Pole for Verstappen, front row for Alonso

Cloudy. Dry track. Air +12С, track +17…18С

Track overtaking is often considered unimportant, but of the last five Canadian Grands Prix, four have been won by the qualifier.

In 2022, Formula 1 returned to Canada after a three-year hiatus with new cars and a new balance of power. A week before Montreal, Max Verstappen won in Baku, where his main rival Charles Leclerc retired, and in Canada the Monegasque car was replaced twice by the power plant – and in tomorrow’s race the Ferrari driver will share the last row of the grid with Yuki Tsunoda, who received a similar fine. Qualifications really didn’t matter to them.

On Friday the riders worked on a dry track – Verstappen showed the best time, then it rained and only rain and intermediate tires were used in Saturday’s practice – Alonso took the first line in mixed conditions.

Before the start of qualifying, the rain subsided, then it started again, puddles appeared. Spectators got wet and cold, but steadfastly endured the vagaries of the weather – the stands were filled.

first session riders started on wet tires. There was a lot of water in some places. Everyone went straight to the track to show one more time before the conditions deteriorate. Traffic and poor visibility got in the way, but the riders were sprawled across the track.

Rain tires effectively removed water from the track, with each lap the track got faster. Race management canceled time for those coming off the track, which happened quite often, but overall the session went smoothly. Sainz drove into the safety zone of the third corner, causing yellow flags to appear – and that was it.

The rain is gone.

Leclerc, Albon and Sainz were called to the stewards – according to race management they drove too slowly and released rivals before the start of the fast lap.

Verstappen showed the best time with a lap time of 1:32.219. Gasly, Vettel, Stroll, Latifi and Tsunoda dropped out.

In the second session Albon, Magnussen, Schumacher, Alonso, Ocon, Pérez and Sainz drove on intermediate tyres, the rest tried wet tires for the first time. Leclerc stayed in the pits – in the first part of qualifying he was ahead of Tsunoda and will start penultimate, and the penalty did not allow him to fight for other positions.

In some areas there was too much water for intermediate tires. Albon crashed into turn six and hit the wall, but was able to pull away.

A minute later, Perez crashed into the guardrail in the third corner – and the session was stopped by red flags for the car’s evacuation. Alonso had the best time at the time – 1:30,910.

After twelve minutes the riders were able to continue the battle. The track has dried up a bit. All left on intermediate tires. Norris complained of misfires and broke the fast lap without showing any time.

Racers followed one another on the front line, but Verstappen again set the best time – 1:23.746. Bottas, Albon, Perez, Norris and Leclerc did not qualify for the final.

Three teams made it to the final in full force – Mercedes, Alpine and Haas F1 – an unusual combination for this season.

In the final all left again on the intermediate rubber. In the first attempt, Verstappen led the scoresheet with a lap time of 1:22.701.

On the second attempt, Russell was the first to go on slicks and receive a Soft kit. Verstappen went even faster on the intermediates – 1:21.620, and Russell on the slicks flew onto the grass in the second corner and caught the barrier with his back.

Zhou returned to the track after an exit at Turn 9 and violated the race director’s instructions – he was called to the stewards to issue a warning.

On the last fast lap, Verstappen added more – 1:21.299, and Alonso showed the second fastest time.

Max Verstappen won Canadian qualifying with his second pole of the season and 15th of his career. Fernando Alonso will start the race from the front row after a 10-year hiatus (from Germany’12).

Sainz and Hamilton start from the second row, another thrill from the third – Magnussen and Schumacher.

Qualification Results