Verstappen claims pole in wet Canadian GP qualifying amid series of penalties
Max Verstappen secured his 25th pole position, as a red flag penalty derailed Nico Hulkenberg's front-row ambitions. Fernando Alonso put on a strong display, claiming third fastest, but will start second ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen secured his 25th pole position in a wet Canadian Grand Prix qualifying session, but Nico Hulkenberg's shot at a front-row start was stopped by a red flag penalty.
Q1
Q1 was abruptly red-flagged just three minutes into the session when Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo lost power on the exit of Turn 7.
Despite the setback, a successful reset allowed Zhou to return to the track, albeit hampered by the earlier problem.
The drying track led to a scramble among drivers, resembling a game of musical chairs as they jostled for position against the elimination zone.
Controversy struck when Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda encountered a slowing Carlos Sainz at the chicane, leading to neither of them advancing to Q2.
Gasly was notably irate, suggesting on the radio that the Ferrari driver "should be banned".
Home hero Lance Stroll had a near miss with the wall after a dramatic spin at Turn 5 but could only manage a time suitable for the 13th place.
At the bottom of the field, Logan Sargeant found himself beside Zhou on the last row.
Q2: A gamble pays off
The drying conditions prompted a daring gamble from Alex Albon who switched to soft tyres at the start of Q2.
His risk was rewarded when he achieved a 1m18.725s lap time, securing his place in Q3.
The move sparked a brief shift towards slick tyres among other drivers, including Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
However, the gamble didn't pay off for everyone. The returning rain forced Perez to switch back to intermediates, leaving him mired in the drop zone and eventually eliminated from the session.
Meanwhile, Leclerc found himself in a similar predicament, one position ahead but still in the drop zone after Hulkenberg's successful soft-tyre lap.
Q3: Verstappen triumphs, Alonso close behind
As the rain intensified during the final phase of the qualifying, drivers had to navigate a challenging wet track.
Verstappen was up to the task, setting an impressive 1m25.858s time on his first lap.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso also displayed a strong performance, getting within 0.25s of the championship leader's time.
However, he couldn't top Verstappen's time in subsequent efforts, settling for the third-fastest time.
Behind them, George Russell and Esteban Ocon battled it out for positions ahead of Lando Norris.
Sainz, penalised for his earlier obstruction, could only manage eighth, subsequently reduced to 11th after his grid penalty was applied.
Oscar Piastri's time, secured before his crash, placed him ninth, while Albon's Q3 effort was scrubbed for a track limits violation.
2023 Canadian GP Qualifying Results:
2023 Canadian GP Provisional Starting Grid after Penalties
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