Penalty hits speedy Schuey (THE SUN)

SO CLOSE BUT SO FAR ... Michael Schumacher reflects

Published: Today at 14:33

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER was fastest in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix — but will not start from pole.

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The seven-time Formula One champion set a lap of one minute and 14.301secs for Mercedes right at the death in a pulsating session.

However, the 43-year-old will start from sixth on the grid due to a five-place penalty incurred after running into the back of Williams’ Bruno Senna during the Spanish GP 13 days ago.

Schuey's loss was Mark Webber's gain, with the Red Bull star securing the front of the grid for the first time since last year's German GP.

A delighted Schumacher said: “I’m more than thrilled about getting pole here in Monaco.

“To all of us this place is the track of the year, it has a very prestigious position, and to manage pole here after what I have gone through in the last 2½ years is fabulous.

“I told you guys in the Press conference my situation would be pole, start the race from sixth and then win it.

“That’s what I’m here for, what I’m aiming for, it’s all I have in my mind and the past doesn’t matter at all.”

SEALED WITH A KISS ... Schumacher salutes his fans

Nico Rosberg will start second in his Mercedes, while McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton lines up third.

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean will be elevated to fourth alongside Hamilton, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso fifth.

Schumacher starts ahead of Felipe Massa in his Ferrari and the second Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen.

Pastor Maldonado qualified ninth but will start 19th after the Spanish GP winner collected a 10-place penalty for causing a collision with Sauber’s Sergio Perez in final practice.

That means Sebastian Vettel moves up to ninth after bizarrely opting to save a set of tyres in the top-10 shootout in which he failed to set a time.

An indicator as to how drivers view the importance of qualifying was underlined by Vettel, winner here last year, who had completed 22 laps after the first two sessions.

Raikkonen only just managed to squeeze into the top 10, edging Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg by a 10th of a second, to start ahead of Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi.

Qualifying for Jenson Button, however, was again a huge disappointment as the winner of this race in 2009 could only claim 12th.

Struggling with his tyres, the McLaren star finished out of the top 10 for the second successive race.

Williams’ Bruno Senna and Paul di Resta in his Force India line up 13th and 14th, with the Toro Rosso duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne 15th and 16th.

Vergne’s session finished early as he broke off his nose in a minor shunt into a barrier on the slope down to the port chicane.

Earlier, and less than five minutes into a chaotic opening 20-minute session, the red flags were out after Sergio Perez crashed in qualifying for the second successive year.

On this occasion, Perez appeared to suffer an issue with his front-left suspension, potentially as a hangover after the incident in practice with Maldonado.

Emerging out of the swimming pool complex the Mexican was unable to straighten up his Sauber, hitting a barrier to his left.

That comprehensively dislodged his front-left wheel, while also removing the rear left and forcing him to park up at La Rascasse, leaving him without a time and starting at the back.

Ahead of him are the six you would expect, but it was not without some consternation for Vettel and Raikkonen who were forced to put on the supersoft tyres towards the end to guarantee survival.

The Caterhams of Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov will line up 17th and 18th, followed by Maldonado.

Then come Timo Glock for Marussia and the HRT of Pedro de la Rosa, with team-mates Charles Pic and Narain Karthikeyan 22nd and 23rd respectively.

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