Just like one week ago in Barcelona the polesitter for the GP2 Series feature race at Monaco was decided after the session, as Giedo van der Garde was penalised, handing pole position to Sam Bird.
Van der Garde topped a chaotic qualifying session, where the Addax driver recorded the fastest time in the final moments having run into the back of Oliver Turvey only a few minutes earlier. Van der Garde would be handed a five-place grid penalty for the incident, dropping him to sixth on the grid.
Bird, who entered the Monaco round tied for the points lead with van der Garde, was also caught up in an incident, with iSport teammate Marcus Ericsson hitting him in the rear through the swimming pool towards the end of the session. The Swede was also handed a grid penalty that drops him to P20 on the grid.
Another big name driver to get in trouble was Romain Grosjean. The DAMS driver collected his teammate Pal Varhaug at the Rascasse, and qualified at the back of the grid as a result. He was handed a five-place grid penalty, though obviously this won't affect his starting position.
Jules Bianchi, who had his pole position taken away from him in Barcelona, will line up alongside Bird on the front row, with Davide Valsecchi third and Alvaro Parente fourth. Monegasque racer Stefano Coletti will start fifth, just ahead of van der Garde, with Josef Kral and Max Chilton rounding out the top eight.
