Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel secured his fifth pole of the season after posting the fastest time in Saturday's crash-marred qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Vettel's lap of 1 minute, 13.556 seconds gave Red Bull its sixth straight pole, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber.
"If you'd asked me before qualifying if I would have taken third, I probably would have," Webber said.
Webber took the pole at last week's Spanish Grand Prix and Vettel took the previous four poles. The German is bidding to win in Monaco for the first time and increase his 41-point lead in the standings over McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
It was a disappointing session for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who was quickest in the final practice on Saturday morning, but dropped to fourth in qualifying.
Mexico's Sergio Perez was taken to the hospital after crashing near the end of qualifying. He became the third driver to crash Saturday, racing out of the tunnel and skidding across the track.
"It's difficult to keep the focus and it's difficult to keep the concentration when you don't know what's going on," Vettel said. "We all wish him the best."
Perez's crash severely hampered Hamilton, as he had yet to set a lapped time and the heat went out of his tires as he waited nearly 40 minutes for qualifying to resume. The 2008 F1 champion will start Sunday's race in the seventh spot, a disappointment for the English driver, who was fastest in both the first two qualifying sessions.
With Perez racing in the third session for the first time this season, the Mexican lost control of his car as he was about to come out of the tunnel. The front slid over to the right and slammed into the tunnel barrier, spinning the car round and sending it into a tire wall on the circuit.
A medical crew rushed to the car, and a giant blanket was immediately draped over it. After a few minutes the battered car was lifted off the track after Perez had been taken away for treatment. His injuries were not immediately known.
Sauber team official Hanspeter Brack told reporters: "Sergio was conscious and he has been talking. He is now being brought to the hospital and we will have to wait for further information."
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg and Hispania's Vitantonio Liuzzi were both unharmed after crashing in practice earlier Saturday.
Vettel's lap of 1 minute, 13.556 seconds gave Red Bull its sixth straight pole, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber.
"If you'd asked me before qualifying if I would have taken third, I probably would have," Webber said.
Webber took the pole at last week's Spanish Grand Prix and Vettel took the previous four poles. The German is bidding to win in Monaco for the first time and increase his 41-point lead in the standings over McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
It was a disappointing session for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who was quickest in the final practice on Saturday morning, but dropped to fourth in qualifying.
Mexico's Sergio Perez was taken to the hospital after crashing near the end of qualifying. He became the third driver to crash Saturday, racing out of the tunnel and skidding across the track.
"It's difficult to keep the focus and it's difficult to keep the concentration when you don't know what's going on," Vettel said. "We all wish him the best."
With Perez racing in the third session for the first time this season, the Mexican lost control of his car as he was about to come out of the tunnel. The front slid over to the right and slammed into the tunnel barrier, spinning the car round and sending it into a tire wall on the circuit.
A medical crew rushed to the car, and a giant blanket was immediately draped over it. After a few minutes the battered car was lifted off the track after Perez had been taken away for treatment. His injuries were not immediately known.
Sauber team official Hanspeter Brack told reporters: "Sergio was conscious and he has been talking. He is now being brought to the hospital and we will have to wait for further information."
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg and Hispania's Vitantonio Liuzzi were both unharmed after crashing in practice earlier Saturday.
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