Once again Max Verstappen will start on pole, qualifying fastest in wet conditions for tomorrows Canadian Grand Prix. With Charles Leclerc taking further grid penalties, relegating him to the back of the grid, and Redbull driver Sergio Perez going off in Q2, a solid Sunday will see Verstappen further extend his championship lead.
Fernando Alonso will return to the front row for the first time since 2012, going second fastest. The Ferrari of Carlos Sainz starts third, alongside Sir Lewis Hamilton in fourth, his highest qualifying result of the season.
Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher lock out the third row, with Schumacher aiming for the first points finish of his career.
Cars struggled with the conditions during the first session of qualifying, with several drivers missing corners, resulting in having lap times deleted. Sainz brought out a brief yellow flag after spinning late in the session, but avoided any contact and had previously set a fast lap to ensure he made Q2. Both AlphaTauri’s and Aston Martin’s failed to make the top 15, with local hope Nicolas Latifi being the fifth driver eliminated.
Yellow flags were needed early in Q2 after Thai driver Alex Albon put his Williams softly into the wall at turn 6. Albon managed to find reverse and return to the pits. Sergio Perez suffered a similar fate not long after, putting his Red Bull into the wall and triggering a red flag. Damage seemed minimal, but Perez, unlike Albon, was unable to reverse out of the barrier, eliminating him from the session.
In addition to Perez, the other four drivers failing to make Q3 were Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas, Albon and Leclerc, the latter already confined to the back of the grid.
Q3 saw teams flirting with the ideas of slicks on a fast-drying track, however surface water at various locations around the circuit made this a risky strategy. George Russel was the first to try slicks with 3 minutes left in the session, which ultimately saw him into the barriers at turn one after running through surface water, damaging his rear wing.
Racing starts at 6am Monday morning.
