The Alpine driver was 0.646s behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen who will start from pole on Sunday.
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Alpine driver Fernando Alonso finished on the front row for the first time in quite a while as he set the second fastest time on Saturday in a very wet qualifying for the 2022 Canadian GP. The Spaniard was 0.646s behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who will start from pole on Sunday. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will start from third on the grid, followed by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen was on a flyer throughout Q3 and set a lap time of 1:21.299s. The two Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher are in fifth and sixth respectively, followed by George Russell. Daniel Ricciardo and Guanyu Zhou rounded off the top 10.
Russell had opted for slicks in his final flying lap, a decision that did not pay off as the Mercedes slid out in the first turn on a very wet day in Montreal. His teammate Hamilton had an excellent Saturday, something that will instill him with some much needed confidence ahead of the race. Zhou of Alfa Romeo put in an impressive shift as well.
A lock up for Perez in Q2 saw him run straight into the barriers, causing the session to be delayed due to a red flag. The Mexican would have hoped to earn a front row place on the grid but it was not to be. The two Haas cars showed their true pace in the session as they made a rare Q3 appearance with Magnussen in P9 and Schumacher in P6. Verstappen was the fastest in the session with a time of 1:23.746s, followed by Alonso in P2. Those eliminated in Q2 were Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Valterri Bottas.
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Aston Martin’s fortunes took a turn for the worse in Q1 as both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel both found themselves in the bottom five. Vettel had been performing quite well in practice so it was a surprise to see him fail to make it to Q2. The AlphaTauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly were also out in the first session if qualifying. Williams driver Nicholas Latifi rounded up the bottom five. The fastest driver in Q1 was the reigning world champion.
The final practice session ahead of qualifying saw an unlikely top three on the speed chart. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso set the pace with with a time of 1:33.836s ahead of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri that clocked 1:33.889s. Sebastian Vettel, who has been finding some form this season, stood an impressive third place, his Aston Martin recording a lap time of 1:33.891s. Championship contenders Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez found themselves in ninth and eighth respectively. Charles Leclerc was not part of FP3 as the Ferrari chose to replace his power unit. The Monegasque will be starting from the back of the grid as a result.
