F1 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying LIVE! Latest news and updates as Max Verstappen takes pole

F1 Canadian Grand Prix - LIVE!

Max Verstappen put Red Bull on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso leaping onto the front row alongside the Formula One championship leader in a wet qualifying on Saturday.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third fastest on a drying track and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth for Mercedes on a weekend dominated by talk of ‘porpoising’, or bouncing, cars.

"I still expect it not to be a straightforward race," said Verstappen after the Dutch driver’s second pole in nine races this season. "But today with the tricky conditions we stayed calm and didn’t make mistakes.

"I’m super happy to get pole position and to be back in Montreal."

His qualifying time of one minute 21.299 seconds was 0.645 faster than Alonso’s best.

Sunday’s race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be the first in Canada since 2019 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is forecast to take place in sunny and dry conditions.

Verstappen has won four of the last five races and leads team mate Sergio Perez by 21 points, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc a further 13 behind.

Double world champion Alonso, the oldest man on the grid at 40, had been fastest in the day’s final practice and said with a grin that he planned to attack Verstappen into the first corner.

Leclerc, on pole in the last four races, will start at the back after collecting engine penalties.

Canadian GP qualifying highlights

• Qualifying start time: 9pm BST

• TV channel and live stream: Sky Sports

• Full FP3 results

• Red flag as Sergio Perez hits barriers

• Max Verstappen takes pole!

And that’s a wrap!

22:58 , Jonathan Gorrie

Thank you for joining Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.

You can read Matt Majendie’s full report here.

Classification in full

22:30 , Jonathan Gorrie

Matt Majendie in Canada

22:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

That was an ominous statement to the rest of the grid by Max Versappen. For much of qualifying, he was a second clear of the rest of the chasing pack and in a Red Bull which is habitually better in race trim than in qualifying. On what should be a dry track, it could be he makes it something of a procession. Fernando Alonso joked in his post-qualifying interview that he would get the better of the Dutchman in turn one but the Alpine is unlikely to be quite so quick in the dry as it was in wet qualifying.

Fernando Alonso reacts

22:22 , Jonathan Gorrie

Boom!

22:16 , Jonathan Gorrie

What a finish...

Late drama!

22:16 , Jonathan Gorrie

Late drama!

Carlos Sainz looked to have claimed second but Alonso beats him!

Verstappen on pole with Alonso and Sainz also in the front row.

One minute to go!

22:11 , Jonathan Gorrie

Hamilton onto the front row now, just behind Verstappen on provisional pole.

Not for long!

22:08 , Jonathan Gorrie

You just cannot keep Max Verstappen down...

Big lap from Lewis Hamilton

22:07 , Jonathan Gorrie

He really does love this lap, doesn’t he?

A very impressive 1:24.360 from the Mercedes driver.

Blue skies on the way?

22:04 , Jonathan Gorrie

Dare we say it, but could the conditions be getting better?

Full classification from Q2

22:03 , Jonathan Gorrie

Q3 is green!

22:02 , Jonathan Gorrie

Here we go!

Eliminated in Q2!

21:56 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bottas

Albon

Perez

Norris

Leclerc

Matt Majendie in Canada

21:54 , Jonathan Gorrie

This just looks like a time trial for Max Verstappen. He’s getting more and more in the rhythm, is purple (hence quickest) in every sector and ends Q2 more than a second quicker than his closest rival. A long way to go but this already feels like his weekend.

No investigation for Perez

21:52 , Jonathan Gorrie

Verstappen quickest in Q2!

21:51 , Jonathan Gorrie

Verstappen quickest at 1:27.764 but Alonso is really ramping up the pressure.

We resume!

21:44 , Jonathan Gorrie

Back underway in Q2 with blue skies on the way!

