After showing promising pace throughout the three free practice sessions, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will have to settle for 16th and 17th positions on the starting grid for the Canadian Grand Prix.
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On Friday, Stroll had concluded the first session seventh, then Vettel climbed to the fourth rung a few moments later on a dry track. Then, Saturday morning in the rain, Vettel was in third place at the end of the third session.
Unsurprisingly, the two men therefore both seemed dumbfounded after the first qualifying session.
“It didn’t go well, it was difficult, launched a disappointed Stroll. We were competitive at the start of the third practice session with the rain tyres. And now we are behind. We had no traction.”
“We don’t know what happened but there must be something because it was so different,” Vettel added. It’s disappointing, because I think we could have had a very good result in these conditions. We will see, but given the feeling in the car, it is not surprising that we are so slow.
A yellow flag
Often the victim of bad luck in qualifying this season, Stroll was once again in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the very end of the session, he had to slow down for his last flying lap due to a waved yellow flag following Carlos Sainz going off the track. On a track that was drying up, the situation was far from ideal. The local favorite had no illusions.
“There was a yellow flag at the end and we couldn’t make time, he said sorry. I slowed down. I lost three tenths. After that, it’s hard to come back.”
“The track was a second faster [en s’asséchant]but even without [le drapeau jaune]I don’t think we were in a position to progress.”
For Sunday, Vettel believes that a well-crafted strategy could make it possible to forget these catastrophic qualifications.
“We’re probably faster than the cars right in front of us. We hope to have a good start, then we will see with the strategy. I still believe that we can progress and maybe snatch a point. We will see.”