2011 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel won a tense Monaco Grand Prix after a late red flag interrupted a three-way battle for victory. Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button completed the podium as the leaders’ contrasting tyre strategies converged.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:13.556
Fastest lap	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:16.234 on lap 78
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Third	Jenson Button	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
26 May 2011	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
26 May 2011	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
28 May 2011	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
28 May 2011	Qualifying	14:00
29 May 2011	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel arrived at round 6 leading the 2011 F1 World Championship on 118 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 77. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 185 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Monaco Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Sebastian Vettel led FP1 after trading quick laps with Fernando Alonso, but the session was interrupted by repairs to the track surface on the main straight. Mark Webber completed only three laps before a gearbox problem stopped him. Michael Schumacher also damaged his Mercedes against the barriers after running into the escape road at Sainte Dévote.

Fernando Alonso moved ahead in FP2, although Ferrari narrowly avoided trouble when Felipe Massa slowed near Rascasse as his teammate approached on a quick lap. Mark Webber continued without KERS, Paul di Resta suffered a gear-selection problem, and Vitaly Petrov damaged his nose against the barriers. Early running suggested the supersoft tyres were lasting better than feared.

Fernando Alonso led FP3, which was twice stopped after heavy accidents. Nico Rosberg lost control under braking out of the tunnel, and Vitantonio Liuzzi later hit the barrier at Sainte Dévote. The second restart left only two minutes, preventing many drivers from completing meaningful supersoft runs and leaving mechanics racing to repair damaged cars before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2011 Monaco Grand Prix FP1, 26 May 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:16.619	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.113s	24
3	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.520s	20
4	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.697s	24
5	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.731s	23
6	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.915s	24
7	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.908s	30
8	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.959s	24
9	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.114s	16
10	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+2.186s	14
11	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	+2.309s	19
12	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.615s	24
13	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.776s	24
14	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.844s	25
15	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+3.149s	25
16	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+3.173s	26
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	+3.464s	23
18	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+4.497s	27
19	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+4.929s	32
20	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+5.139s	31
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.196s	17
22	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	+6.221s	13
23	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+7.266s	37
24	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	No time	3

Free Practice 2 Classification

2011 Monaco Grand Prix FP2, 26 May 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:15.123	42
2	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.105s	33
3	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.198s	44
4	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.325s	38
5	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.544s	46
6	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.658s	45
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.233s	33
8	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.519s	42
9	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.978s	46
10	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	+2.003s	38
11	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.214s	35
12	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.418s	47
13	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.447s	39
14	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.458s	32
15	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.510s	49
16	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.583s	37
17	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.666s	43
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	+3.143s	50
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+3.367s	39
20	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+3.930s	15
21	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+4.062s	40
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+4.215s	35
23	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+6.943s	33

Free Practice 3 Classification

2011 Monaco Grand Prix FP3, 28 May 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:14.433	18
2	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.563s	17
3	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.591s	19
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.812s	19
5	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.877s	21
6	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.953s	14
7	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.096s	19
8	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.184s	13
9	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.303s	15
10	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.388s	19
11	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.557s	20
12	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.763s	13
13	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.900s	17
14	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.970s	18
15	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+3.346s	17
16	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	+3.447s	17
17	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+3.636s	17
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	+3.682s	20
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+4.147s	21
20	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+4.375s	21
21	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+4.826s	19
22	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	+5.682s	15
23	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+5.845s	16
24	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	No time	3

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel headed qualifying for Red Bull Racing, with Jenson Button second and Mark Webber third.

Sebastian Vettel took pole ahead of Jenson Button and Mark Webber. Sergio Pérez crashed heavily after the tunnel in Q3, causing a long stoppage; he was taken to hospital and did not start the race.

Qualifying Classification

2011 Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying, 28 May 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:15.606	1:14.277	1:13.556	18
2	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:15.397	1:14.545	1:13.997	18
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:16.087	1:14.742	1:14.019	24
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:16.051	1:14.569	1:14.483	22
5	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:16.092	1:14.981	1:14.682	29
6	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:16.309	1:14.648	1:14.877	25
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:15.858	1:14.741	1:15.766	26
8	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:15.819	1:15.545	1:16.528	23
9	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:15.207	1:14.275	no time	15
10	17	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:15.918	1:15.482	no time	23
11	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:16.378	1:15.815	—	21
12	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:16.616	1:15.826	—	20
13	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:16.513	1:15.973	—	20
14	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:16.813	1:16.118	—	22
15	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:16.600	1:16.121	—	19
16	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	1:16.681	1:16.214	—	22
17	18	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:16.358	1:16.300	—	17
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	1:17.343	—	—	10
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	1:17.381	—	—	9
20	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:17.820	—	—	9
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:17.914	—	—	12
22	25	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	1:18.736	—	—	11
23	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	no time	—	—	—
24	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	no time	—	—	—

Lewis Hamilton had his only Q3 time of 1:15.280 deleted for cutting the chicane, demoting him from 7th to 9th on the grid. But despite making it into the top 10, he was allowed to choose whatever tyre he wanted to start on.

