Brink of Perfection: Mercedes Lock Out the Front Row in Montreal

Following an intense sprint race– dominated by the likes of Mercedes and McLaren– the rest of the grid lined up for a better advantage for Sunday's race. This qualifying provides a shot of redemption for all teams, specifically for Spaniard Alonso and the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar.

After previous races, the struggles amongst drivers have shown precedent– therefore, this qualifying not only allows drivers the chance of pole position but an extra session to experience the swift change in regulations, a decrease in the electrical output. This will be detrimental for newer drivers and rookie, Arvid Lindblad.

Qualifying 1

The first qualifying session kicked off with an engineering battle in the RedBull garage. The team had tweaked their car to better suit a wet race, allowing the drivers to get an understanding for possibilities during the race, as well as a desperate attempt to compete with the power houses of Mercedes and McLaren.

Before the session even started, the FIA were put to work. Colapinto’s Alpine was roaring down the pitlane when the green of Alonso was unsafely released in front of car number 43.

First out on track was historic Williams of Alex Albon, a driver who has not had the most successful of weekends at the Montreal track. But it was Leclerc that caught viewers eyes as he failed to set a competitive lap when 8 minutes of the session had passed– even after this the time was only good enough to push his Ferrari into 6th position. This lack of pace will be majorly concerning for the galloping horses.

As the clock trickled down and 6 cars were bracing to be knocked out– it was Cadillac with the slowest times and Antonelli with the fastest with a 1:13.3. The Italian driver was rising to his reputation of domination. Trailing him on the horizon, Antonelli was followed by both McLarens in their endless contest for pole position.

Qualifying 2

Fresh session and even fresher tyres, qualifying 2 was underway. With the importance of tyre warming laps becoming more evident in modern day grand prix racing; it was Norris who set an initial pole worthy time– however like clockwork the Italian sensation stole it from under his feet with 1:13.076, only +0.068 faster than the papaya coloured car.

Unlike the Italian, George Russell was left in 8th position with 2 minutes to go. Against his better judgement Russell locks up going through a chicane– a sorry sight for a driver who, for the past 3 years has been in pole position after qualifying.

Lower down the leader board, Liam Lawson was restricted at the back of the pack in 16th place. His rookie teammate posed as a complete juxtaposition, with his consistent times scoring him a comfortable 7th.

Out of nowhere, Hadjar set a shocking time of 1:12.975, the first driver to have done so in this session, including his teammate. 

With only a tenth separating the top 5 drivers, the race is moulding to be an increasingly intensive return. Unfortunately, this is not the story for both Audi drivers, Lawson, Gasly, Sainz and Oliver Bearman who starts just in front of his teammate.

Qualifying 3

A driver that has seemingly shone in this qualifying is Isack Hadjar. Locking out the front row with his teammate, hopes are high for Redbull as they head out on fresh tyres hoping to best the likes of Hamilton. These dreams were quickly shot down by both McLarens who sought to make their comeback. Russell failed to make his retaliation with suspected damage to the rear wing, followed by complaints about lack of grip surrounding his rear tyres. 

Hitting the 5 minute mark, the drivers return to the track after a few swift pitstops. Verstappen strives to make the top 3 with less than 2 minutes to go , however falling off the pace due to a lack of straight-line speed, he places 7th.

The clock strikes zero and each car wants to be front of the pack. Hamilton is first to try pushing him just in front of his teammate– only to be knocked down by both McLarens, leaving Antonelli vulnerable to a papaya lockdown.

A nailbitting end for all teams, riddled with anxiety and strategical stress; nevertheless it was George Russell that beat the rest for the third consecutive pole here in Montreal. That last lap seemed to be all Russell needed to secure another Mercedes front row lockout. The only question to be asked is how long will Mercedes’ domination last when other teams are nipping at their rear wings?