Canada - Qualifying

The Canadian Grand Prix weekend quickly made all the viewers aware that it would be one to watch very closely. The practice sessions were mostly held in wet conditions, posing quite a challenge to the drivers. The qualifying wouldn't be any easier. From the beginning, the risk of rain during the session was estimated to be around 80%, keeping all race strategists on their toes. 

Eager to get their laps early in case the predicted rain did decide to fall, the drivers lined up in the pit lane to get out on track. Lance Stroll was the first to set a time to beat. Throughout the session the Canadian flirted with the infamous Wall of Champions, hoping to prove himself in front of his home crowd. The drivers' times appeared quickly and were separated by very little, shaking up the order of the leaderboard again and again. In the end, Bottas, Ocon, Zhou, Hulkenberg, and surprisingly Perez found themselves out of the qualifying. It was his second Q1 exit in a row and one that came right after it was announced that he had extended his contract with Red Bull for another two seasons. Even though Ocon qualified 17th, he will start Sunday's race at the very back of the gird, thanks to the 5-place penalty he received after his incident in Monaco. For the first time this season, Sargeant advanced into Q2. 

The pit exit became crowded once again, as soon as the second session of the day began, and the quick shots of fans putting on their raincoats meant that it began raining. Thankfully for the drivers, it was very light and passed rather quickly, causing little disturbance. Once again, times changed quickly, making it hard to clarify who would end up progressing into Q3. What was clear, was that the Mercedes seemed to find their footing on track, consistently topping the leaderboards. The one remaining Red Bull, on the other hand, struggled more than we were used to seeing. He did find a place in Q3, unlike the two Ferraris who struggled throughout the session, ending up at P11 and P12. Charles later stated that the biggest issue was the pace of the scarlet car or rather a lack thereof. Sargeant, Magnussen, and Gasly also didn't make it into the top 10 shootout. 

Mercedes came on strong from the very beginning of the last session, completely dominating it. The McLarens were quick, but not enough to catch up to the Silver Arrows. Russel managed to set an incredibly impressive time on a used set of soft tires: a 1:12:000. With his teammates a bit further down the order, it seemed like the only person who could take P1 away from him would be Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver tried his best and managed to match the Brit's time. Since the Mercedes was the first one to set it, George Russel finished the day with the second pole position of his career. 

Order of the grid

1. George Russel

2. Max Verstappen

3. Lando Norris 

4. Oscar Piastri

5. Daniel Ricciardo

6. Fernando Alonso

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Yuki Tsunoda 

9. Lance Stroll

10. Alex Albon

11. Charles Leclerc

12. Carlos Sainz

13. Logan Sargeant

14. Kevin Magnussen

15. Pierre Gasly

16. Sergio Perez

17. Valtteri Bottas

18. Esteban Ocon

19. Nico Hulkenberg 

20. Zhou Guanyu