Revived Hamilton grabs blistering Pole in Canada, Mercedes teammate Rosberg a whisker behind for P2; Vettel gives max effort for P3 for Ferrari
When the story of the 2016 Formula 1 season is written it could well be that Monaco is the race we point to as the one that changed the momentum inexorably. Coming off of their double DNF in Spain when Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg took each other out, Hamilton dominated in rainy Monte Carlo two weeks ago to take the victory and plant the first real seeds of doubt in Rosberg’s previously supreme confidence. Hamilton carried that momentum over into Saturday qualifying in Montreal, Canada with a blistering lap to take pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix. With the Mercedes engine really getting a chance to stretch its legs on the long straights of the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Hamilton’s laid down an eye-popping 1:12.812 lap time. Still, it was only faster than Rosberg by a scant .062. With Mercedes back to their front row-lockout ways, it sets up for another potentially contetious start to the race, with Hamilton determined to press his new found advantage over his main competitor and Rosberg just as desperate to regain the momentum that seemed so effortless when he won the first four races to start the season.
Making a valiant attempt to keep up with Silver Arrows, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel also broke into the 1:12’s with a stout effort in Q3. Vettel will start P3 and is therefore in a fine position to capitalize if the two Mercedes cannot control their competitive instincts when the lights go out. Ferrari really needs a good result after a string of mediocre races and one-car finishes lately. And Red Bull is definitely nipping at the Prancing Horse’s heels. They showed excellent pace again in qualifying, with the unlucky Daniel Ricciardo rebounding from his Monaco heartbreak to take P4 and his upstart teammate Max Verstappen, who crashed out in the principality, grabbing P5. The Red Bulls are probably even better in race trim so Vettel had better watch his mirrors.
Vettel’s Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was P6 and the two Mercedes-powered Williams also looked strong, with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa P7 & P8 respectively. Rounding out the Top 10, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg had a strong run for P9 on the grid and Fernando Alonso was P10 for improving McLaren.
Top 10 qualifiers for the Canadian Grand Prix:
| POS | DRIVER | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:14.121 | 1:13.076 | 1:12.812 | |
| 2 | 1:13.714 | 1:13.094 | 1:12.874 | |
| 3 | 1:13.925 | 1:13.857 | 1:12.990 | |
| 4 | 1:14.030 | 1:13.540 | 1:13.166 | |
| 5 | 1:14.601 | 1:13.793 | 1:13.414 | |
| 6 | 1:14.477 | 1:13.849 | 1:13.579 | |
| 7 | 1:14.389 | 1:13.791 | 1:13.670 | |
| 8 | 1:14.815 | 1:13.864 | 1:13.769 | |
| 9 | 1:14.663 | 1:14.166 | 1:13.952 | |
| 10 | 1:15.026 | 1:14.260 | 1:14.338 |
Complete qualifying results available via Fomrula1.com.
Tomorrow’s race starts at a very civilized 2PM Eastern time and is broadcast live on NBC in the States. Hope to see you then to find out which driver can scrape the Wall of Champions on his way to victory and which may have their races undone by it.