Max Verstappen shows why Monaco qualifying remains one of F1’s great

MONACO — Max Verstappen used every inch of Monte Carlo’s famous street circuit to grab his first pole position at the Principality.

The lap that put the reigning two-time world champion at the front of the grid for Sunday’s race was a textbook example of why Saturday at the Monaco Grand Prix is considered one of the can’t-miss days on the Formula One calendar.

Verstappen had been fifth before his final lap, which was just 0.084 seconds quicker than Fernando Alonso’s time in the Aston Martin.

When asked what he had done differently, Verstappen later said: “Touched a few walls! I was always quite quick in the last sector, but I definitely pushed a bit harder in the last lap.”

Verstappen has a growing list of memorable performances to choose from as his best.

Arguably his most famous qualifying lap is the one he did not finish at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, when he smashed into the wall at the final corner of what had been, until that moment, one of the most exhilarating laps of the modern era of Formula One.

The Dutch driver risked the same outcome on a few occasions on Saturday. On his first run he brushed the wall at the final corner with his left side. The final run was even more remarkable as he drove as close as he could get to the wall as it curved away down the start-finish straight.

When asked if Saturday’s effort was his best ever, Verstappen said: “No I don’t think so, but it was good enough. I’m just happy to get my first pole here.

“The whole qualifying I think went pretty well, just I struggled a bit to put it in the first lap with warm up with the tires, and putting it altogether, all the sectors. But I knew that the last lap, I had to do it, because they improved.

“I also knew that going into the last sector, I was down on [the four drivers ahead], so I had to push flat out in the last sector, risk everything to get back the lap time. And luckily we did.”

With teammate and title rival Sergio Perez crashing out in Q1 and set to…