Matt Majendie in Canada

21:43 , Jonathan Gorrie

That’s good news for Ferrari, who have an approach of damage limitation this weekend with Charles Leclerc having been forced to start at the back of the grid for the race because of his new power unit. Red Bull had their eyes on another one-two but that won’t be happening for Sergio Perez. The Mexican will start the race 14th at best after hitting the tecpro barriers.

The moment Perez hit the barriers

21:37 , Jonathan Gorrie

The moment Q2 was red flagged...

Sergio Perez out of the car

21:36 , Jonathan Gorrie

Thankfully, the Red Bull driver is out of the car with the marshals on scene.

Vettel’s reaction

21:34 , Jonathan Gorrie

He was far from happy after SUCH a disappointing qualifying session.

A look at the Perez incident

21:33 , Jonathan Gorrie

Red flag!

21:31 , Jonathan Gorrie

Perez in real trouble.

Yellow flag!

21:30 , Jonathan Gorrie

Sergio Perez into the barrier at Sector 1!

Leclerc done

21:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

Q2 is green!

21:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

Away we go!

How it looks in full

21:25 , Jonathan Gorrie

Verstappen fastest

21:24 , Jonathan Gorrie

The world champion set the pace with Fernando Alonso only 0.058s away...

Matt Majendie in Canada

21:23 , Jonathan Gorrie

Very surprising to see Sebastian Vettel out in Q1. What on earth has happened between practice and qualifying? The four-time world champion clearly wasn’t happy with the car at a time with Aston Martin were hopeful he might pull off some magic and bother the Ferraris and Red Bulls. It’s not to be. He’s 17th fastest and is left to watch the remaining two sessions from the sidelines.

Elminated in Q1

21:22 , Jonathan Gorrie

Strong stuff from Carlos Sainz

21:14 , Jonathan Gorrie

Impressive stuff...

Leclerc moves to 7th!

21:12 , Jonathan Gorrie

Sergio Perez now in the drop zone.

Looks a real nightmare to manage this one.

Who’s in the drop zone in Q1?

21:12 , Jonathan Gorrie

16. Valtteri Bottas

17. Charles Leclerc

18. Lance Stroll

19. Nicholas Latifi

20. Kevin Magnussen

Russell back in the lead!

21:10 , Jonathan Gorrie

Russell moves above both Ocon and Verstappen to go to top of the board at 1:34.989.

Lewis Hamilton’s message to Mercedes team radio

21:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

“Can’t see a lot ahead of me,” says Hamilton.

Hardly surprising...

Max Verstappen moves ahead

21:07 , Jonathan Gorrie

1:35.830 for the Red Bull driver.

If you hadn’t have guessed by now, the conditions are really very difficult.

Matt Majendie in Canada

21:05 , Jonathan Gorrie

It’s still wet out there. There were a few fresh spots coming down although not as heavy as before, but the track is very wet. If third practice was anything to go by, there should be plenty of mayhem on track. As drivers push, one or two will inevitably hit the wall you’d imagine. Interested to see outside the top two teams have Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Both have looked very impressive and at ease in the wet here.

George Russell takes an early lead

21:05 , Jonathan Gorrie

1:36.688 the time to beat in Q1, albeit at a very early stage.

The rain has not dampened the mood of the crowd!

21:03 , Jonathan Gorrie

Wonderful to see..

Q1 is green!

21:02 , Jonathan Gorrie

Away we go, with Sergio Perez needing a bit of a push to get out of the pit lane safely.

How big a role will the rain play?

Toto Wolff: Lewis Hamilton is not suffering from last season

20:59 , Jonathan Gorrie

Matt Majendie in Canada

20:58 , Jonathan Gorrie

I’ve just returned from a walk down the paddock where there was an event to mark 25 years since Jacques Villeneuve won the drivers’ world title. Back at the circuit which carries his dad’s name, Gilles Villeneuve, in Montreal with his family there was a giant cake to mark the quarter century. Not sure it’ll win Bake Off - texture and flavour were good although thought the sponge came out a little bit dry.

