Albon: Topping Canadian GP Q2 shows Williams F1 progress genuine

Albon finished the wet Q1 session in a solid sixth place, and at the start of Q2 he was the only driver to be sent out on slick tyres rather than intermediates on the drying track.
He duly logged a time that no one else could match even after a mass switch to slicks as the rain restarted.
A scrappy Q3 session left him 10th – prior to gaining a place from a penalty for Carlos Sainz – but …Keep reading

Mercedes a potential F1 strategy outlier as Canadian GP tyre sets returned

The disrupted weekend at Montreal, with FP1 effectively wiped out by CCTV problems and rain impacting Saturday’s running, has left teams facing more uncertainties on strategy.
It has, however, triggered greater freedom on tyre choice management throughout the event as teams have not needed to preserve race sets as much as they would at a more normal event.
But as the tyre choices of the …Keep reading

Piastri knew first F1 crash would come at some point

The Australian had enjoyed an encouraging weekend in Montreal up until his accident, as he made it through to the final qualifying segment.
However, he ended up against the barriers early on in Q3 as he spun on the exit of Turn 8.
The incident briefly stopped the session and meant Piastri ended up ninth fastest overall, before moving up a place after Carlos Sainz’s grid drop.
Asked by …Keep reading

Gasly: Sainz F1 impeding was “extremely dangerous” and “unnecessary”

Gasly was trying to finish his fast lap towards the end of the session when he came across a gaggle of cars heading into the final corner, including Sainz, who was moving very slowly and was about to start his own lap.
Gasly had to abandon his lap and failed to progress out of the session in 17th place, while Sainz – who qualified eighth – later received a three-place grid penalty for …Keep reading

FIA revises Montreal Turn 1 barrier after F1 driver complaints

In previous years, drivers overshooting Turn 1 could return to the track beyond Turn 2 and blend into traffic relatively safely.
However, for this year’s GP weekend, the FIA extended the end of the barrier to stop cars that were out of control, potentially due to mechanical failures, from spearing across into traffic that was exiting Turn 2.
As a result of the change, drivers who ran wide …Keep reading

Hulkenberg handed three-place grid penalty for F1 Canadian GP red flag infraction

The Haas driver was found to have gone faster than the minimum delta time set by the FIA ECU on his return to the pits when the session was red flagged in Q3, as Oscar Piastri put his McLaren in the wall at Turn 7 amid wet conditions in Montreal.
Hulkenberg had set a lap good enough for second on the grid moments before the red flag emerged, and the worsening rainfall ensured that nobody was …Keep reading

F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Start time, starting grid, how to watch, & more

In a wet and wild qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the Red Bull driver splashed to his 25th F1 career pole position, ahead of surprise package Nico Hulkenberg who secured a front-row start for Haas.
But Hulkenberg faced a post-qualifying stewards hearing for a red flag infringement during Q3 and was duly given a three-place grid drop to push him down to fifth.
Hulkenberg’s penalty …Keep reading