George Russell takes pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen, who set the exact same time.
Q1
Whilst the track started dry, weather had already played a factor in this qualifying session. Rain fell about an hour prior to the session’s start, which washed away any and all rubber laid down over the course of practice. This meant that a lack of grip had drivers building up their pace over the 18 minutes, with the order constantly changing.
Though Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a wider track than Monaco, the lap times are roughly comparable, making traffic just as much of an issue here. Both Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc ran into some issues with others getting in the way them, though the stewards felt that these incidents did not constitute impeding.
Sergio Perez signed a two year extension with Red Bull this week, however his run of poor form has continued as he exits qualifying for the 2nd weekend in a row.
ELIMINATED
16. Sergio Perez – Red Bull +0.037
17. Valtteri Bottas – Kick Sauber +0.077
18. Esteban Ocon – Alpine +0.069
19. Nico Hulkenberg – Haas +0.183
20. Zhou Guanyu – Kick Sauber +1.003
Q2
There was a sense of urgency about this part of qualifying as the rain was expected to arrive soon, though ultimately it would not come by at this point, at least terribly significantly. The wind however was rather gusty, which might have played a factor in George Russell having a big moment in the exit of turn 4, which he was lucky to have escaped without making any contact with the wall.
A rather uncommon occurrence took place as the wheel gun became tethered to his right rear tyre when in the pits. Fortunately for the Williams driver, this would ultimately have no impact on his running, and he was able to make it through to Q3 for the 2nd weekend running.
Ferrari had been struggling for pace all weekend, but there was still an expectation that, with the pace of the car for the majority of the season, that they’d at least both be able to reach Q3. However, this would prove to not be the case as both Leclerc and Sainz were knocked out in Q2, and will start tomorrow’s race in 11th and 12th respectively.
ELIMINATED
11. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.032
12. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari +0.069
13. Logan Sargeant – Williams +0.077
14. Kevin Magnussen – Haas +0.257
15. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.281
Q3
Whilst there had been an expectation of rain making a cameo throughout the entirety of qualifying, it turned out that it would never arrive, making Q3 a traditional shootout for pole.
Mercedes had rolled back the years as they took a provisional 1-2 after everyone’s initial flying laps, though many drivers had opted to set banker times on used tyres.
Whilst track evolution had meant that times had been rapidly falling throughout qualifying, things began to level out towards the end, with the majority of the gains appearing to come to those who’d switched to new tyres. Both Russell and Hamilton had failed to improve with their final times, and whilst Hamilton would eventually fall to 7th, Russell was still the man to beat.
Lando Norris would get awfully close to pole, setting a lap just 21 thousandths slower than Russell, but this was still only good enough for third. The driver in second, would be Max Verstappen. He would go on to set a 1:12.000, the exact same time that Russell had set, and because Russell had set the time first, he was awarded pole position. This is only the second time in F1 history that multiple drivers have set the exact same time as the pole sitter in qualifying with this also having happened at the 1997 European Grand Prix, where Jacques Villeneuve’s pole position time was matched by Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Qualifying results
1. George Russell – Mercedes 1:12.000
2. Max Verstappen – Red Bull +0.000
3. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.021
4. Oscar Piastri– McLaren +0.103
5. Daniel Ricciardo – RB +0.178
6. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.228
7. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes +0.280
8. Yuki Tsunoda – Alpha Tauri +0.414
9. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.701
10. Alex Albon – Williams +0.796
