Vettel claims season's fifth pole in Saturday's qualifying that was marred by Sauber rookie Perez's crash
Vettel claims season's fifth pole in Saturday's qualifying that was marred by Sauber rookie Perez's crash
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Defending drivers world champion Sebastian Vettel on Saturday secured pole position for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix after Mexican driver Sergio Perez survived a horrifying high-speed crash that halted the session for more than half an hour.
The 23-year-year-old German, in his Red Bull car, clocked a fastest lap of one minute and 13.556 seconds shortly before Perez's shocking collision with the barriers left his rivals with barely three minutes to respond.
Sauber's Mexican driver Sergio Perez's car is loaded onto a truck after
he crashed into a protective barrier along the Circuit de Monaco. PICs/AFP
After a prolonged delay, during which Perez was lifted out of the wreckage of his Sauber car by medical crews and the barriers at the chicane following the exit from the tunnel were repaired, the final drama turned into an anti-climax. It was current championship leader Vettel's first pole at the Monaco race and his sixth in the last seven races, including last season's finale at Abu Dhabi. In Sunday's race he will seek his first Monaco triumph and his eighth victory in 10 races.u00a0
Briton Jenson Button of McLaren was second-fastest behind the German ahead of third-placed Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and two-times champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.
Six-times Monaco winner and seven times drivers champion German Michael Schumacher, 42, of Mercedes, qualified fifth ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari and Briton Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren.
German Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes was eighth,u00a0 Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado was ninth for Williams while 10th place on the grid was officially left for Perez, who had driven splendidly earlier to fight his way through to the top-ten.
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