Sergio Pérez was injured and deemed unfit for the race by doctors after crashing heavily at the Nouvelle Chicane in the final period of qualifying. Everyone else moved up one position on the grid to fill his place.

Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan failed to set a lap time in qualifying after both cars were damaged in free practice. However, both cars set a practice time within the 107% standard during the final practice session, and the stewards allowed both drivers to race.

What happened in the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix?

Vettel led Button away, while Alonso passed Webber for third. A slow stop and an unintended tyre choice left Vettel on a long-running strategy, while Button and Alonso pursued different approaches.

Contact involving Hamilton and Massa contributed to the Ferrari crashing in the tunnel, bringing out the safety car. Vettel remained ahead, but his older tyres left him under increasing pressure from Alonso and Button.

A multi-car incident involving Vitaly Petrov, Jaime Alguersuari and others prompted a red flag. The rules allowed tyre changes during the stoppage, removing Vettel’s worn-tyre disadvantage before the final restart.

Vettel held on to win ahead of Alonso and Button, with Webber fourth and Kobayashi fifth. Hamilton finished sixth despite penalties for separate incidents with Massa and Maldonado. Vettel extended his already substantial championship lead.

Further down the points places, Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Sébastien Buemi completed the scoring positions. Mark Webber set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2011 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 143 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 85. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 222, with McLaren on 161.

2011 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 2011 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 29 May 2011, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	78	2:09:38.373	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	78	+1.138	18
3	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	78	+2.378	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	78	+23.101	12
5	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	78	+26.916	10
6	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	78	+47.210	8
7	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	77	+1 Lap	6
8	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	77	+1 Lap	4
9	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	77	+1 Lap	2
10	18	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	77	+1 Lap	1
11	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	76	+2 Laps	0
12	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	76	+2 Laps	0
13	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	76	+2 Laps	0
14	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	76	+2 Laps	0
15	25	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	75	+3 Laps	0
16	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	75	+3 Laps	0
17	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	74	+4 Laps	0
18	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	73	Collision	0
Ret	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	67	Collision	0
Ret	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	66	Collision	0
Ret	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	32	Collision	0
Ret	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	32	Fire	0
Ret	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	30	Suspension	0
DNS	17	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	0	Injured	0

Lewis Hamilton was given a 20-second penalty post-race, for causing an avoidable collision with Pastor Maldonado, but he didn’t lose any place after receiving it.

Pastor Maldonado crashed at Sainte Dévote on lap 73 after a collision with Lewis Hamilton, but he was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the winner’s distance.

2011 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	78	1:16.234	157.724
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	78	1:16.267	157.656
3	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	78	1:16.463	157.252
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	77	1:16.471	157.236
5	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	54	1:17.847	154.456
6	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	77	1:17.857	154.436
7	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	76	1:18.308	153.547
8	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	76	1:18.584	153.008
9	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	59	1:18.608	152.961
10	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	1:18.699	152.784
11	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	75	1:18.724	152.736
12	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	77	1:18.832	152.526
13	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	77	1:18.872	152.449
14	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	62	1:18.904	152.387
15	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	30	1:19.801	150.674
16	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	57	1:20.058	150.191
17	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	16	1:20.202	149.921
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	54	1:20.678	149.036
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	66	1:21.277	147.938
20	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	75	1:21.391	147.731
21	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	74	1:21.566	147.414
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	30	1:22.102	146.451
23	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	74	1:22.731	145.338

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2011 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix.

2011 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	143
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	85
3	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	79
4	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	76
5	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	69
6	Nick Heidfeld	German	Renault	29
7	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	26
8	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	24
9	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	21
10	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	19
11	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	14
12	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	8
13	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	7
14	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	2
15	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	2
16	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	2
17	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	0
18	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Team Lotus	0
19	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Team Lotus	0
20	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Belgian	Virgin Racing	0
21	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	0
22	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	0
23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	HRT	0
24	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	HRT	0

2011 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	222
2	McLaren	161
3	Ferrari	93
4	Renault	50
5	Mercedes	40
6	Sauber	21
7	Force India	10
8	Toro Rosso	7
9	Williams	2
10	Team Lotus	0
11	Virgin Racing	0
12	HRT	0

2011 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2011 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	27 March
2	2011 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	10 April
3	2011 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2011 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	8 May
5	2011 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	22 May
6	2011 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2011 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2011 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	26 June
9	2011 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
10	2011 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	24 July
11	2011 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	31 July
12	2011 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
13	2011 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	11 September
14	2011 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	25 September
15	2011 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
16	2011 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	16 October
17	2011 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	30 October
18	2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	13 November
19	2011 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	27 November