Max starting from fifth in Canada: “The best we could do”

Published on 10 June 2017 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen will be starting from fifth in the Canadian Grand Prix, the spot he laid claim to during qualifying. By doing so, he stayed ahead of his Red Bull Racing-team mate Daniel Ricciardo (P6). Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) took the pole home, he was immaculate in Montreal and also three tenths up on Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari. Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen followed their team mates on the second row.

“The balance of the car was pretty good in the third free practice. After that we changed a few things for qualifying, because I was locking up my front wheels a bit too much, but it didn’t work out as we wanted.” Max explains: “For the brake balance you can map certain modes. We had just changed those, but it wasn’t good. We also adjusted the ride height, but I didn’t quite like it. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to change that during qualifying.”

Was there more in store than P5? “We knew that Mercedes and Ferrari would have more power during Q3 in qualifying. That’s something we don’t have. So the fifth spot was always our target: for now, that is the best we can do.” Do you see any opportunities for the race? “I don’t know if we are fast enough to keep up with Mercedes and Ferrari. The most important thing is to retain our fifth position and to finish. Our race pace should be alright, so we’ll see”, concludes a feisty Max.

In the first part of qualifying, only the Ferrari’s venture out on the super softs. With a third (Vettel) and ninth (Raikkonen) spot, they are safe. Mercedes is the fastest with Bottas and Hamilton and with half a second, they’re ahead of Max in third (1:13.177). In the final minute of Q1, Pascal Wehrlein spins and hits the wall with the rear of his car first. Apart from a broken rear wing, it also triggers a yellow flag. The drop outs in Q1 are Wehrlein, Ericsson, Magnussen, Stroll and Vandoorne, who also kisses the Wall of Champions.

The remaining fifteen drivers immediately head out on track as soon as Q2 gets underway. After the first run, Hamilton is leading the pack with Verstappen in sixth (1:12.883). With still five minutes remaining, Max starts his second run and betters his time to a 1:12.751, good enough for P5. Red Bull Racing-team mate Ricciardo follows in sixth, five hundredths down, as Mercedes and Ferrari both claim the first four positions. The drop outs in Q2 are Palmer, Grosjean, Sainz, Alonso and Kvyat, who also hits the infamous wall and heads back to his team with a damaged wheel and a puncture.

After the first run of the final ten cars, Hamilton has once again set the benchmark. Verstappen is fifth (1:12.540). Vettel better his time and comes within two thousandths of the British Mercedes-driver. In the dying minutes of the session, the second run follows. Hamilton manages to do a sexy lap, as he called it himself, with a 1:11.459 and takes home the pole with that. Max takes off a tenth of his time and snatches fifth with a 1:12.403, behind of Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen. Ricciardo will be starting from the third row at 20.00 hrs. local Dutch time, next to Max

Canadian Grand Prix - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - Saturday 10 June

RESULTS QUALIFYING

01 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:12.692 1:12.496 1:11.459 21
02  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:13.046 1:12.749 1:11.789 21
03 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:12.685 1:12.563 1:12.177 20
04  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                     1:13.548 1:12.580 1:12.252 23
05 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:13.177 1:12.751 1:12.403 26
06  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:13.543 1:12.810 1:12.557 28
07 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:13.435 1:13.012 1:12.858 27
08 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:13.470 1:13.262 1:13.018 22
09 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes        1:13.520 1:13.320 1:13.135 22
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:13.804 1:13.406 1:13.271 24
11 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso                  1:13.802 1:13.690          18
12 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:13.669 1:13.693          18
13 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso                  1:14.051 1:13.756          19
14  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:13.780 1:13.839          21
15 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:13.990 1:14.293          20
16  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:14.182                   11
17 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:14.209                   14
18 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:14.318                   11
19  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:14.495                   11
20 94 Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari              1:14.810                   10

Predict Max’ fastest lap and win a hoodie from the new MV collection!