Sebastian Vettel has extended Red Bull Racing’s unbeaten 2011 qualifying run by taking pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.
McLaren’s Jenson Button will start alongside the German on the front-row of the grid, ahead of Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez.
In somewhat of an anti-climax to the session, the top positions remained unchanged despite a final 2:26s flurry following a red flag delay.
The session had been stopped when Perez crashed his Sauber at the Nouveau Chicane.
According to his team, the Mexican rookie was conscious and talking upon being taken to hospital.
Hamilton had yet to record a lap in Q3 at the time of Perez’s incident, after the McLaren driver aborted his first lap due to Felipe Massa emerging from the pitlane in front of him.
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The 2008 World Champion was the first man out for the final portion of the session, but could manage only seventh fastest.
Earlier in the afternoon, Q1 had been a disaster for Toro Rosso’s Jamie Alguersuari, with the Spaniard just 20th fastest, and required to see the stewards after the session thanks to making contact with the rear of one of the Saubers.
Neither Hispania pilot made set a time in Q1 thanks to mechanical issues, although both are expected to receive a dispensation to start the race itself.
UPDATE: Lewis Hamilton has had his Q3 time deleted for cutting the chicane and will start ninth
See below for the qualifying result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 1:15.606 | 1:14.277 | 1:13.556 |
| 2 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:15.397 | 1:14.545 | 1:13.997 |
| 3 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 1:16.087 | 1:14.742 | 1:14.019 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:16.051 | 1:14.569 | 1:14.483 |
| 5 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:16.092 | 1:14.981 | 1:14.682 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:16.309 | 1:14.648 | 1:14.877 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:15.207 | 1:14.275 | 1:15.280 |
| 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:15.858 | 1:14.741 | 1:15.766 |
| 9 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Cosworth | 1:15.819 | 1:15.545 | 1:16.528 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:15.918 | 1:15.482 | |
| 11 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1:16.378 | 1:15.815 | |
| 12 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1:16.616 | 1:15.826 | |
| 13 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:16.513 | 1:15.973 | |
| 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:16.813 | 1:16.118 | |
| 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:16.600 | 1:16.121 | |
| 16 | Nick Heidfeld | Renault | 1:16.681 | 1:16.214 | |
| 17 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 1:16.358 | 1:16.300 | |
| 18 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Renault | 1:17.343 | ||
| 19 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Renault | 1:17.381 | ||
| 20 | Jaime Alguersuari | STR-Ferrari | 1:17.820 | ||
| 21 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1:17.914 | ||
| 22 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | Virgin-Cosworth | 1:18.736 | ||
| 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | |||
| 24 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | HRT-Cosworth |
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