Rarely is it the one who finishes second at the end of the qualifications that commands the most attention. But when it comes to a driver who, at 35, has never been on the podium and who, moreover, races in a second-class team, it is difficult to pass up the occasion.
Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg caused the upset of the weekend so far by setting the second fastest time in qualifying, contested in near-extreme wet conditions. He finished behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull and ahead of Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin. As this is Verstappen’s fifth pole position in eight races, let’s give the mic back to Hulkenberg.
PHOTO RYAN REMIORZ, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Nico Hulkenberg, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso who will start second, first and third respectively in the Canadian Grand Prix race on Sunday.
At the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, the German will play his 192e racing in Formula 1. His best results, in life, come down to fourth places, three times – the last one being in 2016. He didn’t find a wheel in 2021 and raced only twice in 2022.
Only once, in his rookie season in 2010, did he start a GP in first position. And he had qualified in the rain.
As well to say that the result acquired Saturday in Montreal is not in his habits. The veteran, however, had a very timid celebration. After the qualifying sessions, he praised the communication with his team, which he believes kept him in control. “We did some good laps and we were rewarded with a good result,” he summed up.
You shouldn’t read false modesty so much as the wisdom of someone who has seen others. He knows, and everyone knows, that his Haas, barring a series of unforeseen events, doesn’t have what it takes to hold on to second place on Sunday. He himself underlined that, since the start of the season, his team’s speed in the race has not been perfect. It is even probably lower than that deployed in qualifications. This is what makes him hope to finish “somewhere between P1 and P10”.
A good player, he nevertheless recalled that “today, we can take advantage of the moment”. However, we must be “realistic”. “Many challenges await us [dimanche]. »
At least we’re starting from a good position! There will be a lot of pressure behind me, several cars will be pushing hard.
Nico Hulkenberg
His long months without a steering wheel did not weaken his flame, he assured. “The years haven’t stolen anything from me: if you know how to drive, the rules of racing and the physics of driving don’t change. The car changes, but the speed is there. The rest needs to be optimized. »
This is exactly what he will attempt to do.
Extreme
Max Verstappen therefore tamed the bad weather to set the fastest time of the day. He will therefore start from the first row, for the second year in a row in Montreal.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Max Verstappen (1), driver for the Red Bull team, takes pole position at the end of the Formula 1 qualifying session run this afternoon at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.
On a wet track, he was able to maintain control of his car and forged a lead of more than a second over Hulkenberg.
With the showers stopping and starting again, sometimes powerfully, the teams struggled to optimize their choice of tyres. The final session was finally cut short when everyone returned to the pits to stay there rather than installing the rain tires.
Verstappen, leader of the drivers’ classification this season, said he was satisfied with the behavior of his car. He also praised the communication with his team, essential in these conditions.
There is no magic recipe for success in the rain, he noted, other than to “keep faith” and use your “instinct” to make the right decisions. “It’s something you learn very young,” he said. In go-kart, my father showed me the lines to take when it was raining. It is learned, it is understood. »
Fernando Alonso, 41, was not on his first shower, and if he said he was satisfied with his third place… under the circumstances.
In the first and third session, red flags interrupted some very good laps for him as he was very close to the finish line. This third position therefore leaves him with “a different taste”, but he sees a “huge chance” for Aston Martin to score valuable points.
The Spaniard is currently third in the Drivers’ Championship behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who will start 11e, Sunday. He admitted his car was probably ‘not level’ with Verstappen’s car, but on a dry surface he hoped ‘to be closer than 20 or 30 seconds behind him’, a reference to the surreal margins of recent victories of the young prodigy.
The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will start in fourth and fifth place.
The 2023 Canadian Grand Prix will get under way this Sunday at 2 p.m.