Hamilton regains mojo after Monaco disaster, claims Pole in Canada; Rosberg just behind in P2 and Raikonnen flies flag for Ferrari in 3rd

The boys were back at it in Quebec for Qualifying two weeks after the bizarre and memorable Monaco Grand Prix. With heavy rain washing out a lot of Friday practice time, there wasn’t much dry prep for the drivers to show their true speed until this very sunny Saturday in Montreal. But if there were any doubts about Lewis Hamilton’s state of mind after the incredibly disappointing end to his dreams of victory in Monte Carlo the Englishman appeared to lay them to rest with the fastest lap in Q3, claiming Pole for Sunday’s race. It was the 44th of his career, perfectly matching the number on his Mercedes Silver Arrow. Putting behind him the inexplicable decision to pit late for fresh tires in Monaco that essentially handed his teammate Nico Rosberg the victory, the reigning World Champion has so far been the class of the field in Canada. And as fired up as he his to taste victory and wash away the last race’s bitter taste he should be very hard to beat come race day. Hamilton’s renewed dominance left Rosberg the one grumbling about tire strategy, as he questioned the Mercedes pit wall’s solutions for finding more grip in the Super Soft tires in the dying moments of Q3. In truth, he wound up only a little more than .3 behind Hamilton. But if he doesn’t manage to get by his nemesis early on Sunday Rosberg knows that his lucky two-race victory streak could be over.

With Sebastian Vettel’s qualifying coming to a stunning end in Q1 due to power-sapping electrical gremlins, it was left to Kimi Raikonnen to fly the flag for Ferrari. The Finn responded with his best effort of the year and grabbed P3, only .3 behind Rosberg, where he should be able to fight for a podium or pick up something even better if the Mercedes’ duo take each other out. His position for good points certainly looks more favorable than teammate Vettel’s, who will have to battle his way to the front from way back in 16th on the grid. Williams’ Valtteri Bottas rebounded from his dreadful weekend in Monaco to take P4 and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve looks well suited to the FW37’s pure speed. However, Bottas’ teammate Felipe Massa did not get the chance to make use of that advantage, as he too was bounced in Q1 with power plant woes.

Team Lotus looks to be making genuine strides after six race weekends with Romain Grojean and Pastor Maldonado P5 and P6 respectively. Now it remains to be seen if they can get a break from the woeful luck that has plagued them in 2015 and actually finish both cars in the points. Force India also looks to be improving with both Nico Hulkenberg (P7) and Sergio Perez (P10) making it through to Q3 for the first time this year. The two Renault-powered Red Bulls again showed their lack of straight-line speed that this beautiful island track in the Saint Lawrence river demands. After their excellent results on the slow and twisty Monaco street circuit they could do no better than Daniil Kvyat’s P8 and a despondent Daniel Ricciardo’s P9. They look like they’ll need some bold strategy calls tomorrow to even get near a podium. But they won’t be alone in that, as Massa & Vettel will also need to roll the dice to get back in the mix with their much faster cars. Should make for a very chaotic and exciting race and no doubt the Wall of Champions will also have its say before the day is done.

Top 10 Qualifiers for the Canadian Grand Prix:

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on NBC Sports Network at 2:00 pm Eastern here in the State. My money is on Hamilton to reclaim the air of inevitability that he wore like Superman’s cape until two races ago. But then, as we saw in Monaco, literally anything can happen in motorsport even an own goal, so better to tune in and see what happens for yourself!