Daniel Ricciardo proved unstoppable on Saturday afternoon in Monte Carlo, clinching the first pole position of his F1 career and Red Bull’s first since Brazil 2013. By contrast, team mate Max Verstappen will start from the back of the grid after crashing out in Q1.
Mercedes could do nothing to halt Ricciardo, with second-placed Nico Rosberg coming up two-tenths short and Lewis Hamilton a further tenth adrift. Further technical gremlins – thought to be fuel-pressure related – almost stymied the world champion, who did only one fast lap in Q3 to jump from 10th to third.
Fourth place went to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, followed by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, and Kimi Raikkonen – set to lose five grid places after a gearbox change – in the second Ferrari. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz, Force India’s Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat in the second Toro Rosso, and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso completed the top ten.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing | 1:13.622 |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:13.791 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:13.942 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:14.552 |
| 5 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:14.726 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | 1:14.749 |
| 7 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:14.902 |
| 8 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:15.273 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:15.363 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:15.273 |
| 11 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:14.732 |
| 12 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Haas | 1:15.293 |
| 13 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:15.352 |
| 14 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:15.385 |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:15.571 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:16.058 |
| 17 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:16.299 |
| 18 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:16.586 |
| 19 | Rio Haryanto | Manor | 1:17.295 |
| 20 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:17.452 |
| 21 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:22.467 |
| 22 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | — |
