qualifying Facts

• Michael Schumacher was last on pole at the 2006 French Grand Prix.
• Nico Rosberg’s best three sectors combined would have been good for a 1 minute 14.353 lap and ahead of Mark Webber, although the Australian’s own theoretical lap was just one thousandth of a second slower.
• Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean are the only drivers to have made it through to every Q3 session this season.
• Felipe Massa made it through to Q3 for the first time in 2012, with the best lap of Q2.
• Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa are the only drivers to have out-qualified their team mate at every event this year.

 
Q3 Summary

 
Qualifying Lap Times

107% time: 1:20.697
¹ Schumacher starts 6th after a five-place grid penalty for accident in Spanish Grand Prix
² Maldonado starts 19th after a ten-place grid penalty for incident in free practice, however Williams may change his gearbox with the five-place penalty dropping him back to 24th

Best Sector Times

 
What are your predictions for the race? Who will win in Monte Carlo? Who should have done better in qualifying?

Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas