Vettel outduels Hamilton for pole for Canadian GP
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| Sebastian Vettel gave the Ferrari fans something to cheer about with a rare pole for the Scuderia |
Ferrari ace Sebastian Vettel smashed the lap record to win pole position for the Canadian GP with a time of 1m10.240s while points leader Lewis Hamilton will lineup on the outside for Mercedes. 3rd fastest in Q2, Vettel made a big improvement to beat Hamilton by 2/10ths of a second.
It was Vettel's first pole in 17 races and 5th for the Canadian GP. Charles Leclerc will start 3rd in the 2nd Ferrari, a massive 0.680s slower than his teammate.
He's bloody good in qualifying, hard to crack!" said Vettel, motioning at Hamilton. "Really enjoyed it, very happy for the team, the last weeks have been quite tough for us."
Hamilton: "I don't know for whatever reason, I don't feel disappointed. This is good, this is how racing should be. Tomorrow, the racing should be interesting!"
Valtteri Bottas was only 6th in the 2nd Mercedes after spinning early in Q3 but not hitting anything.
Daniel Riccardo was 4th for Renault while Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-5 for Red Bull.
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| Magnussen crash |
Eliminated in Q1 were Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen, Lance Stroll, George Russell, and Robert Kubica
Eliminated in Q2 were Max Verstappen, Daniil Kvyat, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alexander Albon and Romain Grosjean.
Kevin Magnussen crashed heavily at the end of Q2 at the Wall of Shame (last corner).
Nico Hulkenberg, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz Jr., and Magnussen (no time, obviously) rounded out the top-10.
Quotes
Ferrari
Ferrari topped the timing sheet in final practice courtesy of Vettel, but would their speed advantage hold when Mercedes turned their engine modes up for qualifying? The answer was an emphatic yes, with Vettel taking his first pole of the season by a healthy two-tenths of a second. Leclerc understeered his way round the last corner, losing valuable tenths and could only grab third after looking the pick of the Scuderia drivers early on in qualifying. They both start on the advantageous medium tyre too, after Ferrari finally managed to nail their strategy through Q2.
Sebastian Vettel, 1st, 1:10.240
“That was a good day for us and I’m really pleased for the team. The last couple of months haven’t been easy for us so it’s nice to get a result like today and it sends the right message to all the guys. We are flat out and the most important thing is we keep pushing. There’s a lot of adrenaline going around in qualifying and when they came on the radio I was really delighted. It was quite tense in terms of concentration and obviously you try to put everything in that one lap or in those two attempts that you have.
"Coming here, we knew that we would have better chances and we were able to confirm that. Our pace is stronger here and we are basically sure to avoid the soft tyre in the race. We’ll take it from there. Anything can happen tomorrow and we’ll race to find out, as simple as that. We know our competitors are very quick, especially over the distance and we’ve seen this in all the races so far, but we’re starting ahead of them and hopefully we’ll stay there and fight as hard as we can. It is important that the chance was there today and we took it. But now we must confirm it tomorrow. So hopefully more singing!"
Charles Leclerc, 3rd, 1:10.920
“Today’s result is great for our team and congratulations to Seb for securing pole position. He was very quick today and just put everything together. He deserves it. For my part, I have to improve the way in which I anticipate the track evolution, so that I can set up the car to be on point for Q3. I will analyse this and hopefully be stronger in this department at the next race. Starting from third place tomorrow is a great opportunity and it will be fun to be in the fight with our competitors. We will keep pushing and do our best to bring home a strong result."
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal
"This pole is for our fans, who support us and are always right behind us, even when things aren’t going so well.
"We are very pleased with today’s result. We have demonstrated that, on some tracks we can be competitive, given that here in Canada our performance has been good all weekend. I think that we are working well, even if the results have not reflected that fact. But the team has shown the right spirit and today’s result is a boost for everyone.
"Sebastian put together a great lap. The potential was there and he produced it at the right moment. Charles also did a good job to take third on the grid. Tomorrow’s race will be long and very tough. We have to stay focussed. The temperatures are expected to rise and tyre degradation will be a key factor for everyone. But for now, we can enjoy today’s result!"