ICYMI - Pierre Gasly to race for AlphaTauri in 2023

20:54 , Jonathan Gorrie

A tense moment at the end of FP3

20:53 , Jonathan Gorrie

At a track to have produced so much drama over the years, the rain could well cause some more...

Difficult conditions!

20:48 , Jonathan Gorrie

Matt Majendie in Canada

20:35 , Jonathan Gorrie

Following the last practice session, there was a team principals meeting, where things got heated at the end as the conversation turned the FIA’s technical directive to address the car porpoising. Mercedes had been the only team to add a second stay to George Russell’s car to stiffen the floor on Friday in a bid to address that porpoising arguing it was within the rules. But amid threats of a protest against its legality, it was notably missing. Turns out Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff got a tad testy in the meeting earlier today as a result.

FP3 classification

20:30 , Jonathan Gorrie

The old guard rise again!

20:19 , Jonathan Gorrie

What a sight...

A look at the conditions

19:59 , Jonathan Gorrie

Daniel Ricciardo interview

19:56 , Jonathan Gorrie

Daniel Ricciardo is imagining he is attached to a lie detector test and being peppered with questions.

Winding the clock back to this point last season, he supposes being asked if he can ever win another grand prix. His instinctive answer would have been ‘yes’ but, at the same time, “the lie detector would have been going crazy on me”.

Confidence was low, a proven race winner was struggling at his new McLaren team, where he was being outdriven by his younger team-mate, Lando Norris. The belief was waning. 12 months on, similar comparisons can be drawn, but the difference in his mind is Monza, the race win last season that proved a turning point and brought the belief flooding back.

Amid the 14th place in Bahrain and the 13ths in Miami and Monaco this season, Monza is the counterweight in his head that tells him he can still add to his tally of eight race wins. And while not of the proportions of Monza, there is hope that his performance at Baku last weekend can prove the turning point in 2022.

You can read Standard Sport’s full interview here.

Why has Charles Leclerc been hit with a 10-point penalty?

19:44 , Jonathan Gorrie

Charles Leclerc will start Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after taking a new power unit.

The Ferrari driver had previously been hit with a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new control electronics element to his F1-75.

But on Saturday the team confirmed, as expected, that he had taken an entire new power unit - ICE, turbo, MGU-H and MGU-K. Having exceeded his allowance for the season, he will start from the back of the grid immaterial of where he qualifies later on Saturday.

Leclerc had already been off the pace of title rival Max Verstappen during the opening two practice sessions on Friday and has his work cut out in Sunday’s race to limit the damage in the drivers’ standings.

After starting the 2022 campaign with two wins in the opening three races to take an early lead over last season’s winner Verstappen in the world championship race, his title bid has been plagued by issues of late despite his impressive exploits in qualifying.

Read the full story here.

Full FP3 results

19:32 , Jonathan Gorrie

1. Fernando Alonso

2. Pierre Gasly

3. Sebastian Vettel

4. Esteban Ocon

5. Daniel Ricciardo

6. Lando Norris

7. George Russell

8. Sergio Perez

9. Max Verstappen

10. Carlos Sainz

11. Valtteri Bottas

12. Guanyu Zhou

13. Lance Stroll

14. Kevin Magnussen

15. Lewis Hamilton

16. Alex Albon

17. Yuki Tsunoda

19. Mick Schumacher

19. Nicholas Latifi

20. Charles Leclerc (no time set)

How to watch Canadian Grand Prix qualifying

19:07 , Jonathan Gorrie

TV channel: Qualifying will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and F1 this evening, with coverage starting at 8.30pm and 8pm BST respectively. The session gets underway at 9pm.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also tune in via the Sky Go app.

Highlights: Channel 4 will be airing full free-to-air qualifying highlights at 8.30am on Sunday morning.

Welcome

18:49 , Jonathan Gorrie

Good evening and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.

The action begins at The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at 9pm BST, with Matt Majendie providing expert analysis from trackside.