George Russell & Max Verstappen at the same time! Pole for Mercedes

For the first time since 1997, the two fastest drivers have set the same time in a Formula 1 qualifying session! Both George Russell and Max Verstappen were timed 1:12.000 in Q3. Since Russell set his time first, he was awarded pole position for Canada, while Verstappen had to settle for second place.

The result: Mercedes was finally able to translate its strong training form into qualifying at the Canadian GP. At least with Russell on pole. Behind him and Verstappen, however, came the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, then Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso, and then Lewis Hamilton, who failed in the final sprint. Both Aston Martins, both Racing Bulls and Alex Albon also made it into the top 10.

For Ferrari, the day was over after Q2. The car was simply too slow, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed in 11th and 12th place. Sergio Perez fared even worse, getting stuck in Q1 again. This time, Nico Hülkenberg also said goodbye there.

The weather: Cloudy, 20 degrees air temperature and 32 degrees track temperature, that’s how it looked at the start. With a strong wind. This blew rain towards the track. A few raindrops appeared several times in various places, but the expected shower was pushed further and further back. In the end it didn’t come at all, the rain clouds drifted past the track.

Q1 in Canada: Sergio Perez is eliminated again

The track was dry for Q1, but became much faster in the 18 minutes. This forced even the top teams to use a second set of tires at the end. Only Mercedes risked the second outing on used soft tires and got through. The last few minutes showed how big the times had changed. Max Verstappen briefly slipped to P15 before securing the best time.

The last man to secure his Q2 ticket was Alex Albon. He thereby Sergio Perez was among the winners for the second time in a row. Perez was 0.037 seconds behind Pierre Gasly. Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg and Zhou Guanyu were out with Perez. Ferrari’s poor impression continued, and even on the second new tyre, Sainz only managed P8 and Leclerc P11.

Low grip saw several small excursions during Q1, including Sainz at the first corner and Russell at turn 4. Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda were briefly investigated for getting in Oscar Piastri’s way towards turn 5, but the stewards did not pursue the case further. Lance Stroll touched the Wall of Champions on his second fast lap but was able to continue.

Qualifying – Session 1
Incidents: Stroll touches Wall of Champions
eliminated: 16. Perez – 17. Bottas – 18. Ocon – 19. Hülkenberg – 20. Zhou
Top 5: 1. Verstappen – 2. Tsunoda – 3. Hamilton – 4. Albon – 5. Piastri

Q2 in Canada: Double exit for Ferrari!

The rain came closer in Q2, but didn’t make it to the end. Both Ferraris tried to complete Q2 on a single soft tyre, but in the crucial final phase it went completely wrong. It was only enough for P11 for Leclerc, and Sainz missed a chance for more with a skid in the last corner and said goodbye in P12. Logan Sargeant, Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly were eliminated with them.

However, Ferrari was again lacking pace in general. Leclerc also complained about a sensor problem. McLaren used the same tire strategy and brought both cars into Q3. Mercedes used two sets of tires and thus took a comfortable one-two lead with Russell ahead of Hamilton. Then Norris came on old tires.

Max Verstappen only drove the second run with new tires, but still only managed P7. The stewards also opened an investigation. Probably because Verstappen only drove halfway out of the garage into the pit lane at the beginning, but then let all the other cars waiting there pass. Whether he behaved incorrectly will only be clarified after qualifying.

Qualifying – Session 2
Incidents: Investigation against Verstappen
eliminated: 11. Leclerc – 12. Sainz – 13. Sargeant – 14. Magnussen – 15. Gasly
Top 5: 1. Russell – 2. Hamilton – 3. Norris – 4. Tsunoda – 5. Piastri

Q3 in Canada: Verstappen drives the same time as Russell!

The rain that had been forecast drifted past in the last few minutes. Instead, the sun even came out. All drivers drove the first battle on old soft tires. Mercedes again took the lead, again it was Russell ahead of Hamilton, followed by Verstappen and Piastri. They were already three and seven tenths behind, respectively. But the second attempts on new tires would be decisive.

Surprisingly, the Mercedes was unable to catch up on the new tyres. All the others improved. Instead of a big gap, it was again a thousandths thriller – not even that in the end, when Verstappen set the same time as Russell. In this case, the driver who set it first gets the position.

Hamilton, who lost almost three tenths to Russell in the first attempt, paid dearly for his stagnation with the new tyre. Norris, Piastri, a strong Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso moved ahead of him and pushed him down to seventh place. Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll and Alex Albon completed the top 10.

Qualifying – Session 3
Incidents:
Top 5: 1. Russell – 2. Verstappen – 3. Norris – 4. Piastri – 5. Ricciardo

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