Max Verstappen “Hit the Wall Twice” To Go From P5 to Pole Position at Monaco GP

Sabyasachi Biswas | 28/05/2023
Max Verstappen “Hit the Wall Twice” To Go From P5 to Pole Position at Monaco GP

Max Verstappen showed his class in Monaco after he came from behind to get the pole against all odds. The Dutchman, who was denied a shot at the pole last year, finally gets the much-coveted position despite hitting the wall twice.

It was down to a multi-headed challenge right at the end, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon putting up a blistering lap to earn a potential pole position. However, he was denied by a different Charles Leclerc a few seconds later.

This was followed the Fernando Alonso, who’s pushing for his 33rd win of his career. As the Aston Martin driver crossed the line, the timesheet saw he was on the pole, with jubilance all around. However, Verstappen had other ideas.

Despite losing a few tenths in the first sector and hitting the wall, the Dutchman pulled up an insane last sector that destroyed Alonso’s as well as Aston Martin’s hope.

Verstappen picked up the pole even after hitting the walls

After clipping the walls on two occasions, it wasn’t evident if the 25-year-old will be on the pole in Monaco. However, Verstappen, with his mighty RB-19, did the magic, yet again as he picked his first-ever pole at the Principality.

As he crossed the finish line, the jubilant Red Bull star said on Radio, “Oh my God, I hit the wall two times.” Following this, he referred to his magical last sector and said, “We needed to pull that out of the bag, but very lovely.”

The two-time world champion was also praised by his team principal, Christian Horner. The Briton applauded the efforts of his star driver and stated, as per Sky Sports, “That was mighty! What a final sector.”

Verstappen cautious ahead of Sunday’s race

Despite having a head start, the Dutchman revealed that he needs to be cautious in the race. Speaking about it in the post-qualification interview, Verstappen said according to F1 TV, “We need a clean start.”
This is because in Monaco a lot of things “can happen,” Max Verstappen added. From rain, to hit in the barriers, and then the safety car, there’s always a risk of losing the race.
Talking about the race pace of the RB-19, the two-time world champion seemed to be content, but all he needs to do is to keep the race clean, said the 25-year-old.
Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Charles Leclerc Esteban Ocon Fernando Alonso Max Verstappen

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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