Qualifying 1 was a tense affair. Twenty cars trying to find a clear lap in the tight confines of Monaco rarely goes smoothly. To add to the general tension, the Force India duo were warming up for their second run when Lewis Hamilton's left rear wheel struck the wall at Mirabeau. This left his McLaren with a broken rear suspension and caused a red flag while the marshals efficiently removed the obstruction.

There were two pieces of good news for Force India. Firstly, it was taking three laps to get the fastest time from the softer compound of tyres, so the tyres on the cars were still good for another run. Secondly, Lewis's time was too slow to make Q, so each Force India car "only" needed to beat four other cars on merit to get into the next session.

Handily for Force India, Toyota and BMW were having a terrible weekend. BMW were making dramatic set-up changes out of sheer desperation while Toyota seemed simply to accept that their car didn't like slow corners very much. Monaco is one slow corner after another and for the first time this season, Force India was amongst the best at slow cornering. Even Jarno Trulli spinning at the end of the session didn't put Force India off its stride.

Giancarlo took 14th and Adrian 15th in qualifying session 1, resulting in delighted scenes in the Force India pits. It was the first time both Force Indias have qualified in the top 15 since the Jordan days, but there was more to come...

Second qualifying was somewhat more measured. While Nelson Piquet Jr.spun at the final corner at one point, the Force Indias were unaffected. The Force Indias were hovering near the top of the drop-zone half-way through the session when a surprising piece of news emanated from the steward's office. Giancarlo lost both his times up to that point because he'd taken all four wheels off the track at the Swimming Pool chicane. Nonetheless, Giancarlo found a way through the chicane on his final run that was not only acceptable to the stewards but good enough for 13th. This was the best result for Force India since Monza last year, where Giancarlo was 12th. Adrian backed up that result with 15th, matching his Q1 result.

Both drivers were in a great position for the race, causing much rejoicing among Force India fans everywhere. Just to make Vijay Mallya even happier, his cricket team won the semi-final he was watching at the time qualifying happened...

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