Sebastian Vettel’s relief at scoring his first pole position for 17 races was clear to see.
The Ferrari driver erupted with joy when he was told he had beaten Lewis Hamilton with his final lap of qualifying. However with the championship leader starting alongside him, Vettel is well aware the job is not yet half-done.Vettel has had a tough time in the races since his previous pole position at last year’s German Grand Prix. He crashed out of that race while leading in front of his home crowd. Further errors at Monza, Suzuka and Austin wrecked his championship hopes. And 2019 has not started according to plan, with team mate Charles Leclerc showing him the way more often than a sophomore driver should, and Vettel compounding the situation with another costly error in Bahrain.
For Vettel to reassert his credentials as a championship contender, nothing less than a victory will do. He needs to see off Hamilton and, ideally, get Leclerc in between him and the Mercedes as well. But that’s far easier written than done, even with the considerable advantage of pole position.
“It will be a very, very close battle,” Vettel predicted. “We know our strengths, we know our weaknesses.”
Ferrari’s biggest strength – perhaps its only major one – is its straight-line speed. Aided by Leclerc’s slipstream, Vettel was 2kph faster through the speed trap than anyone on Saturday.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“Obviously we are very quick down the straights, let’s assume not so easy to pass but we will see,” he said. “We know that in terms of pace it will be very, very close and we need a perfect race tomorrow to fight for the win.”
Hamilton’s biggest threat to Vettel is likely to come from the Mercedes’ long-run performance. Valtteri Bottas demonstrated its potential on Friday. Hamilton, of course, was unable to do the same after damaging his car, which could put him at a slight disadvantage.
All the indications are Sunday will be a very warm day – air temperatures hitting 28C and track temperature potentially hitting 50C. The Mercedes and Ferrari drivers all qualified on the medium tyres, so they won’t be making the same early bid for the pits those starting on the softs (led by Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly) will have to.
Ferrari have seldom looked like a threat to Mercedes in race conditions so far this year. The exception was Bahrain, where they were able to hit the front, run in clean air and manage their tyres as they saw fit. A key aspect of Sunday’s race will be how much better Vettel can manage his tyres if, as expected, he leads the early stages.
Mercedes, however, will surely snatch a chance to change Hamilton’s tyres early and force Ferrari to follow them, hoping that by doing so their rivals will have to push their tyres too far.
“Whatever opportunity comes we will try to capitalise on,” said Hamilton. “[It’s] probably a one stop so looking after the tyres is going to be really key.”
The long straights of Montreal mean it is often thought of as a track where overtaking is easy. However that doesn’t always prove to be the case. “It’s very hard to follow here,” Hamilton acknowledged, “even though there’s mainly straights, they are very quick on the straights. So I don’t know how following Seb is going to be tomorrow if I’m in that position, but I just hope that we are able to be close and have a real race throughout the race.”
Go ad-free for just £1 per month
>> Find out more and sign up
Qualifying times in full
Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 (vs Q1) | Q3 (vs Q2) | |
1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’11.200 | 1’11.142 (-0.058) | 1’10.240 (-0.902) |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’11.518 | 1’11.010 (-0.508) | 1’10.446 (-0.564) |
3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’11.214 | 1’11.205 (-0.009) | 1’10.920 (-0.285) |
4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’11.837 | 1’11.532 (-0.305) | 1’11.071 (-0.461) |
5 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull | 1’12.023 | 1’11.196 (-0.827) | 1’11.079 (-0.117) |
6 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’11.229 | 1’11.095 (-0.134) | 1’11.101 (+0.006) |
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’11.720 | 1’11.553 (-0.167) | 1’11.324 (-0.229) |
8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1’11.780 | 1’11.735 (-0.045) | 1’11.863 (+0.128) |
9 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren | 1’11.750 | 1’11.572 (-0.178) | 1’13.981 (+2.409) |
10 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1’12.107 | 1’11.786 (-0.321) | |
11 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’11.619 | 1’11.800 (+0.181) | |
12 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1’11.965 | 1’11.921 (-0.044) | |
13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1’12.122 | 1’12.136 (+0.014) | |
14 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso | 1’12.020 | 1’12.193 (+0.173) | |
15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1’12.109 | 1’20.197 (+8.088) | |
16 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | 1’12.197 | ||
