Canada – Qualifying: Hamilton felt the breath of Rosberg and Vettel
The gaps between the Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel were close. In the end, it was Lewis Hamilton who took the laurels, less than two tenths ahead of Nico Rosberg and the Ferrari that could have sprung a surprise at the end of the session.
It was with more uncertainties than usual that the qualifying session opened in Montreal. The first came from the sky: after a free practice session 3 held under wet conditions, would the weather once again create more uncertainties? The second came from Scuderia Ferrari: with their new turbo offering more top speed – on a circuit as fast as Canada – would the Reds be able to challenge the dominance of the Silver Arrows? Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg both mentioned this hypothesis, without yet being able to distinguish between bluff and real doubt.
The session was supposed to take place without Kevin Magnussen’s Renault, which was damaged during the third practice session. The mechanics from Enstone had tried everything to repair the Danish driver’s car, but in vain.
At the start of Q1, it was dry but much colder than the previous day on Notre Dame Island. The challenge would therefore be to heat up the ultra-soft tires supplied by Pirelli, especially for Ferrari, which had been experiencing difficulties in this area since the beginning of the season. The track had also been washed by the light afternoon rain and would inevitably be very changeable… All with uncertain weather. A few raindrops were even falling on the cameras. Therefore, the drivers did not take long to hit the track.
In the very first lap, Sebastian Vettel, sandwiched between the two Mercedes, was caught in what seemed like a leisurely Sunday drive and risked contact with the Silver Arrows for the sake of a clear track – Lewis Hamilton was at least as culpable due to his constant weaving.
Vettel eager to get on with things early – but Hamilton not letting him past into the clean air #CanadianGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/uup0loifWX
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 juin 2016
On a very busy track, the best times followed one another due to the improvement of the asphalt. Skimming the always close walls in this very particular urban layout, the drivers did not hesitate to attack to study the heating of the ultra-soft tires.
Max Verstappen, between turns 5 and 6, noticed a few drops of rain on his visor. A few minutes later, Sergio Perez warned of the presence of drops all over the circuit. The news was bad for both Haas cars, which, with eight minutes left in the session, were virtually both eliminated. On the other hand, Pascal Wehrlein, thanks to the power of the Mercedes engine, emerged in a surprising 14th place. Equipped with a new particularly immersive onboard camera, Romain Grosjean knew that time was short and climbed to 15th place. Also attacking, Jolyon Palmer narrowly avoided disaster at the Wall of Champions, at the famous chicane before the start-finish straight.
Between the French driver and the Renault driver, the duel concludes (by just 15 thousandths) with the victory of the former… thanks to the unexpected intervention of a Manor. Last in the standings, Rio Haryanto indeed caused a yellow flag in the last possible lap of the session after two bumps and a broken rim. Let’s remember that the Indonesian is reportedly short nearly seven million euros to finish the season – this could therefore have been his last Saturday of the season. The other Manor, driven by Pascal Wehrlein, was indeed eliminated, but it was ahead of both Sauber cars and only two-tenths away from Q2. At a time when negotiations with Nico Rosberg seemed to be dragging on Mercedes’ side, the last DTM champion was sending a message to Toto Wolff.
📻 HAR: “I think something’s damaged on the rear”
Haryanto catches a wall, tries to carry on but now limps to a halt pic.twitter.com/ctoBkpmkVi
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 juin 2016
Eliminated in Q1: Palmer, Wehrlein, Ericsson, Nasr, Haryanto.
With the weather still as unpredictable as ever, chaos ensued at the start of Q2. Nico Hülkenberg was the first driver caught in the traffic jam of the pit lane. Only the drivers needing a rubbered-in track (the Williams and McLarens) risked a prolonged stay in their garages. The battle for Q3 was shaping up to be very uncertain, with several teams (Williams, Force India, McLaren, Toro Rosso) appearing capable of securing a top 10.
Twelve minutes before the end of the session, Carlos Sainz caused a red flag. While he was on his best lap, the Spaniard made the mistake of pushing too hard at the Wall of Champions, making it his first victim. Although the crash wasn’t spectacular, Carlos Sainz, having turned in too early, ended up hitting after losing the rear. His hopes of Q3 were shattered. “When you’re at the limit, these kinds of things happen,” confessed the Spaniard after the session. The drivers who had stayed in the pits ultimately had a good intuition.
