F1: Monaco Shocker - Schumacher First In Qualifying

Formula 1

F1: Monaco Shocker - Schumacher First In Qualifying

Despite setting the qualifying pace, Michael Schumacher will start only sixth in Monaco due to a grid penalty...

Jared Turner | Posted May 26, 2012 Monte Carlo (MCO)

He won't get to start first on the grid, but for one day at least, Michael Schumacher can celebrate.

Facing a five-place grid penalty for his collision with Bruno Senna two weeks ago in Spain, Schumacher led the way in qualifying for Sunday's Monaco GP as the seven-time World Champion captured his first pole since coming out of retirement in 2010.

Schumacher (1:14:301), who will drop to sixth on the grid, was followed in qualifying by 2010 Monaco winner Mark Webber (1:14:381), who will inherit the pole due to the Mercedes driver's penalty.

Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean completed the rest of the top five in qualifying but each man will move up a spot because of the Schumacher penalty.

"Monaco, to all of us, is the track of the year that has a very prestigious position," said Schumacher, won earned his 69th career GP pole. "To win the pole here is just fabulous."

Schumacher, who has finished no better than 10th this year despite having consistently fast cars, said he believes he can win from sixth on Sunday's grid.

"I'm obviously excited and very happy," said the five-time Monaco champion and winner of a record 91 Grands Prix. "It confirms what I have felt for a long time."

Michael Schumacher is a former Monaco GP winner. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Pastor Maldondo and Sebastian Vettel filled out the rest of top 10, with Alonso set to line up just ahead of Schumacher in fifth.

Maldonado, meanwhile, faces a 10-place grid penalty of his own for running into Sergio Perez during FP3 Saturday morning.

Maldonado, who shocked the F1 world by earning career win No. 1 in Spain, will therefore be hard-pressed to make it two in a row.

Notably absent from the decisive Q3 round was McLaren driver Jenson Button, who qualified a disappointing 13th. Button, the 2009 World Champion, has delivered inconsistent performances since winning the season opener in Australia.

For the second straight year in Monaco qualifying, Perez found trouble — this time when his Sauber struck the barriers and lost a left-rear wheel early in Q1, keeping Perez out of Q2 for the first time in his F1 career.

Perez, who appeared to under-steer into the barriers in the first part of Monaco's famous Swimming Pool section, was unable to continue.

Vettel, the 2011 winner of the Monaco GP and reigning World Champion, is tied with Alonso for the World Championship lead after five of 20 races.

Hamilton is third, eight points back, followed by Raikkonen (-12) and Webber (-13).

Each event of 2012 has been won by a different driver, with Button (Australia), Alonso (Malaysia), Rosberg (China), Vettel (Bahrain) and Maldonado (Spain) all topping the podium, respectively.

Qualifying concludes Saturday's on-track proceedings in Monaco.

Tune in for live coverage of the Monaco GP Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on SPEED.

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.