What the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying in Canada

Mercedes

Russell led from pole at the start of the Sprint, despite coming under huge pressure from his team mate. Antonelli managed to attack after a handful of laps, the two going wheel to wheel and making contact as they fought. Antonelli felt he was forced wide and took to the radio to complain – only to be told to concentrate by his boss. After a second foray off track, the teenager lost out to Norris and came home third as Russell won for the first time since the Shanghai Sprint.

Mercedes seemed to have lost some of their pace advantage in Qualifying, after opting to set-up the cars with a view to the possible changeable weather conditions for the Grand Prix. And Russell seemed to struggle as a result, locking up on his first flying run in Q3. Antonelli nailed his last lap to grab provisional pole, but an under-pressure Russell managed to beat him with his final effort by just 0.068s, the exact same gap that separated the duo yesterday over one lap.

George Russell, Sprint: 1st, Qualifying: 1st, 1:12.578

"We had a good day yesterday and we've had another good day today. The team has worked really hard to bring a major update this weekend and it's helped us stay just ahead of the competition. We've been made to work for it with McLaren right on us in the Sprint. The battle between Kimi and I was hard but fair; it gave Norris an opportunity to close up but we were pleased to bring home the win and score another good haul of points for the team.

"It wasn't just McLaren that put us under pressure in Qualifying. Ferrari and Red Bull were also in the fight for pole as we were struggling to get the tyres working and struggling with a temperature imbalance across the axles. I was lacking confidence throughout the session, but the team did a great job to nail our tyre preparation in Q3 and give us the chance to take pole position.

"We're expecting cooler conditions tomorrow, along with some rain, so we don't fully know what to expect. We will do all the necessary preparation though and hopefully we can end the weekend on a high by fighting for the win."

Kimi Antonelli, Sprint: 3rd, Qualifying: 2nd, 1:12.646

"The Sprint this morning was an intense race. There was a lot of action and I'm sure everyone watching enjoyed it! George and I raced each other hard, but we know where the limits are. We still scored good points in P3 and that was important for both me and the team.

"Qualifying was much trickier than Sprint Qualifying the day before. It was difficult to get the tyres in the working window and there was a little more time on the for sure. My final effort wasn't perfect, and I lost a little bit of time in sector two. I think that's definitely where I missed out on pole position. It's annoying to miss out on P1 by such a small margin but it's still a good result and gives us the chance to fight for victory tomorrow.

"The weather is looking uncertain tomorrow. There will likely be many unknowns, and it may be about keeping the car on the track and being ready for anything that is thrown our way. If we are racing in the wet, it will be the first time for everyone doing it in these cars so it will be an interesting experience."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"Taking victory in the Sprint and pole position for tomorrow's Grand Prix means we've had a solid Saturday here in Montreal. We let our drivers' race, hard but fair, and that was the case in the Sprint. They both know our expectations as a team and where the line is; their battle is a good opportunity to make sure those ground rules are as clear as possible as we continue forward in the season.

"We made some set-up changes in expectation of cooler conditions tomorrow and that made the car more difficult for the drivers in Qualifying. We saw several cars looking like they would be fastest, and it all came down to tyre preparation. We learnt a lot during the session and were able to put it all together come our final laps. Both George and Kimi did a great job and that gives us the best possible starting positions, and opportunity to fight for victory, on Sunday."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Our Sprint race literally got off to a good start with both cars holding position off the line. We've been busy trying to improve this aspect of our race weekend over the last few weeks and whilst we still have work to do, it was an encouraging sign that we are making progress. The early pace looked good; the battle between George and Kimi allowed Norris to get in between and from there he managed to stick with George with the benefit of overtake mode. Geoge tried, but couldn't break the one second gap and that left Kimi consigned to P3.

"We made some small changes to the car going into main Qualifying, mostly with an eye on cooler and possibly wet conditions tomorrow. The car was a bit trickier to balance throughout the session than it had been yesterday; the final laps from both drivers were good though and it was great to secure another front row lock-out. Whilst it certainly felt like we'd made life difficult for ourselves and ultimately probably made the car a little slower, there are no pictures on the timing screen, and we will lead the field off once again on Sunday.

