George Russell took another F1 pole in Canadian GP ahead of Max Verstappen after last year, as Oscar Piastri was third.
Q1:
The tyre gamble was on in the first part in F1 Canadian GP qualifying at Montreal where the Alpine pair along with Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso opting for the medium tyre, with the rest going for the usual soft compound.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took a different strategy to go late in the session. The off count saw Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton go off at Turn 1 on their first attempt. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri too went wide at Turn 1, but the major issue happened to Williams’ Alexander Albon.
With just over five minutes remaining, Albon had his engine cover blown off on the back straight. He had to drive back the whole lap to get back in the pits as the session was red-flagged to clear the debris. The re-start saw many line up to set a lap time with the track improving heavily.
It was McLaren’s Lando Norris on top with a 1m11.826s lap ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, with Hamilton in the Top 3. Williams managed to send Albon in, who made it in Q2, but teammate Carlos Sainz failed to do so in 17th after his 1m12.398s lap behind Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto (1m12.385s).
Replays showed Sainz was impeded by Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar, who made it in Q2. His teammate Liam Lawson was knocked out in 19th after his 1m12.525s lap. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m12.517s) was 18th, as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (1m12.667s) was only 20th.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Canadian GP qualifying saw Verstappen use the medium compound to start the session, while others opted for the soft compound – where many were on used set. The Dutchman was joined by Albon on the medium compound as the Thai waited for some time before venturing out.
A lot of others switched to medium tyre on their second attempt with the likes of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto doing so along with Mercedes pair of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with Alonso taking another set after his exploits in the first part of qualifying.
It was Russell on top with a 1m11.570s lap with Norris only 0.029s behind, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the Top 3. Replays showed a moment involving the Monegasque drivers against the Red Bull pair, where he almost collided with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver complained about Russell overtaking in the pitlane. He was knocked out in 11th after a 1m12.102s lap, with a 10-place grid penalty against his name for overtaking Piastri under red flag in FP3. Bortoleto, meanwhile, was cleared of overtaking Oliver Bearman due to speed difference.
Colapinto was 12th after his good 1m12.142s lap, with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg (1m12.183s) 13th from Haas pair of Bearman (1m12.340s) and Esteban Ocon (1m12.634s). They all are to gain due to Tsunoda’s penalty, while some may gain if Hadjar is also penalised.
Q3:
The final part in F1 Canadian GP qualifying saw Albon opt for medium tyre on his first run, while others went for soft compound. It was a bad start for Norris after he was forced to abandon his first attempt by going off in the final chicane. He had to go around again to set a lap time in the first run.
It was Verstappen on top with a 1m11.248s lap, with Piastri only 0.025s behind in second. Russell slotted in third from Antonelli and Norris in the Top 5, with both the Ferrari cars outside the first half. The second run saw medium tyres gamble from multiple drivers in display.
The likes of Verstappen along with Russell, Alonso and Antonelli went for the medium tyre, where the Italian was on a used set. The pole position changed hand thrice, first to go quicker was Piastri with a 1m11.120s lap, as Verstappen followed with a 1m11.059s lap.
But Russell went even quicker with a 1m10.899s lap – the only one to dip into the 1m10s margin – to secure F1 pole in Canadian GP ahead of Verstappen and Piastri. Teammate Antonelli (1m11.391s) rounded a good day for Mercedes in fourth from Hamilton (1m11.526s).
Alonso was best of the rest in sixth. It was disaster for Norris in seventh after he failed to attempt on his second run, with Leclerc only eighth after making a mistake on his final lap. He was purple in Sector 1 but lost control to loose out. He complained of dirty air but Hadjar was a bit far up.
The Frenchman was ninth after his 1m11.867s lap, as Albon rounded out the Top 10 with a 1m11.907s lap.
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda penalty: https://x.com/fia/status/1933979860046684580
Here’s Gabriel Bortoleto escaping it: https://x.com/fia/status/1933979278607065508
UPDATE: Expectedly, Hadjar was handed 3-place grid drop for impeding Sainz in Q1. The Frenchman noted that he relied on his team’s information that the Spaniard abandoned his quick lap when it was not the case. When he realised it, he tried to move away but by then it was too late.
As a result of the penalty, Hadjar is to drop 12th in the order, with Albon, Colapinto and Hulkenberg moving up the order in ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1934019018261762330
Ocon was reprimanded for driving after not following Race Directors’ note. At Turn 12-13, the Frenchman was supposed to be on the right side of the track to allow a fast car to go through but when Leclerc by him, he moved to his left which was against the drivers’ note. He apologised for the miss as it was new addition in the note.
Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1934021595464433707
