Already in the lead at the end of the second part of the course, Verstappen set a record time of 1 minute 21 seconds 299 to beat Fernando Alonso in the Alps by 645 milliseconds and Carlos Sainz Jr.’s Ferrari with 797 milliseconds.

The Red Bull driver benefited from a track that was suffering from drought despite the particularly cold weather this season. Thus, he scored his second place in first place this season and the fifteenth place of his career.

The conditions were tough today, but we kept our cool, avoided mistakes and got the lead. It’s always nice to drive here, so I’m looking forward to tomorrowVerstappen said after the session.

Sainz said I was very comfortable driving the car today in the rain. As the track dried up, I could feel others making progress. I tried to resist, but for the rest, I think we are in a good position for tomorrow. We’ll see how we can handle Fernando, who has been very fast since the start of the weekend.

Alonso stunned the entire show by ending up in the front row of the starting grid, the 40-year-old Spaniard’s first since 2012, at Hockenheim.

that’s cool! Alonso shouted. We’ve had a wonderful weekend so far. Thanks to the track conditions, the car was great. I was very comfortable behind the wheel. I think we’ll be able to attack Max from the first corner!

Verstappen has had the wind in his sails for some time after winning four of his last five events. The World Champion He has racked up five wins in total this season, with the others going to teammate Sergio Perez (1) and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (2).

However, the Red Bull team learned in Q2 that they would not be able to monopolize the front row as Perez struggled to veer off the track between Turns 3 and 4, which resulted in a red flag. Thus the Mexican will start thirteenth place.

Verstappen won’t have to worry about Leclerc on Sunday, at least initially. Scuderia has backed away from its decision to replace certain components of the Leclerc car’s engine, preferring to replace it entirely. As a result, Monegasque will start at the back of the pack, along with Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda, who will be penalized for the same reasons.

So Leclerc couldn’t improve on his impressive record, which already includes six first places this season.

Lance strolled deep into the net

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Quebec teammate Lance Stroll and Torontonian Nicolas Latifi (Williams) finished 17th, 18th and 19th respectively. However, they would receive one rank each under the penalty imposed on Leclerc.

We were able to compete in our third free practice session, so it was frustrating not to be able to repeat that in the playoffs,” said Stroll. There was no grip, which meant we got stuck in the back of the pack.

The yellow flag at the end of the session prevented me from getting a good lap as the conditions improved and the track got faster a second lap.he added.

The weather should be favorable for the race with sunny skies and temperatures expected to reach 21°C. Alonso had tasted his intentions by being the fastest in his third free practice session earlier on Saturday.

Verstappen leads the overall standings with 150 points, 21 ahead of Perez. Leclerc follows in third, at 116, while all the other drivers on the field are under a hundred.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is Defending the Canadian Grand Prix Champion. He finished fourth on the starting grid.

It was really hard for a week, but I’m thankful I was able to ride despite the pain [au dos]. We’re still having trouble with the car, we still have a lot of work to do, but getting a Top 5 in qualifying in those conditions is great.said Hamilton, author of his best playoff result this season.

The Montreal event has been canceled for the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.