"It's going to be an interesting race tomorrow, especially if we get wet running. We've not yet run the W17 in proper wet conditions so there will be a lot to learn. We will prepare as best we can and hopefully be able to fight for another great result tomorrow."

McLaren

Norris held onto P3 off the line in the Sprint, and started to drop back from the two Mercedes cars up front. But he was there to pick up the pieces when they clashed, getting past Antonelli and then pushing Russell surprisingly hard. He could not find a way through despite being less than half a second back at times, and had to settle for second. Piastri lost out to Hamilton at the start, but bided his time and got back past the Ferrari late on.

Come Qualifying, both were in the mix and much like yesterday, Piastri pushed his team mate very, very close. They were separated by 0.019s in Sprint Qualifying and 0.052s today, but it was Norris who had the edge. And interestingly, McLaren appear to have closed the gap to Mercedes slightly, which bodes well heading into tomorrow.

Lando Norris, Sprint: 2nd, Qualifying: 3rd, 1:12.729

"We can feel pretty good about today's results. Firstly, to finish P2 in the Sprint is a great achievement and a credit to the whole team for executing a good strategy and maximising our opportunities. We put ourselves in the right place to capitalise when the guys ahead were battling, and we came away with some very valuable points. We did a very good job with the package we have, but we have to be realistic about where we are. Without the two Mercedes fighting ahead of us, this result wouldn’t have been possible, so we’ll keep working and try to put ourselves in a position to battle with them on pure pace.

“In Qualifying, we we’re talking tiny margins today, half a tenth here or there was the difference between positions. We needed to be perfect today to beat the Mercedes, and it was very tricky to do that. I lost a bit of time on my final run when a car went off ahead, I picked up dirt on the tyres and then subsequently missed the slipstream down the back straight. But anyway, we’re close to the cars in front, closer than we expected without our full upgrade package, so as a team we can be very satisfied with today.

“Tomorrow will be interesting, on a cold, low speed street track it’s incredibly hard to build tyre temperature, and if it’s wet it will be chaotic, but that also means opportunities. On pure pace Mercedes still have the edge, especially over a race stint, but if conditions mix things up, we’ll be ready to fight and take any chances that come our way. We’ve made smart setup tweaks, the car’s consistent, and if we execute well there’s a lot to play for.”

Oscar Piastri, Sprint: 4th, Qualifying: 4th, 1:12.781

“Overall, a decent day. In the Sprint, it was a positive result for the team. With the change in wind from yesterday, the car didn’t quite feel like it did in Sprint Quali. However, we were able to get Lewis at the end and gain back the spot we lost at the start.

“I'm happy with Qualifying. The car was a step forward from the Sprint this morning, so that was positive. The session was a little trickier, we were struggling in Sector 1 and it was more difficult to get the tyres into the right window with the track and air temperature being quite low, and the harder nature of them.

"We are closer to Mercedes and were able to put some pressure on them, but unfortunately, it was just not quite enough. The rain tomorrow can mix things up, so it will be an opportunity for us all - let's see what we can do."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“Overall, it has been a positive day for the team. We are very encouraged by the trend we’ve seen this weekend, where we are closing the gap to Mercedes and unlocking more performance from the MCL40. Securing a strong result in the Sprint and closing the gap to under two-tenths in Qualifying confirms we are moving in the right direction.

“In the Sprint, a new set of Mediums enabled us to fight for longer with Mercedes, culminating into the P2 and P4 finish, after Oscar battled well with Hamilton’s Ferrari. In Qualifying, both Lando and Oscar performed well, but we must investigate why we lose time in the straights compared to our closest competitor.

“Overall, the car is performing better in the corners, which has given both Lando and Oscar the confidence to really push. I must commend the entire team for their relentless efforts with the upgrades and the trackside group for optimising the package we have.

“Looking ahead to the race on Sunday, we are realistic. In dry conditions, Mercedes likely has the edge, but we have put ourselves in a strong position. Canada is always an eventful race, and with the potential for mixed weather, anything is possible. We haven’t had much wet running this season, which adds an unknown element, but if it rains opportunities will arise, and we will be there to give it our absolute best and challenge for the win.”

