A long afternoon in Monte Carlo lies in store for Lewis Hamilton. A circuit he loves to drive will offer little pleasure to the British driver on Sunday. That he qualified in 14th after a torrid session where he was knocked out in Q2 will be enough of a shock to the three-times world champion’s system but of greater concern will be the inability to work out why he was so far off the pace.
Kimi Raikkonen secured pole in Monaco, a feat that rolled back the years for the Finn. It is the first time he has claimed the top spot in nine years, since France in 2008 during his first stint with Ferrari. But Hamilton’s experience was correspondingly unfamiliar. This is the first time he has not made it into the final part of qualifying on pace alone since the Italian Grand Prix in 2013.
He struggled for grip throughout, unable to put his tyres into the correct temperature operating window and although his final hot lap in Q2 was stymied by yellow flags, he still only barely looked like he would make into the final shootout and was clearly disappointed.
“I was devastated after the session,” said Hamilton, who will start in 13th after Jenson Button’s demotion to the back of the grid. “To the point that I could not get out of the car.”
Overtaking is always hard at Monaco and this year will be even more difficult with this season’s wider cars, as Hamilton acknowledged.
“That’s pretty much the weekend done,” he added. “I will try to get into the top 10 but it will be a nice Sunday drive I imagine.”
It is a major blow in his championship fight with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who took second on the grid, the first time the Scuderia has locked out the front row in Monte Carlo since Jody Scheckter took pole alongside Gilles Villeneuve here in 1979. Vettel has the advantage by six points and will expect to extend that significantly on Sunday afternoon.
Of greater weight, however, are the enduring implications in what is expected to be a season-long battle. Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas also had difficulty with his tyres, although his third on the grid was only two-thousandths down on Vettel. In Russia Hamilton had similarly struggled while the Finn in the same machinery took pole and the win.
The Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, admitted that the team was still adapting to this season’s Pirelli rubber. “It seems to be a bit of a diva to get it into the right window,” he said of their car.
Hamilton said: “We had a similar scenario in Sochi, particularly on my side so I hope we can discover the issue moving forward. It is a very strange thing, a case of them going in and out throughout the lap. The other car was able to get it to work but I can’t see why we weren’t able to and it feels like a mystery because none of us currently understand it and it’s difficult.”
Raikkonen had his ride just to his liking and his final quick lap was masterful, within a whisker of the walls, the middle sector in particular was strong and Vettel had no answer. In contrast, Hamilton’s struggle to find grip and balance was evident from the off, he was six-tenths back from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and 10th in the opening session. It was clear again in Q2 as he pulled off a big save holding the rear going into Casino Square – it cost him his first shot at a quick time.
His second attempt was no better; again lacking rear grip he ultimately had to abort his final lap under the yellow flags.
Mercedes have struggled all season to find the narrow operating window for their tyres, while Ferrari have proved repeatedly they are able to dial in to a track quickly and bring the rubber up to pace with ease. They did so again here but Bottas was able to almost match them while Hamilton could not, a pattern he simply cannot allow to continue if he is to stay in the fight for the title.
The two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were in fourth and fifth respectively, while McLaren managed to put two cars into Q3 for the first time this season. However Jenson Button, sitting in for Fernando Alonso, who qualified in ninth will start from the back of the grid after taking power unit component changes, which as things stand means Hamilton will start from 13th on the grid.
Carlos Sainz Jr put in another superb performance to claim seventh ahead of Sergio Pérez in the Force India and the Haas of Romain Grosjean. Stoffel Vandoorne finished in 10th in the second McLaren after crashing at the swimming pool causing the yellow flags that ended Q2, but has a three-place penalty after hitting Felipe Massa in Spain and will start from 12th. Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat went out in Q2 in front of the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Massa’s Williams.
Esteban Ocon crashed his Force India at the swimming pool in first practice but his team were able to repair it in time for qualifying and he finished in 16th, out in Q1 in front of Jolyon Palmer in the Renault, Lance Stroll’s Williams and the two Saubers of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson.
