Paul Henman canada,formula1,montreal,Quebec Grand Prix of Canada – Qualifying

Grand Prix of Canada – Qualifying

After a Monaco GP that was more exciting than anticipated, it’l be interesting to see if RIC has rebuilt his trust in the team, and if the Sauber drivers can play nice together. KVY and ERI each have a 3 grid spot penalty to be applied.

Free Practice sessions:

  1. FP1: HAM (1:14.755), ROS, VET, VES, RAI
    MAS had a big off, tail-first into the tyre wall (video)
    Williams confirmed there was a problem with the DRS closing.
    VES has been given a reprimand by stewards for slowing unnecessarily in front of BOT

  2. FP2: HAM (1:14.212), VET, ROS, VES, RIC
    ALO gets very close to the Wall of Champions, then BUT grazes it
    RAI spent a lot of time in the Ferrari garage

  3. FP3: VET (1:13.919), VES, ROS, RAI, HAM
    Few drops of rain; KVY uses the escape road at Turn 3; quite a few people cutting the chicane (T14)
    VET complains “Stupid Renault did not move out of the way” referring to MAG
    Pirelli tweet: “Light rain often makes track more slippery than heavier rain. Combines with oil, dirt etc to create a treacherous film. We don’t mean Jaws.” 🙂
    KVY says “Too much rain, no grip”; pits
    Red flags – MAG has hit the wall quite hard coming out of T7 – odd spot to do that (video)
    On-board replay shows the tail snapped away as he put the power down; strange
    Clock keeps ticking under the red flag
    With 7:30 left of FP3, Race Control announce the session will not restart

Looks like there could be rain for the race tomorrow, but opinion is divided on whether it might stay dry for Quali.
Air temperature 15°C; track 20°C

Will Renault be able to rebuild MAG’s car in time for Q1?

Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Rush of activity as people want to get on track as soon as the lights turn green
VET, RAI and both Mercedes (HAM & ROS) going out on ultrasoft tyres
Piece of bodywork flying off HAR’s car on his out lap – part of the right side pod
HAM 1:21.052 – still warming up the tyres
RAI 1:18.550
ERI 1:17.049
ALO 1:15.458
HAM 1:14.952
VET 1:14.885
ROS 1:14.001
PAL touches the grass and has to catch a huge wobble
VET 1:13.925
ROS 1:13.714
Huge lockup from HAR
8mins left of Q1; bottom 6 are GRO, GUT, NAS, PAL, HAR and no time from MAG
VES locks up into the final chicane; cuts the corner and loses his lap
Couple of drivers reporting drops of rain
5mins left; bottom 6 are ERI, PAL, GRO, NAS, HAR, MAG
GRO to P15, relegating KVY (who also has a penalty awaiting him)
PAL kisses the Wall of Champions
KVY to P11; WEH down to P17
PAL improves but only to P17
HAR has a right rear puncture – replay shows he smacked the wall at Turn 4, then across the track and almost into the opposite barrier too
2mins left; bottom 6 are PAL, WEH, ERI, NAS, HAR, MAG
HAR has finally pulled off the track
Chequered flag
With the yellow flag for HAR’s parked car, no-one will improve
Back of the grid: PAL, WEH, ERI*, NAS, HAR, MAG
*ERI will have a 3 grid spot penalty from Monaco applied

Qualifying session 2
Will the rain hold off?
HUL 1:17.808
KVY 1:14.639
SAI hits the Wall of Champions and breaks his rear right suspension; slithers along the grass on the main straight
Red flags – session suspended with 11:52 remaining
SAI jumps out the car, jogs across the track and over the pit wall
A lot of debris to clear up, so Q2 will be suspended for a couple of minutes
Session restarts
The Williams pair of BOT & MAS lead the queue of cars back onto the track
BOT 1:14.156
MAS 1:14.130
HAM 1:13.076! Over a second faster than MAS
ROS P2, just 0.02s slower
5mins left of Q2; bottom 6 are BUT, ALO, KVY, GRO, GUT, SAI
KVY improves but he’s still P13
GUT and PER side by side into the hairpin
KVY P10, relegating PER to P11
1min left; bottom 6 are PER, BUT, ALO, GUT, GRO, SAI
Chequered flag
BUT up to P11
ALO P9, HUL to P11
HUL P9, PER to P11
Middle of the grid: PER, BUT, KVY*, GUT, GRO, SAI
*KVY will have a 3 grid spot penalty from Monaco applied

Qualifying session 3
Top 10 shootout is between HAM, ROS, RIC, BOT, VES, RAI, VET, MAS, HUL & ALO
RIC heads the queue waiting for the lights to change
HAM cuts the final chicane on his out lap; good thing the next lap is another warm up not a quick lap
RIC 1:22.859
BOT P2
HAM P3
HUL P4
ROS P5
VET P3
VES P2
ALO P4
RIC 1:13.521
BOT P2
HAM 1:12.812
HUL P4
ROS P2
VET P3
VES P3
ALO P8
Order after 1st quick run: HAM, ROS, VES, VET, RIC, BOT, HUL, ALO and no time from RAI or MAS
VET brushed the Wall of Champions but no damage
RAI and MAS on track now
MAS P7
RAI P10
MAS heads for the pits after a single quick lap
RAI P6
2mins left; order is HAM, ROS, VES, VET, RIC, RAI, BOT, MAS, HUL, ALO
VET P3
RIC P4
Chequered flag
VES P5
ROS pits; HAM backs off
BOT P7
Front of the grid: HAM, ROS, VET, RIC, VES, RAI, BOT, MAS, HUL, ALO
Replay shows RIC hit the WoC with his right rear

Provisional grid: HAM, ROS, VET, RIC, VES, RAI, BOT, MAS, HUL, ALO, PER, BUT, KVY*, GUT, GRO, SAI, PAL, WEH, ERI*, NAS, HAR, MAG
*KVY and ERI will each have a 3 grid spot penalty applied

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