Verstappen wins pole in wet Canadian qualifying, Hulkenberg penalized
Reigning champion Max Verstappen continued his dominance of the 2023 Formula 1 season, clinching his fifth pole position of the year during a wet qualifying session Saturday for the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The Dutch driver is attempting to defend a Canadian GP victory for the first time in his career.
Nico Hulkenberg was slated to start alongside Verstappen in second, but he was handed a three-place grid penalty for breaching red-flag speed protocol immediately following his hot lap. It would've been Haas' first front-row start in team history.
Hulkenberg, who holds the F1 record for most grand prix starts without a podium finish, will now drop to fifth on the grid. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso is promoted to the front row.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:25.858 |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1.428 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +1.769 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | +2.035 |
| 5 | Nico Hulkenberg* | Haas | +1.244 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +2.087 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +2.188 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +5.491 |
| 9 | Alex Albon | Williams | -- |
| 10 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Q2 |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz* | Ferrari | +3.436 |
| 12 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | Q2 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Q2 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Q2 |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | Q2 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | Q1 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | Q1 |
| 18 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | Q1 |
| 19 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | Q1 |
| 20 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | Q1 |
Ferrari endured an especially disappointing qualifying, with Charles Leclerc unable to make it out of Q2.
"We need to do a step forwards now because it's not the first time it's happened," an irate Leclerc added following the effort, according to Sky Sports.
Meanwhile, Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz went eighth-fastest but will start 11th after being handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Alpine's Pierre Gasly in Q1. At the time, Gasly and Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer believed the French driver was running sixth-fastest and would've easily made it out of the first qualifying session. Instead, he'll start the race from 17th.
Oscar Piastri put his McLaren into the wall with seven minutes remaining, briefly halting the final qualifying session. At that time, the rain had picked up and, while qualifying resumed moments later, no driver improved on their times set before the accident.
Lance Stroll, the only Canadian on the grid this year, was unable to make it out of Q2 and will start Sunday's race from 13th in his home race.
Mercedes continues to bounce back after a slow start to the year, with seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton leading the second-row lockout alongside George Russell. Hamilton is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most Canadian GP victories ever with seven.
Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who sits second in the championship, will start from 12th.