Wet qualifying in Canada brought interesting results, who took pole position?

Formula 1 continues with the weekend in Canada and on Saturday, qualifying was the order of the day. And it was an interesting spectacle on the water in Montreal this year. Max Verstappen took pole position with a time of 1:21.299, with Fernando Alonso surprisingly next to him on the front row. A fantastic performance by Haas, who will start from fifth and sixth place.

From the very first minutes, the drivers had to deal not only with a lot of water, but also with very poor visibility. Moreover, the track was developing and the times were getting faster and faster. That’s why the pilots were changing first place as if on a treadmill.

Sergio Pérez was in big trouble and was on the verge of advancing throughout Q1. The Mexican eventually pulled through from thirteenth place to the middle part of qualifying. The Alpha Tauri (Cunoda, Gasly) and Aston Martin (Vettel, Stroll) monohulls and the Williams of Nicholas Latifi both dropped out of the first block.

Max Verstappen won Q1 with a time of 1:32.219, followed by the two Spaniards, Alonso and Sainz. Magnussen also showed great pace in the Haas, finishing fourth.

In the 15-minute middle section, the tactical work began. Some of the drivers put on temporary tyres as the track was running low on water. But the risk brought the first collisions. First, Alexander Albon ended up in the wall, but he still managed to back out of turn six.

A few seconds later, however, Pérez was out in turn three and qualifying was interrupted by a red flag. After six minutes, Fernando Alonso was in the lead, followed by Verstappen and Sainz. Q2 resumed with all drivers already on a green-marked set of intermediate tyres.

Times began to drop rapidly after the restart. But the fastest driver was still Max Verstappen. The Dutchman won the middle section with a time of 1:23.746. Valtteri Bottas, Alexander Albon, Sergio Pérez, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were all eliminated from Q2 in descending order. Norris did not post any time due to a technical issue, Leclerc will start last regardless of today’s result due to penalties.

In the direct battle for pole position, Max Verstappen was undoubtedly the favourite. The track looked dry in some places, but it wasn’t for changing. Geroge Russell took the risk, but soon ended up in the breakaway zone on the way to a fast lap.

Verstappen eventually confirmed his role as the favourite, taking a clear victory over second-placed Fernando Alonso. Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row.

Top 10 standings: Verstappen, Alonso, Sainz, Hamilton, Magnussen, Schumacher, Ocon, Russell, Ricciardo, Zhou

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