Friday was unusual in Montreal, as the first training session – won by Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) – lasted only five minutes due to a malfunction in the local broadcast network. Therefore, the referees extended the second free training period by 30 minutes, making it 90 minutes.
The Mercedes duo was the fastest in free practice, behind seven-time world champion Hamilton, and his teammate George Russell, also from Britain, ranked second, while Spanish Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. came in third. The Red Bull drivers, who have won all the races of the season so far, were knocked out of the top five. Dutchman Max Verstappen, the defending champion and current leader in the points race, ranked sixth, and Mexican Sergio Perez ranked eighth.
On Saturday, rain was once again the biggest opponent
In the third free practice on Saturday, Max Verstappen achieved the best time. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) from Monaco and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) from Spain achieved the second and third best lap times on wet asphalt, respectively.
According to Hungarian time, rain was also expected during qualifying late on Saturday evening, although at the start of Q1, drivers were greeted with a dry track. However, we did not have to wait long for the rain to fall, for about a quarter of an hour later Sargent already indicated that it was raining too. Finally, Verstappen won the first quarter, and the Dutchman finished the race 0.630 seconds ahead of second-placed Alonso. Hamilton moved up to third, but Konoda, Gasly, De Vries, Sargeant and Sue were eliminated.
In the second stage, the wet track became an increasing problem, as Lance Stroll spun in turn five and then brought down the wall with his front wing. A few moments later, the entire stadium wore soft tires to adapt to the weather conditions. But this time, there were also surprises, as Sergio Perez bled again in the second section, then Charles Leclerc suffered the same fate, and the Monaco driver expressed his dissatisfaction on the team radio.
The second stage of qualifying was surprisingly won by Albon with Williams, followed by Verstappen and Norris. In addition to Perez and Leclerc, say goodbye to Stroll, Magnussen and Bottas.
In Q3, the race cars were turning in the pouring rain, so it was very important to get the first timed lap of the stage perfectly straight away, as it would definitely count in the final settlement. In the third free practice, Sainz defeated Ferrari, but this time the Italian team placed all its hopes in the Spaniard after Leclerc’s exit.
Verstappen immediately opened the race with a very strong lap, and as the conditions worsened, it was unlikely that anyone would put pressure on the Dutchman. Behind him, Hulkenberg, Alonus, Hamilton and Russell featured in the top five, while Piastri badly put the McLaren into the wall, bringing the red flag.
The opposing field only had seven minutes to improve their lap times after the save, but the rain continued to fall, so the chance of that was slim. So it was, nothing noteworthy happened in the remaining time: Verstappen took the 25th pole of his career with a time of 1:25.858, Hulkenberg was second and Alonso third. Next order: Hamilton, Russell, Ocon, Norris, Sainz, Piastri, Albon.
However, the final initiation order can still be overridden by sanctions.
The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday night at 8:00pm, and we’ll be reporting on the index with minute-by-minute coverage and a summary of the highlights.
(Cover image: Getty Images)
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