Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took advantage of a dry track, despite the particularly cool weather for the season, to claim the lead position at the end of the qualifying session for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, Saturday afternoon.
Verstappen set a time of one minute and 32.219 seconds on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, subtracting 0.645 seconds from the time of the day’s big winner, Alpine driver Fernando Alonso. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. clocked the third fastest time, 0.797 seconds.
The Dutchman thus recorded his second pole position this season, his 15th in his career – and his first in Canada.
Verstappen has had the wind in his sails for some time, having won four of the last five events. The reigning world champion has scored five victories in total this season, the others going to teammate Sergio Perez (1) and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (2).
However, the Red Bull team learned in Q2 that they could not monopolize the front row on the starting grid, since Sergio Perez was the victim of a track exit between turns 3 and 4 which resulted in a red flag. . The Mexican will therefore leave very far on Sunday.
Moreover, Verstappen won’t have to worry about Leclerc on Sunday – at least initially.
The “Scuderia” reversed its decision to replace certain components of the engine of Leclerc’s car, preferring to replace it completely. As a result, the Monegasque will start at the back of the pack, alongside Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda, punished for the same reasons.
Leclerc was therefore unable to improve his impressive track record which already includes six pole positions this season.
In addition, Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel, his Quebec teammate Lance Stroll and Torontonian Nicholas Latifi (Williams) took 17th, 18th and 19th places respectively. However, they will gain one rank each under the penalty imposed on Leclerc.
Weather conditions should be favorable for the race on Sunday, with sunny skies and temperatures expected to reach 21 degrees Celsius.
Alonso had given a taste of his intentions by being fastest in the third free practice session earlier on Saturday.
Verstappen tops the overall standings with 150 points, 21 more than teammate Perez. Leclerc follows in third place, at 116, while all the other drivers on the board are below 100 points.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is the reigning Canadian Grand Prix champion. The Montreal event had been canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.