Formula 1: Daniel Ricciardo on pole for 2018 Monaco Grand Prix

Formula 1’s crown jewel race has been dominated by Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo. After taking pole for the Monaco Grand Prix, is this Ricciardo’s redemption?

As Formula 1 teams came in to qualifying for the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing made it a free practice sweep in the Principality and came into qualifying with the most confidence, particularly Daniel Ricciardo.

His teammate, Max Verstappen, suffered a setback in FP3 after binning his Red Bull coming out of the swimming pool section (turn 16) and red-flagging the session with eight minutes left. Following the restart, Ricciardo pipped his teammate by the slimmest of margins, 0.001 seconds, to go to P1.

Meanwhile, teams in the top 10 were two by two behind the Red Bull pair, with Ferrari, Mercedes, and surprisingly Toro Rosso drivers side by side. The last two positions in the top 10 were occupied by the Renault and Williams teams.

With teams able to turn up the engine modes into qualifying, would Ferrari and Mercedes challenge Red Bull Racing or would Red Bull Racing run the table in Monte Carlo?

Qualifying 1

Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley led the pack out. As the times started to roll in, he set the first benchmarker time with a lap at 1:13.793. He was quickly deposed by his teammate, Pierre Gasly. While the first times were being posted, it was reported that Verstappen would not make qualifying after Red Bull Racing reported that they needed to change his gearbox following his FP3 crash. This added injury to the Dutchman’s chances on Sunday, as he’ll start last (20th). As the grid started to turn in the times, Ricciardo quickly sets the fastest time with a lap at 1:12.013.

The biggest surprise of the session was Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin, who managed to stay in the top 10 in P8. Hometown favorite Charles Leclerc finished the session in P9. On the opposite end, Sirotkin’s teammate, Lance Stroll, struggled in the session and finished P18. Meanwhile, Leclerc’s teammate, Marcus Ericsson, could only manage to finish P17.

Out front, with Ricciardo leading, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas finished out the session in the podium positions as their respective teammates finished the session P4 (Lewis Hamilton) and P7 (Kimi Raikkonen).

Eliminated in Q1: Hartley, Ericsson, Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, Verstappen (no time)

Qualifying 2

Mercedes gambled in Q2 by going on the ultrasoft tires while the rest of the grid attempted to set their fastest times on the hypersoft tires. Leclerc set the first time of the session to go P1, only to be deposed by Gasly and then Force India’s Esteban Ocon.

Ricciardo put in a flyer at 1:11.353 to beat Vettel to the top spot. The alternative tire strategy for Mercedes seemed to be a huge gamble, as after their first runs, Hamilton was P9 while Bottas was P11. Leclerc was only P14 after the first run.

With six minutes to go, Mercedes opted for the hypersoft tires on both cars. On his hypersoft flying lap, Hamilton took P3, putting Gasly into to the drop zone. Bottas took P5 on his hypersoft run, putting Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr. in danger.

As those in the drop zone tried to improve their times, Sainz Jr. and Gasly were able to move back into the top 10 in P9 and P10, respectively. Sirotkin and Leclerc improved on their personal best times, but they failed to move up and stayed in P13 and P14, respectively, which was not good enough for either of them to get into Q3. McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne was unable to improve and missed Q3 in P12.

Eliminated in Q2: Nico Hulkenberg, Vandoorne, Sirotkin, Leclerc, Romain Grosjean

Qualifying 3

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Sainz Jr. put in the first time of the shootout with a lap at 1:12.266. He was swiftly beaten by Bottas, who put in a lap at 1:11.553. That lap time didn’t stand for long, as Hamilton put in a lap at 1:11.261 while Ricciardo was on his flyer. Ricciardo recorded a lap at 1:10.810, which was good enough for provisional pole. Vettel checked in behind Hamilton in P3 after his first run.

As the final runs began, Gasly moved up into P8 briefly. Vettel was able to improve his time and beat Hamilton, but he was still well off of Ricciardo’s provision pole time. Of the top runners, only Vettel was able to improve his time on the final run, as Raikkonen and Bottas stayed P4 and P5, respectively. Ocon was able to move up to P6, beating Fernando Alonso and Sainz Jr. Force India’s Sergio Perez stayed ahead of Gasly in the Honda-powered Toro Rosso.

Provisional Grid for 2018 Monaco Grand Prix

* = Subject to a three-place grid penalty
** = Subject to a five-place grid penalty

Next: 5 Formula 1 drivers who should attempt the Indy 500

With the top three positions occupied by different teams, heading into turn one tomorrow will most assuredly be a battle. Ricciardo will be alone out front while Vettel and Hamilton have their teammates just behind them. The drivers behind them will be keen to get through Sainte-Devote cleanly and possibly take advantage of any chaos out front. Who will take F1‘s most prized race, how will the hypersoft tires hold up, and will Ricciardo finally get redemption? Find out Sunday, May 27 at 9:05 a.m. ET by tuning in to ABC.