Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have dominated the 2017 Formula One seasons so far but that could all change this weekend when the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix kicks off. In a surprise turn of events, it was a Ferrari one-two as Kimi Raikkonen managed to grab the pole position for the first time since 2008 with Valtteri Bottas in third and Hamilton all the way back in 13th.
With the Monaco Grand Prix proving to be one of the toughest tracks to overtake, the Brit will have to produce something really special if he is to get into the top ten and keep his hopes of winning the world championship alive. After a strong performance in the first practice session, Hamilton struggled after that and things got worse for him in qualifying.
Also read: Changes made to Monte-Carlo track ahead of 2017 Monaco Grand Prix
Hamilton qualified in 14th position but will start from 13th after penalties for other drivers and he proved to be too reckless in qualifying as he had two out-of-control moments during the second session when he just managed to avoid a crash. Despite that, he was a bit unlucky not to qualify in the top ten.
McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne crashed right at the end of Q2 and this was the time Hamilton was doing his final lap to get into Q3 but he was forced to slow down due to the crash. As a result, the Q2 session got over and Hamilton was forced to return to the pits and settle for a disappointing 14th place finish.
Despite Vandoorne's crash, Hamilton felt that he would have still struggled and was hoping that his teammate Bottas can make up for the points in case he does not have a good race so that Mercedes can still remain in the constructors championship. The Brit also admitted that he was devastated after the qualifying session.
"I was devastated after the session to the point that I couldn't get out of the car. So much energy goes into these weeks. When you see the other cars able to get it to work you can't for the life of you think why you weren't able to. It's a mystery and none of us can understand it. We have to work on it together," Formula1.com quoted Hamilton as saying.
"When you don't get into the final part of qualifying your weekend is pretty much done, so it's really about trying to recover as much as we can. I'll try everything I can to get into the top 10 but it's very, very difficult to overtake here. We'll have to take some risks, but it will just be a nice Sunday drive I imagine. I don't drive the car badly and I'm certainly not slow around here so we need to understand it."
While things do not seem to be working out for Mercedes at Monaco, Vettel has a real chance to take control of the drivers' championship and also give Ferrari a real boost in the constructors championship. Meanwhile, Raikkonen is still not convinced that starting from first can give him his first pole position finish but team boss Maurizio Arrivabene was quick to praise the efforts of Raikkonen.
"I'm really happy for him because he deserves it - the champion is coming out sometimes. It's a pity for Sebastian that he made a little mistake in Turn 5, but having two cars up there is good. I'm happy we find the pace now, but we have to remember the last one in Sochi, be careful and think about tomorrow," Arrivabene said.
Check out the highlights from the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session.
Where to watch
The Monaco Grand Prix 2017 is set to start at 2 pm local time, 5.30 pm IST and 8 am EST.
TV and live streaming information
Australia: TV: Ten HD. Live Streaming: Ten Play.
India: TV: Star Sports SelectHD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports F1. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: NBCSN. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Asia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Play.
