Formula One:Sebastian Vettel made it five poles in six Grands Prix this season, albeit from a qualifying session in Monaco marred by a frightening accident involving Mexican rookie Sergio Perez.
In the top-10 shoot-out for tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix, Vettel had just scorched to the top of the timesheet with a lap of one minute 13.556secs when Perez smashed into a barrier at the harbour chicane.
The session had to be halted for a total of 38 minutes as Perez was first treated trackside before being taken to a nearby medical centre, following which repairs were carried out to the barrier.
With two minutes and 26 seconds remaining at that time, it left Lewis Hamilton in trouble as he had yet to set a timed lap by the time of the accident. The 26-year-old in his McLaren could only qualify seventh, 1.7secs adrift of reigning champion Vettel for Red Bull, with Jenson Button second on the grid and Mark Webber third.
With the Lotus duo of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli ahead of him in 18th and 19th, 20th on the grid equals the Spaniard's worst slot of his F1 career set in Italy in 2009. To add to his woes, he is also due to face the stewards after hitting a Sauber going through La Rascasse.
Behind him are the Virgio pair of Timo Glock and Jerome D'Ambrosio, both comfortably within the 107 per cent time. Expressing his sentiments towards Perez, Vettel said: "The most important thing is that Sergio is okay, that he is conscious.
"We're all thinking of him, we wish him the best and hopefully he can start the race tomorrow. I had to wait a long time to get the pole, but I'm very pleased."
Button, who endured his own shunt at the same spot eight years ago, said: "It's great that Sergio is okay and talking. I was the last person to go in there in 2003, and I know how much it hurts, so hopefully he'll be okay."
Webber added: "Sergio had a tough crash, our thoughts are with him. He is in great hands, and I'm sure he'll be back. Looking at safety it's one area we can look at for the future."