Canadian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen takes pole ahead of Nico Hulkenberg

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position in a wet qualifying session at the Canadian Grand Prix that produced a series of shocks.

There will be an all-star second row, with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez were 11th and 12th.

They were knocked out in the second session after waiting too long to switch to slick tyres before the rain returned.

The second Mercedes of George Russell was fifth, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, who may well face a penalty for impeding in the first part of qualifying.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, whose crash early in the final session secured Hulkenberg’s place on the front row because it brought out a red flag during which the rain intensified, was ninth, ahead of Williams driver Alex Albon.

The British-born Thai was another to put in an outstanding performance, finishing the second session fastest after gambling on starting it on dry-weather tyres.

He was unable to repeat the heroics in the final session but a 10th-place start is Williams’ best of the season so far.

Hulkenberg shows ‘enduring quality’ to make front row

Hulkenberg and Albon provided the stand-out performances of a dramatic session dominated by the ever-changing conditions on the demanding Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Ile Notre Dame, across the St Lawrence Seaway from downtown Montreal.

Brought back to F1 by Haas this year for his experience after three years without a regular drive, Hulkenberg provided a reminder of his enduring quality in conditions in which he has often excelled.

He was the last driver to set a timed lap in the final part of qualifying as the rain was just beginning to intensify before Piastri lost control at Turn Seven.

The Australian rookie’s error came after he had impressed in the second session, setting fourth-fastest time behind Albon, Verstappen and Norris.

Piastri was not the only driver to suffer as conditions started damp, became drier through the first one and a half sessions before the rain began to come down, at first lightly and then more heavily into the final part of qualifying.

Ferrari had looked quick in practice earlier in the day, and in the dry conditions of Friday, but Leclerc’s day unravelled in the second session.

Like most drivers, but not Albon, he started it on intermediate tyres, but on his out lap was already radioing that the track was dry enough for slicks and he wanted to come in immediately.

The team advised him to stay out to set a ‘banker’ lap, which he did, but after returning to the track on slicks, he was never competitive.

In desperation, he switched back to intermediate tyres for the final part of the session, but when he went back on a track in increasing rain, he radioed to say the tyres were “not ready”, and let out an anguished scream to show his frustration.

Sainz saved Ferrari’s blushes to some degree with seventh place but he is likely to lose it following a stewards’ investigation into an alarming incident in which he and Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda were together at the final chicane trying to start a flying lap and Sainz and Ferrari between them failed to account for Pierre Gasly closing at a rapid pace as he sought to end a flying lap.

Perez was another to fail to get the best out of the tyres through the first part of the second session, and he faces his third consecutive race starting outside the top 10, an unenviable record for a man in the fastest car who a month ago still had pretensions of winning the championship.