Defending champion Max Verstappen will start first on the starting grid of the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit on Sunday.
Posted at 5:20 p.m.
The pilot recorded a time of 1 min 21.299 seconds on the wet track. To everyone’s surprise, Fernando Alonso of Alpine will start second.
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Mick Schumacher (Haas), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), George Russell (Mercedes), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and Zhoun Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) complete the top 10.
Photo CHRIS HELGREN, REUTERS
Fernando Alonso driving his Alpine
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Alexander Albon (Williams), Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) and Lando Norris (McLaren) were eliminated in Q2.
Charles Leclerc did not take part in the second qualification, he who will start at the back of the peloton anyway on Sunday. Recall that the Ferrari driver received a penalty due to an engine change; the one that caused his abandonment in Baku, last Sunday, being irreparable.
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) will start 16e and 17e. For their part, the Canadians Lance Stroll and Nicholas were not lucky enough to make the 18e and 19e time.
Yet well placed the day before during free practice Stroll fought at the wheel of an Aston Martin that was literally undriveable.
Photo CHRIS HELGREN, REUTERS
Lance Stroll driving his Aston Martin
“We do not understand what happened, explained the pilot to the press briefing. We had no grip and, in addition, there was a yellow flag at the end…”
For her part, Latifi did not hide her disappointment. “It’s frustrating, of course,” he said. I would have liked to do better here in front of the Canadian fans. The conditions were very difficult with little visibility and not much grip. I gave the maximum, but it was really difficult due to the lack of balance of the car. We will work on the car, try to find good settings for the race. We’ll see… ”
Stroll and Latifi should move up at least one place on the starting grid, due to the penalty imposed on Charles Leclerc, but they will still have a heavy task on Sunday to try to obtain a good classification. It was Yuki Tsunoda (Alfa Romeo) who had the worst qualifying time.
More details to come.