Monaco GP critics get perfect answer to questions over this race's F1 future
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's Lewis Hamilton's car!
One of the more enduring sights from Saturday at the Monaco Grand Prix was that of a Formula 1 car being airlifted off the track. And that sight unique to the principality came not once but twice – first with Hamilton's crash in the final practice session and then in qualifying when Sergio Perez crashed.
Mercedes will have been rather upset about live pictures of the underside of their car being broadcast around the world. And no doubt Red Bull will have felt the same about other teams being given a close look at the floor of their championship-dominating RB19 when Perez's car was taken off the track.
The Mexican's accident was, no doubt, the more costly. He we went in way too hot at the first corner of his maiden attempt at a flying lap in Q1 and slammed hard into the Sainte Devote barrier. Defending his Monaco crown will be nigh-on impossible for Perez from the back of the grid.
That put a stern expression on the faces of everyone wearing Red Bull attire at the track, but it wasn't long before they had something to smile about towards the end of one of the most exciting qualifying session of the season so far. Racing here is criticised for a lack of overtaking, but the action on a Saturday remains enthralling viewing.
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Provisional pole was changing hands all the time as the track ramped up. After the first set of runs, it was Fernando Alonso – two months shy of his 42nd birthday – who was sat at the top of the timesheets. Not long after, Esteban Ocon threatened to spoil the party with a pole position for Alpine which no-one would have seen coming.
Some Red Bull secrets were spilled when Sergio Perez's RB19 was hoisted into the air (Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Max Verstappen beat Fernando Alonso to pole to keep Red Bull smiling despite Sergio Perez's crash (Luca Bruno/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Seeing his name at the top of the timing screens was cause for celebration for some in the grandstands, with many French fans in attendance. More went potty when hometown hero Charles Leclerc jumped above him. Sadly for both sets of fans, they didn't stay there for very long as, soon, Alonso was back on provisional pole with only one man left to beat him.
Max Verstappen was two-tenths of a second down on the Spaniard heading into the final sector of the lap and it looked for all the world as thought the Spaniard was going to stick that Aston Martin on pole. But, somehow, the defending champion found the time he needed with an out-of-this-world final part of the lap to deny Alonso by less than one tenth.
To make matters worse for Leclerc, who had fallen to third, he was handed a grid penalty after the session for impeding Lando Norris in Q3. That knocked him down to sixth and pushed Ocon up into the third grid slot.
Carlos Sainz also benefitted from the stewards' decision and rose to fifth on the grid, sharing the third row with Hamilton – both had been on the cusp of a Q1 elimination so would have been feeling much better. It was a great day overall for Alpine with Pierre Gasly seventh, one place ahead of George Russell.
Lando Norris was 10th fastest behind Yuki Tsunoda, who was very impressive again in his AlphaTauri. He was second fastest overall in Q1 which was an eye-catching result and finished inside the top 10 in all three parts of qualifying, so a deserved result for the Japanese racer who has had an air of confidence about him all weekend.
There have been questions over Monaco's future on the F1 calendar with other markets outside of Europe being targeted and the racing here often criticised because of the lack of overtaking opportunities. But this qualifying session alone was enough evidence to state that this Grand Prix weekend still has plenty to offer by way of excitement.
The streets around the circuit were heaving as fans headed for the train station after the end of the session.
But plenty more will be sticking around at the same time on Sunday after the race with a party atmosphere promised in the principality after its beloved annual motor racing spectacle.
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