Max Verstappen takes Canada pole, Fernando Alonso on front row

Max Verstappen was the class of the field in a damp 2022 Canadian GP qualifying, where Fernando Alonso shone to make the front row.

As the track continued to dry in Q3, the pack could not live with Verstappen’s rapid improvement, a 1:21.299 securing pole for the Red Bull driver.

Carlos Sainz looked like he could have challenged that time, but getting his Ferrari out of shape at the final chicane, that allowed Alonso to swoop in and snatch P2 on the grid, delighting the Canadian fans who had packed out the stands.

As predicted, the rain and cold stuck around for the interval between FP3 and Q1, meaning challenging conditions greeted the drivers once more.

Fortunately, there was no Q1 delay with the session getting underway on time, the full wets a must with huge amounts of standing water around the track.

Charles Leclerc was consigned to starting from the back after taking a new power unit, but the same was true for Yuki Tsunoda, the pair battling to set the faster time and take P19 on the grid. Leclerc claimed that particular win.

Just as Sainz had spoken of switching to inters, his final flying lap was ruined by an off as the track continued to improve and the times tumbled. Verstappen topped Q1 on a 1:32.2, while Tsunoda, Nicholas Latifi, Lance Stroll, Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly all dropped out, a major disappointment for Aston Martin.

🚨 OUT IN Q1 🚨

16. Pierre Gasly
17. Sebastian Vettel
18. Lance Stroll
19. Nicholas Latifi
20. Yuki Tsunoda

Aston’s practice pace disappeared pretty dramatically there!#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #F1 pic.twitter.com/aDtA3pp2Oc

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) June 18, 2022

To compound Gasly’s misery, he reported an issue on the front-left of his AlphaTauri and then was noted by the stewards for missing the bollard as he rejoined at Turn 14, the second time in as many days that this had happened.

The start of Q2 brought a strategy split on the tyres as the likes of Alonso, Sainz and Sergio Perez went for the inters. Lewis Hamilton said the track was at the crossover, Mercedes urging their driver to get a lap on the board first.

Sainz meanwhile was noted for an unsafe return to the track in Q1, though no investigation was needed, the same was true for Stroll who had been noted for allegedly failing to slow under yellow flags.

Williams’ Alex Albon had made it into Q2, but his session came dangerously close to ending when he locked-up at Turn 6 and found the Techpro. Perez soon had a trip of his own into the barriers…