Vettel ‘very happy’ with first top 10 start of 2022 while Stroll says he needs ‘a miracle’ to get points in Monaco

Sebastian Vettel secured his first top-10 start of the season with ninth on the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix, but his Aston Martin team mate Lance Stroll was booted out in Q1 and says he needs a “miracle” to rescue points on Sunday…

Four-time champion Vettel was in the top 10 in all three segments of qualifying, the German getting into a rhythm quickly and putting himself in a strong position to score his second points finish of the season.

READ MORE: Leclerc takes majestic pole on home turf in Monaco as bizarre Sainz-Perez crash brings early end to qualifying

“Overall, we’re very happy,” he said. “We got into Q3 and had a really good lap in Q2. In Q3, the first run was good so I think we are happy. To have the red flag at the end [caused by Sergio Perez, which forced him and others to abort the lap] – I don’t want to say it was kind of expected, but obviously highly likely here.”

He added: “If it’s a normal dry race, it’s good to be in the position we are in, as we’re starting in the points and then we will see. I think with tyres, it will be difficult to manage.

“We will see what type of race we will have in our hands tomorrow and have just got to make sure we are sharp. If it rains, [we have got] to make the right calls.”

Stroll was knocked out in Q1 for the fourth time in five starts in Monaco and lines up 18th on the grid, after the rear end of his AMR22 got out of shape.

READ MORE: ‘I feel sorry for Carlos’ – Perez and Sainz weigh in on their chaotic qualifying-ending crash at Monaco

“We were half a second up, looking really good at the end of Q1, and had a snap in Turn 14, lost the rear, locked up, aborted the lap and that was it,” said Stroll. “It’s a real shame, we were easily going through – we had great pace today.”

When asked if forecasted rain gives him hope of rescuing points on Sunday, he replied: “It’ll take a miracle!”