Ferrari
Ferrari topped the timing sheet in final practice courtesy of Vettel, but would their speed advantage hold when Mercedes turned their engine modes up for qualifying? The answer was an emphatic yes, with Vettel taking his first pole of the season by a healthy two-tenths of a second. Leclerc understeered his way round the last corner, losing valuable tenths and could only grab third after looking the pick of the Scuderia drivers early on in qualifying. They both start on the advantageous medium tyre too, after Ferrari finally managed to nail their strategy through Q2.
Sebastian Vettel, 1st, 1:10.240
“That was a good day for us and I’m really pleased for the team. The last couple of months haven’t been easy for us so it’s nice to get a result like today and it sends the right message to all the guys. We are flat out and the most important thing is we keep pushing. There’s a lot of adrenaline going around in qualifying and when they came on the radio I was really delighted. It was quite tense in terms of concentration and obviously you try to put everything in that one lap or in those two attempts that you have.
"Coming here, we knew that we would have better chances and we were able to confirm that. Our pace is stronger here and we are basically sure to avoid the soft tyre in the race. We’ll take it from there. Anything can happen tomorrow and we’ll race to find out, as simple as that. We know our competitors are very quick, especially over the distance and we’ve seen this in all the races so far, but we’re starting ahead of them and hopefully we’ll stay there and fight as hard as we can. It is important that the chance was there today and we took it. But now we must confirm it tomorrow. So hopefully more singing!"
Charles Leclerc, 3rd, 1:10.920
“Today’s result is great for our team and congratulations to Seb for securing pole position. He was very quick today and just put everything together. He deserves it. For my part, I have to improve the way in which I anticipate the track evolution, so that I can set up the car to be on point for Q3. I will analyse this and hopefully be stronger in this department at the next race. Starting from third place tomorrow is a great opportunity and it will be fun to be in the fight with our competitors. We will keep pushing and do our best to bring home a strong result."
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal
"This pole is for our fans, who support us and are always right behind us, even when things aren’t going so well.
"We are very pleased with today’s result. We have demonstrated that, on some tracks we can be competitive, given that here in Canada our performance has been good all weekend. I think that we are working well, even if the results have not reflected that fact. But the team has shown the right spirit and today’s result is a boost for everyone.
"Sebastian put together a great lap. The potential was there and he produced it at the right moment. Charles also did a good job to take third on the grid. Tomorrow’s race will be long and very tough. We have to stay focussed. The temperatures are expected to rise and tyre degradation will be a key factor for everyone. But for now, we can enjoy today’s result!"
Red Bull
Timing wasn't with Red Bull today. First, Verstappen hit traffic and couldn't nail a run on the medium-compound tyre at the start of Q2. Languishing down in P11, the Dutchman had to go again and was caught out by the late red flags caused by Magnussen's crash. Exiting in Q2 was clearly disappointing but he will be one to watch tomorrow as he fights back through the field. Gasly made Q3 safely by running the soft tyre, and managed a credible P5 once there.
Max Verstappen, 11th, 1:11.800
“It was just unlucky today and these things happen in Formula 1. We tried to get through to Q3 on the medium but the tyre didn’t feel fantastic for us and with the traffic at the hairpin it didn’t really work out. We then went out on the soft, I was on a decent lap to make it through to Q3 but then the red flag came out and I couldn’t finish the lap. Starting 11th or maybe tenth depending on what’s going on with the Haas will be tricky as I have to clear the midfield before closing the gap to the leaders. That’s how it goes sometimes and you can never predict someone being in the wall. It’s not where we want to start as I want to be fighting the leader, but we should be able to recover our positions and still have a good race."
