Ill-timed failure puts Verstappen on back foot as more rain threatens qualifying

Ever since Lando Norris’ breakthrough win in Miami three rounds ago, the question of just how much of a challenge Red Bull’s rivals could offer to them over the rest of the season has been the one everyone wishes to know the answer to.

Red Bull may have never been in contention for the victory in the last race, but that was explained by Monaco being a circuit that played to the RB20’s weaknesses.

But one weekend around an anomalous street circuit does not and should not be taken as an indicator for the rest of the championship. Although the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is far from conventional in many ways, it should be a track that provides a much clearer picture for what the true order really is at the front of the field.

That is, it would, if it was not for the rain teams encountered throughout the first day of running which is expected to keep giving them headaches over Saturday and Sunday.

After two practice sessions that were heavily affected by rain, there is little in the way of useful data to decipher just how good Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren are relative to each other. But there is one outstanding stat from the opening day of running in Montreal: 14 – the number of laps Verstappen completed across the two sessions.

The championship leader was naturally eager to recover from a disappointing Monaco weekend and make a strong start in Montreal. However, an electrical problem forced him out of the second session. To make matters worse, it came in a crucial phase of the second hour when his rivals were seizing the opportunity to complete meaningful runs on slicks between showers.

“Unfortunately, in FP2, not many laps for me,” Verstappen told the official F1 channel after the session. “There was a suspected electrical issue, so they told me to box, and they’re investigating now.”

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After recording the fewest laps of anyone bar the luckless Jack Doohan, Verstappen described his Friday as “not ideal.”

“I would have liked to drive more laps,” he said. “It’s definitely not how I would have liked to get on in FP2. But I think it’s more important to just figure out what actually happened and what kind of implications that will have for this weekend or the rest of the year.”

Having won in Miami and finished a close second in Imola, Lando Norris had every reason to expect to be one of the favourites for victory at the next ‘conventional’ circuit. But after a complicated Friday, Norris admitted McLaren were unsure about where they stood.

“We didn’t learn enough in the dry, to be honest,” he said. “We did the least laps, I think, out of everyone [in the dry]. But in the wet, a good amount. I think we’re in a reasonable place.”

Norris suggested that Ferrari seemed “a little bit ahead” based on the limited data available so far. Charles Leclerc, who controlled the Monaco weekend to secure his first win in almost two years, was feeling a rare sense of satisfaction once again following his first day in the damp conditions.

“All-in-all, I’m happy because we were very competitive in all conditions,” Leclerc told the official F1 channel.

“That is a good thing, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to improve on the car. We still have to do some changes for tomorrow, which hopefully will bring us in a better position again.”

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But another team which will be adding new parts onto their cars on Saturday and could be worth keeping an eye on for qualifying is Mercedes. Despite being seventh on the time sheets at the end of the day, Lewis Hamilton was feeling fairly optimistic about how his car performed in the mixed conditions and how he might go once his team fit their latest front wing on his car for qualifying, which neither driver appeared to use on Friday.

“It was a really good session,” said the seven-times champion. “The car was feeling strong. I thoroughly enjoyed the session.

“I feel like I’m in fighting spirits. I feel like the car is reacting to my inputs and I feel really confident out there. Saturday is often a different day for us, but I think in either conditions, I felt really strong today. So I do feel like we’re closer to the front this weekend.”

If Hamilton’s feeling proves true, then Saturday could see Verstappen facing intense competition at the front of the field for pole position. A competition that will be made even more difficult by the very high chance that qualifying will be wet.

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Montreal forecasts suggest that the third and final practice session could start on a damp track but run without rain interference across the hour – making it an especially critical session. However, once 4pm rolls around for the start of qualifying, the grid-setting session is expected to be hit with an 80% chance of rain – with thunderstorms possible.

Just how severe the impact of the weather will be on qualifying and the grid order for Sunday remains to be seen, but it looks increasingly like drivers are going to be under heavy pressure on Saturday, where one mistake for any of the eight drivers in the top four teams could be punished. And as was the case last season, teams will have to be especially alert not to impede any rivals around the fast, flowing circuit – particularly into the final chicane where several near-misses already occured.

“It’s going to be an interesting weekend for you guys, from the outside,” said the fastest driver on Friday, Fernando Alonso. “It’s going to be a gamble, always, on which tyre to put on each moment. Let’s see if we get it right.”

Combined practice times

P.	#	Driver	Team	FP1 time	FP2 time	Gap	Laps
1	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1’33.411	1’15.810		29
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1’28.541	1’16.273	0.463	33
3	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin-Mercedes	1’40.530	1’16.464	0.654	31
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1’25.306	1’16.556	0.746	35
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB-Honda RBPT	1’28.582	1’16.731	0.921	32
6	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1’29.052	1’16.773	0.963	23
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’25.970	1’16.908	1.098	38
8	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB-Honda RBPT	1’28.723	1’16.951	1.141	31
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	No time	1’16.977	1.167	26
10	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull-Honda RBPT	1’28.058	1’17.041	1.231	29
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault		1’17.417	1.607	31
12	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams-Mercedes	1’36.586	1’17.496	1.686	27
13	55	Carlos Sainz Jnr	Ferrari	1’24.763	1’17.722	1.912	38
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Sauber-Ferrari	1’27.670	1’17.817	2.007	32
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas-Ferrari	1’32.826	1’17.903	2.093	25
16	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	1’26.754	1’19.008	3.198	27
17	24	Zhou Guanyu	Sauber-Ferrari	No time	1’19.087	3.277	21
18	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull-Honda RBPT	1’26.502	1’19.311	3.501	14
19	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Renault	1’27.584	1’20.789	4.979	34
20	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1’24.435	1’20.843	5.033	29

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Teams’ progress vs 2023

2024 Canadian Grand Prix

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• Marko contradicts stewards’ reason for Red Bull and Perez penalties
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