Max Verstappen will start the Canadian Grand Prix from pole position, but team mate Sergio Perez is mired in the midfield after crashing in Q2.
Carlos Sainz Jnr came close to joining him on the front row, but was denied by an inspired effort from Fernando Alonso, who secured his best starting position since he started the 2012 German Grand Prix from pole position.
Lewis Hamilton is the first Mercedes driver on the grid in fourth, after team mate George Russell’s slick-tyre gamble backfired.
Q1
Following a dry day of running on Friday, and a final practice session run on a largely soaked track, more rain fell ahead of the start of qualifying. All 20 drivers headed out within the first three minutes, full wet weather tyres the order of the day as they navigated a treacherous, puddle-strewn surface, light rain continuing to fall.
Of the initial runners, George Russell as the first to establish a serious benchmark, lapping in 1’36.688. Max Verstappen was almost three-quarters of a second off that with his first effort. Several of the other drivers who were first across the line immediately had their lap times deleted for cutting the chicane at the end of the lap.
By halfway through the session the track surface was improving quickly, enough for Kevin Magnussen to suddenly vault from the bottom of the times to fastest. He was soon shuffled back by the consistently rapid Russell and Max Verstappen.
At the opposite end of the times, Sebastian Vettel as having difficulty escaping the bottom five, having two lap times deleted for exceeding the track limits at turn 10. That left him 18th heading into the final five minutes, ahead of his team mate Lance Stroll, who was complaining of a lack of grip, and Nicholas Latifi, who was consistently last for much of the session.
Charles Leclerc, who was doomed to start from the back row due to his power unit change penalties, also languished in the bottom five for a long time, before eventually piecing together a clean enough lap to breach the top 10.
Most drivers ran the same set of wet tyres from the beginning of the session until the end. The Aston Martin drivers pitted for fresh sets after half-a-dozen laps each, however, Vettel complaining he felt like something had broken on his car. Pierre Gasly also took fresh rubber after seven laps.
With a minute remaining Verstappen, who had complained about traffic thwarting his efforts to improve, got a clear lap in and went quickest. His team mate Sergio Perez could only managed…
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