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Qualifying report

Canadian GP: Vettel beats Bottas, Verstappen to pole

Ferrari Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Pole sitter Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF71H celebrates in parc ferme

Pole sitter Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF71H celebrates in parc ferme

Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14.
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF71H.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W09.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault Sport F1 Team R.S. 18.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team VF-18.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 W09
Sergey Sirotkin, Williams FW41.
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1 W09.
Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren MCL33.
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF71H.
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF71H
Esteban Ocon, Force India VJM11.
Sergey Sirotkin, Williams FW41.

Vettel set the pace throughout the Q3 top 10 shootout, posting at time of 1m10.776s on his first run to take top spot.

He then shaved 0.012s off that time on his second run using the hypersoft Pirellis to make sure of pole position.

Valtteri Bottas was second fastest for Mercedes, but was unable to improve on his first-run lap, having lost time in the first and second sectors.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen made it three different makes in the top three by jumping to third on his final lap, relegating Lewis Hamilton to fourth place – just over two tenths slower than Vettel.

Kimi Raikkonen had been third after the first runs in Q3, but ran wide onto the grass exiting Turn 2 on his second set of hypersofts and was forced to abort the lap and ended up shuffled down to fifth.

Ricciardo was sixth fastest, lapping just two-hundredths of a second off Raikkonen.

The Ferrari and Mercedes drivers will start the race on the ultrasoft Pirellis, having used that compound to set their fastest times in Q2, with Red Bull and the rest of the top 10 using hypersofts.

Renault's Nico Hulkenberg took seventh place ahead of Force India's Esteban Ocon.

The Renault and Force India pattern was repeated on the fifth row, with Carlos Sainz comfortably ahead of Sergio Perez.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was fastest of those eliminated in Q2, lapping two tenths slower than Perez.

That was enough to put him 29 thousandths of a second ahead of Brendon Hartley's Toro Rosso, who is running the upgraded Honda engine package.

Hartley complained about losing a couple of tenths in the final chicane on his quickest lap.

Sauber driver Charles Leclerc was 13th, with McLaren duo Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne never looking like a Q3 threat and ending up 14th and 15th – separated by just 0.009s.

Alonso complained about poor drivability out of the hairpin on his last run, but Vandoorne suggested over the radio that this pace was representative of McLaren's speed this weekend.

All five of those drivers had been in the drop zone after their first runs in Q2, but despite all finding time on their second set of hypersofts none were able to break into the top 10.

Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly, who had an engine change to the old-specification Honda after a problem in FP3, was knocked out in Q1 by last-minute improvements by Alonso and Vandoorne.

Gasly was unable to improve on the pace he set on his first Q1 run having been 11th at that stage, meaning he was shuffled down the order in the final minutes and ended up 16th

Williams duo Lance Stroll, who had an off-track moment at the final chicane on his final run, and Sergey Sirotkin were 17th and 18th respectively, effectively last of those not to hit trouble.

Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson hit the wall exiting the Turn 8/9 chicane on his first run, and ended up 19th after sustaining damage.

Haas driver Romain Grosjean was unable to run after suffering what appeared to be an engine failure as he headed towards the end of the pitlane billowing smoke at the beginning of the session.

ClaDriverChassisEngineTimeGap
1 germany Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari Ferrari 1'10.764  
2 finland Valtteri Bottas  Mercedes Mercedes 1'10.857 0.093
3 netherlands Max Verstappen  Red Bull TAG 1'10.937 0.173
4 united_kingdom Lewis Hamilton  Mercedes Mercedes 1'10.996 0.232
5 finland Kimi Raikkonen  Ferrari Ferrari 1'11.095 0.331
6 australia Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull TAG 1'11.116 0.352
7 germany Nico Hulkenberg  Renault Renault 1'11.973 1.209
8 france Esteban Ocon  Force India Mercedes 1'12.084 1.320
9 spain Carlos Sainz  Renault Renault 1'12.168 1.404
10 mexico Sergio Perez  Force India Mercedes 1'12.671 1.907
11 denmark Kevin Magnussen  Haas Ferrari 1'12.606 1.842
12 new_zealand Brendon Hartley  Toro Rosso Honda 1'12.635 1.871
13 monaco Charles Leclerc  Sauber Ferrari 1'12.661 1.897
14 spain Fernando Alonso  McLaren Renault 1'12.856 2.092
15 belgium Stoffel Vandoorne  McLaren Renault 1'12.865 2.101
16 france Pierre Gasly  Toro Rosso Honda 1'13.047 2.283
17 canada Lance Stroll  Williams Mercedes 1'13.590 2.826
18 russia Sergey Sirotkin  Williams Mercedes 1'13.643 2.879
19 sweden Marcus Ericsson  Sauber Ferrari 1'14.593 3.829
20 france Romain Grosjean  Haas Ferrari  

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