Pierre Gasly, 5th, 1:11.079
“I think qualifying was pretty good. I didn’t have any tow and tried to squeeze everything I had out of the lap. I was pretty close to third place, but I think P5 is a good starting position for tomorrow and I think we can be happy with that. It was all pretty close today, we just missed a little bit. Tomorrow we know we have to start with the softs and that’s going to be a bit tricky, especially as apparently the weather will be even hotter than today but I think we will make the race pretty exciting to watch. I hope we can keep the pace and we will push as much as we can to challenge the top three."
Christian Horner, Team Principal
“It was a frustrating qualifying for Max today. He had good pace in Q1 and we elected to go on the medium tyre, which would have been our start tyre, mirroring the strategy of Ferrari and Mercedes. We didn’t quite have enough pace on the medium and caught traffic so needed to run again in Q2 on the soft. Max was comfortably within the Q3 cut-off on his final lap but unfortunately the red flag caused by the Haas immediately stopped the session and he was unable to complete the lap. P11 for Max is obviously a disappointing grid position for what promised to be much more. Pierre made it comfortably through to Q3 on the soft tyre. He then took a different strategy by running three timed laps and a strong final lap put him P5 on the grid for tomorrow’s race, which now promises to be an exciting Canadian Grand Prix."
Renault
Renault have struggled for one-lap pace this season, but managed to get both cars into Q3 for just the second time this year. As if that wasn't cause enough for celebration, Ricciardo managed to grab fourth with a stellar lap, out-qualifying his replacement at Red Bull in the process. With Hulkenberg an encouraging seventh, the team will be hopeful of a first double points finish of 2019.
Nico Hulkenberg, 7th, 1:11.324
“I can’t be too unhappy about that as my lap wasn’t bad, but I maybe left a tenth on the table. It’s my best qualifying of the season and we’re in a good position for tomorrow. Daniel pulled out a great lap and the overall team result today is excellent. The team has worked really hard – especially on the power unit – which has made a big step from last year. We, quite clearly, confirmed that progress today. Our race pace has looked good recently, so hopefully a strong result is on the cards tomorrow."
Daniel Ricciardo, 4th, 1:11.071
“I never thought I’d be so happy for a fourth place in qualifying; it feels like a pole position! It was so cool when they told me over the radio I was fourth. I’m really happy for the team today. This track is fun, I’ve always enjoyed it here. We seemed quick from the start of the day. Even yesterday we were fast, but we made further improvements and managed to put it all together for qualifying. We’ll see about tomorrow, the start could be interesting. For now, we’ll enjoy this moment as a fourth in qualifying is huge for us."
Alan Permane, Sporting Director
“We can be very happy with today’s qualifying result. We’ve been targeting a smooth weekend and that’s half the work done now. It’s a great qualifying result and a great effort from both drivers. We’ll do our best tomorrow but we have to be realistic with who we have behind us on the grid. We’ll do our best, not get ahead of ourselves, and target a sensible race. We have a great opportunity to have a big points haul."
Qualifying Results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:11.200 | 1:11.142 | 1:10.240 | 22 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:11.518 | 1:11.010 | 1:10.446 | 21 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:11.214 | 1:11.205 | 1:10.920 | 22 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:11.837 | 1:11.532 | 1:11.071 | 20 |
| 5 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:12.023 | 1:11.196 | 1:11.079 | 17 |
| 6 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:11.229 | 1:11.095 | 1:11.101 | 19 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:11.720 | 1:11.553 | 1:11.324 | 21 |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:11.780 | 1:11.735 | 1:11.863 | 20 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 1:11.750 | 1:11.572 | 1:13.981 | 19 |
| 10 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:12.107 | 1:11.786 | – | 15 |
| 11 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:11.619 | 1:11.800 | – | 12 |
| 12 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:11.965 | 1:11.921 | – | 17 |
| 13 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:12.122 | 1:12.136 | – | 16 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:12.020 | 1:12.193 | – | 16 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:12.109 | – | – | 15 |
| 16 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:12.197 | – | – | 6 |
| 17 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:12.230 | – | – | 10 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:12.266 | – | – | 9 |
| 19 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 1:13.617 | – | – | 10 |
| 20 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 1:14.393 | – | – | 10 |
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