Mark Webber on pole in Monaco

It?s without Fernando Alonso that the qualifying session begins, the Spanish driver having damaged his car during the third free practice session. His teammate, Felipe Massa, is the first to take the opportunity to distinguish himself. The Brazilian sets the best time (1:16:013), while Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Robert Kubica (Renault) try to approach it.

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) achieves this and drops below 1?16??, to 1?15??902. But Felipe Massa is in great shape and takes the best time, in 1:15:660. It's Jenson Button's turn (McLaren) to take the lead, in 1:15??623 but the Brazilian is definitely sharp and takes the lead (1:14??757) by setting the best lap of the weekend.

Far from it, Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) and Adrian Sutil (Force India) are virtually eliminated but manage to escape from the red zone. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) also, which sends the six drivers from the three new teams in the cart. Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli (Lotus Racing), Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi (Virgin Racing), Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok (HRT) are eliminated and will start at the back of the grid on Sunday.

The big names are all there in Q2 and come out as soon as the countdown starts, quickly lowering the reference mark. Robert Kubica is already under 1?15??, running in 1?14??942, before improving (1?14??625). Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) approached, before the Brazilian took the lead, in 1:14??613, and the German driver beat him, in 1:14??375. A time which will no longer be beaten in Q2.

The Red Bull drivers are at the forefront, without beating Rosberg's time. For his part, Jenson Button had the greatest difficulty getting into Q3 but he managed to do so, setting the ninth fastest time, in 1:15:263. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) dislodged him in 1:15:262. Button improves (1?15??150) but so does Liuzzi (1?15??061). The two drivers qualify, on the contrary Nico Hulkenberg (Williams), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Sébastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Vitaly Petrov (Renault), Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso).

The moment of truth, Q3: Robert Kubica is the first to stand out and immediately goes below 1??. The Pole runs in 15:1??14 then in 712:1??14, an incredible time which will be difficult to beat. But Robert Kubica is in great shape and manages to improve it, in 284:1??14? a few seconds after Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) took first place from him, in 120:1??14.

Far from being satisfied with this time, Mark Webber drops below 1?14??, to 1?13??826! Robert Kubica tried one last time to take pole but failed, three tenths behind the Red Bull driver, in 1:14:121. Shortly after, Sebastian Vettel also had to admit defeat in front of his teammate, obtaining the third time, in 1:14:227. Three Renault-powered drivers therefore occupy the qualifying podium, ahead of Felipe Massa, who showed his advantage at the start of qualifying.