Max Verstappen brilliance continues agonising F1 wait for Fernando Alonso

It was supposed to be Fernando Alonso's moment.

Sitting on provisional pole at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, the Aston Martin garage erupted in celebration, the Spaniard having produced a lap worthy of ending an 11-year wait for pole position.

The two-time F1 champion's previous pole had been at the 2012 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, a lifetime ago in Formula 1 terms - then Max Verstappen went and ruined it all.

The Dutchman had not been entirely comfortable around the principality that weekend, and for the majority of his final Q3 lap, it appeared as if such form would continue.

The Red Bull driver was down on Alonso's time through the first two sectors by two tenths of a second, seemingly out of contention, certainly around the tight, twisty confines of Monte Carlo.

But the final sector was something else entirely.

Verstappen threw the RB19 at the barriers, kissing them on occasion as he wrung every last thousandth out of the car, crossing the line 0.084s ahead of Alonso to snatch a remarkable pole position.

"My first sector wasn't ideal on my final lap, I think Turn 1 was a bit cautious, but then I knew I was behind, so the last sector I gave it everything I had and clipped a few barriers," said Verstappen afterwards.

He also acknowledged that pole had never looked straightforward. "We knew that this was going to be a little bit of a struggle for us this weekend, to get everything together." But get everything together he did.

For Alonso, it was agony. So close to a first pole in over a decade, yet denied by the finest of margins. "When you are second, and you miss pole by less than a tenth, you always think that you could have done a little bit better here or there," he said.

As he sat in the cockpit of his Red Bull, a sporting Alonso came over and offered his hand to Verstappen. Recognition, from one champion to another, of a stunning job well done.

Charles Leclerc completed the top three with a 1:11.471s, just 0.022 seconds behind Alonso, underlining how ferociously tight the session had been.

If Verstappen's brilliance was the headline, his team-mate Sergio Perez provided the lowlight. The Mexican lost the rear of his Red Bull entering Sainte Dévote during Q1, clattering into the barriers and bringing out the red flag. The damage was terminal, leaving him stranded in 20th and last.