Ferrari

Hamilton was the quickest off the line in the Sprint, picking off Piastri and looking feisty. But he seemed to run out of tyre life, falling back into the clutches of the Australian late on. After clipping the wall, he lost momentum and Piastri made his way past a lap or so later – only for Hamilton to get even more squirrely which allowed Leclerc through as well.

The Monegasque driver was very unhappy in Qualifying, unable to extract the best from his car and saying over the radio that he might put it in the wall. Fortunately, he did not, but he was the slowest driver from the big four teams. Hamilton looked much more likely to grab a good grid slot, but he made a mistake on his last flying run and had to settle for fifth.

Lewis Hamilton, Sprint: 6th, Qualifying: 5th, 1:12.868

"It was a good session overall and I felt comfortable in the car, especially through Q2 and on the first run in Q3. We made a small change ahead of qualifying that worked well and the team did a strong job improving the car throughout the session. The final lap didn’t come together quite as I wanted, but we are making progress and I feel hopeful that we can keep moving in the right direction. The race could be very unpredictable tomorrow so I’ll be ready to take advantage of any opportunities."

Charles Leclerc, Sprint: 5th, Qualifying: 8th, 1:12.976

"In the Sprint, I think we paid the price for our starting position. The pace felt good but I got stuck behind Oscar (Piastri) who was very fast on the straights.

"Qualifying did not go well for me. I just struggled to put the tyres in the right window and was sliding around in Q1 and Q2. In Q3, I managed to gain some confidence and felt a bit better in the car, but that final position isn’t what we are aiming for. I think the race will be tricky for everyone, especially if it is wet, so we will have to see how things unfold tomorrow."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"It was a tight session especially in the end, as Lewis was running P2 after the first runs in Q3. Unfortunately he didn't manage to put everything together on his final attempt. It’s a pity because the pace was there and we could have aimed for a stronger result. Now the focus shifts to tomorrow, when we could face a very different challenge. So far we have never raced these cars on these new tyres in wet conditions, which means teams and drivers will need to learn very quickly, even on the laps to the grid. That could make for a very open race."

Red Bull

Verstappen and Hadjar held position off the line in the Sprint, but did not have the pace to keep up with the Ferraris and McLarens ahead. The Dutchman had a lonely Sprint as a result, while Hadjar lost his P8 after dropping back with power issues. The team opted to retire his car, only to seemingly find a fix and send him back out for some test laps late on.

After a steady weekend, Verstappen finally let his frustrations bubble over in Qualifying as he complained about the RB22 over the radio, the Dutchman unable to find the grip he wanted. He pipped his team mate to P6, Hadjar looking much more competitive but left to rue a mistake on his final flying lap.

Max Verstappen, Sprint: 7th, Qualifying: 6th, 1:12.907

“It was a bit of a lonely Sprint race for me. We knew that, with the setup we had, we were going to be limited in getting close to the cars ahead. For Qualifying, we made some changes, but unfortunately I was still struggling. We improved in some areas, the ride was better, but not so much in others. We need to understand more on the deployment side, as it makes it tricky to build references, especially into the braking zones, so there are a few things to analyse overnight. Tomorrow is probably going to be wet, so we'll see what happens.”

Isack Hadjar, Sprint: 21st, Qualifying: 7th, 1:12.935

“The guys did a very good job to turn the car around from what was a frustrating Sprint race. To go from nowhere in the Sprint to P1 in Q2 is brilliant. I had a very good start to qualifying, felt very comfortable in the car, and made a big step forward in terms of pace. When it mattered I couldn’t put the lap together and was overdriving the car, so I am very frustrated with myself. It is definitely positive to have made these steps, but I should have been fighting for a podium.”

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

“Qualifying did not go particularly smoothly for us. We were very competitive in some parts of the session, but then we struggled a bit in others. We have seen this throughout the weekend and we do not believe it is down to one single factor.

"However, we have learned a lot and this will allows to continue our progression. Then if you look at the overall result, we are three tenths off pole and it’s fair to say it’s probably an accurate reflection of where we are right now, and we know how much work we still have in front of us to close the gap further.