RED FLAG: The Wall of Champions claims @carlosainz
His #Quali session is over #CanadianGP 🇨🇦
⏰ stopped at 11:52 pic.twitter.com/CcjOD6HUiY
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 juin 2016
At the restart, the Williams were the first to go out, but still couldn’t get below the 1 minute 14 second mark. Some drivers, like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, preferred to do two warm-up laps. Nearly under the 1 minute 13 second mark on their side, the two Mercedes were far ahead of the competition, with Hamilton ahead of Rosberg by only 18 thousandths, promising a contested Q3.
With an overly understeering Haas, Romain Grosjean was struggling and did not seem able to break into the top 10. The Ferraris were also not performing at their best, lagging behind the Red Bulls and even Valtteri Bottas. Vettel, 7th with four minutes remaining in the session, even returned to the Ferrari garage, seemingly confident in his chances of success. Had the Scuderia intentionally asked its drivers to slow down a bit to preserve the tires at the start of the race?
Even with a Honda V6, the two McLaren veterans, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, both completed remarkable laps. While the Englishman narrowly missed entering Q2 after blocking a brake at the hairpin, Fernando Alonso, for the third consecutive time, placed his car in 10th position. He had hoped to qualify 11th to have more tire choices for the next day… The disappointment of the day was Monaco’s happy man: Sergio Perez, 11th after being knocked out by his teammate, Nico Hülkenberg.
📻 McLAREN: “Safely through to Q3, Fernando”
ALO: “Wooo hehe”#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #Quali pic.twitter.com/8HBZZ10E1M— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 juin 2016
Eliminated in Q2: Perez, Button, Kvyat, Guttiérez, Grosjean.
The battle for pole position – and for the second row – could begin between the Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull. If we relied on Q2, the pole was to be contested between the two Silver Arrows. The Williams should not be ruled out either after Valtteri Bottas’ 4th place in Q2. The rain was still a threat, but a more distant one now.
At the very beginning of the session, Lewis Hamilton went straight through the chicane. But like most of the drivers, the Englishman had anyway chosen to do two warm-up laps.
After an impressive attack lap, the two Silver Arrows shattered the stopwatch, going under 1 minute 13, with only 62 thousandths of a second separating Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Six tenths behind, Red Bull and Ferrari were battling, but actually for the second row. Sebastian Vettel even nearly faced disaster at the Wall of Champions. “I brushed the wall,” the German confirmed over the radio. Notably, Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa, lacking tires, were unable to make a first attempt.
📻 VET: “I think I brushed the Wall of Champions, just enough to take the lacquer off the rims” #CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #Quali pic.twitter.com/XfVoEYTje3
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 juin 2016
In his second attempt, Nico Rosberg locked a wheel while braking and could not improve his time. The reigning vice world champion even gave up before the finish line. Lewis Hamilton would therefore retain his pole position! On the Ferrari side, Sebastian Vettel put in an outstanding lap to finish just one and a half tenths behind Hamilton. The pole was indeed achievable for Ferrari! In 4th and 5th, the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen managed to outdistance a disappointing Kimi Räikkönen, who fell short by more than half a tenth compared to his teammate. In 7th and 8th, the Williams lacked traction in the turns but at least defeated the Force India of Nico Hülkenberg and the McLaren of Fernando Alonso.
In his very last turn, Daniel Ricciardo finally had some luck. The Australian slightly touched the wall of champions, but unlike Carlos Sainz, he did not damage his car.
Just like in Monaco, Lewis Hamilton would therefore start from pole position and could consider, on one of his favorite circuits, a 45th victory in the world championship. However, if rain were to come tomorrow in Canada, the cards would be reshuffled… And even on dry ground, the very tight gaps at the top of the standings suggested an unpredictable race.
🏁 PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION – END OF QUALIFYING 🏁#CanadianGP #Quali 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/5bZ1OaAnqr
— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 juin 2016
