Paul Henman formula1,montreal Grand Prix of Canada – Qualifying

Grand Prix of Canada – Qualifying

Not much in the way of news since the Monaco GP weekend, although there were some updates after the race which I posted on that page; here’s the summary:

  • VER given two penalty points on his licences for the incident with BOT in the pit lane
  • MAG relegated from 12th to 14th place (and given a penalty point on his licence) following an incident with PER during the race
  • STR received five seconds – which did not impact his 16th place – and one penalty point for gaining an advantage when he jumped the chicane early in the race
  • GRO received a five-second time penalty, dropping him from 9th to 10th, along with one penalty point for crossing the pit exit white line after his stop
  • VER spent all of his second stint driving in his ‘start’ throttle map because he forgot to deactivate it after his pit stop
  • PER thought he had injured a marshal after he returned to the track following his pit stop in the Monaco Grand Prix. Perez had to take avoiding action after he arrived at turn one to find two corner workers standing in the pit lane exit. [photo]

HAM is just 17 points ahead of BOT (but 55 clear of VET) after Monaco; Mercedes is on 257, almost double Ferrari’s total (139) [F1 points standings after Monaco]

Free practice:

  1. FP1: HAM (1:12.767), BOT, LEC, VER, VET
    Many comments about the track being dirty, and a groundhog running across in front of test driver Latifi
    GIO tagged the Turn 9 wall with his rear wing
    BOT had a fuel pressure issue towards the end of the session
  2. FP2: LEC (1:12.177), VET, BOT, SAI, MAG
    HAM took too much kerb in Turn 8, slid sideways and slammed into the wall, damaging his rear right
    Running the soft compound tyres in weather conditions similar to the forecast for the race led to questions about durability
    Unsafe release of KUB? [video]
  3. FP3: VET (1:10.843), LEC, HAM, BOT, VER
    Racing Point said STR suffered a hydraulic leak but it looked more like the brand new Mercedes engine went bang in a big way [video] [photo]

Time to get settled in for Qualifying 🙂

Air temperature 21°C; track 46°C; 33% humidity
Racing Point have put the old engine back into STR’s car so he’ll be ready to run in Quali

Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Green light to start the session, but everyone is waiting for someone else to clean up the track
Williams are first to blink, sending out KUB
STR on track too, checking out his rebuilt car
KUB 1:16.564
RUS 1:14 – radio from RUS “Track feels hideous”
STR 1:13.219
RAI 1:13.094
MAG 1:12.710
NOR 1:12.407
LEC 1:11.786
(VET P2)
(VER P2)
(HAM P3)
(BOT P4)
Did VER clip the wall?
LEC 1:11.481
(GAS P3)
(HAM P2)
BOT 1:11.229
Is it just the track improving or are Mercedes getting the hang of these tyres?
LEC 1:11.214
VET 1:11.200
Incident involving SAI impeding ALB will be investigated after this session
3mins left of Q1; bottom 5 are ALB, GRO, RAI, RUS, KUB
GRO P7, GIO P16
ALB P6, HUL P16
SAI P10, STR P16
RUS P19
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are STR, HUL, SAI, RUS, KUB
STR P14, PER
SAI P6, STR
PER P16
Back of the grid: PER, RAI, STR, RUS, KUB

Qualifying session 2
HAM 1:11.336
VET 1:11.309
LEC cut the chicane; he didn’t go round the bollard before rejoining, so he may get a penalty
(BOT P3)
VER encounters traffic in the hairpin but goes P4… and immediately demoted by HUL
LEC 1:11.205
VET 1:11.142
Incident involving LEC (cutting the chicane) will be investigated after this session
(GAS P2)
HAM 1:11.010 on new medium tyres
(BOT P2)
3mins left of Q2; bottom 5 are VER, GIO, KVY, ALB, GRO
KVY P12
ALB P14
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are VER, KVY, GIO, ALB, GRO
MAG slams into the Wall of Champions, across the track, into the other wall, and back across the track
Red flags – session stopped
Middle of the grid: VER, KVY, GIO, ALB, GRO

Remember that the top 10 qualifiers start the race on the same tyres with which they set their fastest Q2 time, which means mediums for HAM, BOT, VET, and LEC, with the rest on softs.

Qualifying session 3
Top 10 shootout will be between HAM, BOT, VET, GAS, LEC, RIC, HUL, SAI, NOR and MAG (except MAG won’t be able to run, having just destroyed his Haas)
Bit of a delay before the start of Q3 while the marshals clean up the track
MAG’s car has been returned to the garage, so Q3 will start in a couple of minutes
Red Bull send GAS out as soon as the lights change
GAS 1:12.185
Brief yellow flag in sector 1 – BOT spun coming out of Turn 2, and somehow missed the wall
LEC 1:11.188
HUL P2
VET 1:10.681
HAM 1:10.493
RIC P6
SAI P7
Order after first run: HAM, VET, LEC, HUL, GAS, RIC, SAI, BOT, NOR, MAG
LEC doesn’t improve on P3; VET doesn’t improve on P2
GAS P4
3mins left; still no time from BOT or NOR (and of course MAG)
All 9 cars heading out of the pit lane
BOT having another scrappy lap
Chequered flag
RIC P3
BOT P5
HAM 1:10.446
LEC P3
VET 1:10.240
Front of the grid: VET, HAM, LEC, RIC, GAS, BOT, HUL, NOR, SAI, MAG

Great quali for RIC – P4 for the Renault, ahead of Red Bull

Provisional grid: VET, HAM, LEC, RIC, GAS, BOT, HUL, NOR, SAI, MAG, VER, KVY, GIO, ALB, GRO, PER, RAI, STR, RUS, KUB
But there are a couple of incidents under investigation:
Q1 – Incident involving SAI impeding ALB will be investigated after this session
Q2 – Incident involving LEC (cutting the chicane) will be investigated after this session
And depending on how much damage MAG incurred at the end of Q2, he might need a new gearbox and have to start from the pit lane

HAM seems excited for a battle with VET and LEC tomorrow
Yes, it would be good to see HAM beat them rather than just dash off into the distance.

4 thoughts on “Grand Prix of Canada – Qualifying”

  1. “Magnussen set for pit-lane start and new chassis after 54G qualifying shunt” [FIA, includes video]

    “We need to change the chassis, we will start from pit lane obviously, and we need to change the gearbox. There’s no point to try to start somewhere at the back with the C5 tyre, so we’ll start from pit lane.” – Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner.

  2. “Sainz loses three grid places for impeding Albon” [FIA]
    “In addition to the three-place grid drop, Sainz was given a penalty point on his Super License, bringing his current 12-month tally to four.”

  3. “Leclerc keeps third on grid after Q2 penalty” [racefans.net]
    The stewards ruled Leclerc “rejoined the track safely, recognised his error and aborted his lap in order not to gain a sporting advantage”. The lap time he set was deleted, which does not affect his qualifying position.
    Kevin Magnussen and Lando Norris both escaped penalties for failing to rejoin the track in the correct manner during practice.

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