17 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1’12.230 | ||
18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 1’12.266 | ||
19 | George Russell | Williams | 1’13.617 | ||
20 | Robert Kubica | Williams | 1’14.393 |
Sector times
Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 |
---|---|---|---|
Sebastian Vettel | 19.357 (2) | 22.427 (3) | 28.449 (1) |
Lewis Hamilton | 19.323 (1) | 22.369 (1) | 28.683 (3) |
Charles Leclerc | 19.483 (4) | 22.418 (2) | 28.633 (2) |
Daniel Ricciardo | 19.591 (6) | 22.613 (5) | 28.766 (4) |
Pierre Gasly | 19.530 (5) | 22.569 (4) | 28.906 (9) |
Valtteri Bottas | 19.449 (3) | 22.618 (6) | 28.903 (8) |
Nico Hulkenberg | 19.741 (9) | 22.701 (7) | 28.838 (6) |
Lando Norris | 19.792 (12) | 22.897 (11) | 28.880 (7) |
Carlos Sainz Jnr | 19.757 (10) | 22.871 (9) | 28.780 (5) |
Kevin Magnussen | 19.683 (8) | 22.910 (13) | 28.954 (11) |
Max Verstappen | 19.613 (7) | 22.727 (8) | 29.043 (14) |
Daniil Kvyat | 19.828 (14) | 22.903 (12) | 29.021 (13) |
Antonio Giovinazzi | 20.038 (15) | 22.927 (14) | 28.958 (12) |
Alexander Albon | 19.778 (11) | 22.885 (10) | 29.085 (17) |
Romain Grosjean | 19.806 (13) | 22.995 (17) | 29.076 (15) |
Sergio Perez | 20.055 (16) | 22.945 (15) | 29.148 (18) |
Kimi Raikkonen | 20.102 (18) | 22.961 (16) | 29.084 (16) |
Lance Stroll | 20.082 (17) | 23.062 (18) | 28.937 (10) |
George Russell | 20.493 (19) | 23.386 (19) | 29.624 (19) |
Robert Kubica | 20.708 (20) | 23.772 (20) | 29.913 (20) |
Speed trap
Pos | Driver | Car | Engine | Speed (kph/mph) | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Ferrari | 333.3 (207.1) | |
2 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | Mercedes | 330.9 (205.6) | -2.4 |
3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | Renault | 330.7 (205.5) | -2.6 |
4 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 329.8 (204.9) | -3.5 |
5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 329.7 (204.9) | -3.6 |
6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Ferrari | 329.3 (204.6) | -4.0 |
7 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren | Renault | 328.9 (204.4) | -4.4 |
8 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | Mercedes | 328.8 (204.3) | -4.5 |
9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | Renault | 328.5 (204.1) | -4.8 |
10 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso | Honda | 328.4 (204.1) | -4.9 |
11 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Renault | 327.8 (203.7) | -5.5 |
12 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Mercedes | 327.7 (203.6) | -5.6 |
13 | George Russell | Williams | Mercedes | 326.8 (203.1) | -6.5 |
14 | Robert Kubica | Williams | Mercedes | 326.6 (202.9) | -6.7 |
15 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Honda | 326.5 (202.9) | -6.8 |
16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Ferrari | 326.4 (202.8) | -6.9 |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 326.3 (202.8) | -7.0 |
18 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 326.1 (202.6) | -7.2 |
19 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Honda | 325.9 (202.5) | -7.4 |
20 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull | Honda | 324.4 (201.6) | -8.9 |
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Over to you
Will Vettel end Mercedes’ streak of victories in today’s race? Could Ricciardo hold off the Red Bulls or even Bottas after qualifying fourth?
Share your views on the Canadian Grand Prix in the comments.
2019 Canadian Grand Prix
- Ferrari lose bid to have Vettel’s Canadian GP penalty reviewed
- Ferrari confirm no appeal on Vettel penalty
- 2019 Canadian Grand Prix Star Performers
- “I believe in the project”: Verstappen responds to Marko’s fears he could leave
- Top ten pictures from the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix
Rockie (@rockie)
9th June 2019, 14:05
This article is just filled with a comedy of opinions, for all you can clown Vettel for e.g spinning, leading from the front is not one of them.
F1 in Figures (@f1infigures)
9th June 2019, 14:15
I don’t think Hamilton will try to undercut the Ferraris. Usually when Vettel wins the start, he’ll push hard in the early stages. Hamilton, on the other hand, takes a more cautious approach, so his tires might be in a better shape later on in the race. Perhaps Vettel is even forced into a 2-stop strategy, whereas Hamilton may get away with just one stop, which gives him reasonable chances of winning the race, even though he (temporarily) has to battle both Ferraris.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th June 2019, 15:45
Will Vettel end Mercedes’ streak of victories in today’s race? – No.
Could Ricciardo hold off the Red Bulls or even Bottas after qualifying fourth? – No.
rpaco
9th June 2019, 17:45
Ferrari will be hoping that their phantom strategist M. Hulot (as played b Jacques Tati) does not take over their race plan today.
David BR (@david-br)
10th June 2019, 2:28
[ghost from the future] Sentient headline, one mistake less than perfection and Vettel indeed didn’t keep Hamilton back. Sort of.
Jamie B
13th June 2019, 16:42
@david-br haha this article aged like wine