"Rain is forecast for tomorrow and I think we can expect a chaotic race, considering that we have not yet run these cars in the wet. It could be a steep learning curve for everyone and extremely tricky for the 22 drivers out there, but also very entertaining for the fans.”

Racing Bulls

Lindblad was the only driver to start on the hard tyre. He held onto P9 off the line, which was a solid result on that compound, and then inherited eighth when Hadjar ran into problems. From there, he did not put a foot wrong to pick up the final point on offer. Lawson enjoyed a busier Sprint, battling hard with Hulkenberg and Perez – both of whom picked up penalties for those fights.

The rookie once again impressed in Qualifying, making Q3 with relative ease for his second top 10 start of the weekend. Lawson could not quite join him, but is within touching distance of the points – although there are many unknowns going into a race that could well be wet.

Arvid Lindblad, Sprint: 8th, Qualifying: 9th, 1:13.280

"Today has been really positive and the team have done an incredible job bringing this upgrade to help me feel comfortable in the car. Every lap we’ve done this weekend has been very competitive, and I’m happy with my lap in Q3. There was probably a little more time to extract, but when the top teams put everything together, they're able to secure the top spots. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I always enjoy racing in the wet, and with rain in the forecast, we’ll deal with whatever comes our way in the moment. A huge thank you to the team, and now all eyes are on tomorrow."

Liam Lawson, Sprint: 11th, Qualifying: 12th, 1:13.897

"The car is really fast this weekend, so it’s a shame to not put both cars in Q3. I was still trying to catch up after yesterday and it was more difficult than expected. At the start of Qualifying, I struggled a bit with the warm-up on the Soft tyre. I also had some front locking and it meant that I ended up putting a lot of pressure on myself during the last push lap to try and get through. We came very close, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Let’s see what happens tomorrow; we have a quick car on the dry, but I also wouldn’t mind having some rain, considering where we start. These cars are hard to drive in the wet, so if it rains as expected, it will be an interesting race."

Dan Fallows, Technical Director

“It has been a clean and successful day today for the team, bringing home a well-deserved point for 8th place in the Sprint Race with Arvid. We opted for him to run the Hard tyre, which we were mindful could make him vulnerable in the opening laps, however he started well and went on to capitalise on his excellent performance in Sprint Qualifying on Friday. Having only run two laps at pace on a difficult Friday, Liam got to grips with the car quickly today and managed to gain six places, which is an impressive achievement in a Sprint Race.

“Qualifying showed our strong pace this weekend at the top of the midfield. It was Liam's first outing of the weekend on the Soft tyres, but he was immediately on the pace, missing out on Q3 by only half a tenth. Arvid was comfortably P9, repeating his achievement in Sprint Qualifying. The team in Milton Keynes and Faenza have done a great job to deliver a clear step with the upgrades here in Canada. We look forward to fighting for points with both drivers in the race tomorrow."

Alpine

Gasly opted for a pit lane start for the Sprint, using the opportunity to alter his set-up as the team continue to learn about their new upgrades. Running near the back, he pitted for soft tyres to get some more understanding about the C5 rubber and thus finished near the back. Colapinto was more in the thick of the action, but could not quite chase down Lindblad for the final point on offer.

The Argentine racer impressed again in Qualifying though as he made Q3 and grabbed P10 on the grid. That makes it two races in a row he has out-qualified Gasly, with the Frenchman enduring a messy session where he was impeded by Hamilton and thus only just scraped out of Q1.

Pierre Gasly, Sprint: 20th, Qualifying: 14th, 1:14.187

“Again, it's not the end result we expected as we exited Q2 in P14. Like in Miami, I am not comfortable in the car right now and we must keep working together as a team to understand why that is. We decided to make some changes to the car ahead of the Sprint Race to experiment some ideas and try to see why we are lacking pace. Our expectations as a team are much higher and we know the package has some pace as Franco delivered another good result to be in Q3. Tomorrow we will have an eye on the sky with the forecast expected to be wet. I had some experience last week in Magny-Cours with the wet tyre test so I know it will be a huge challenge for all of us at the wheel. If it does rain, it could turn into an interesting afternoon and we will see where that leaves us at the end of the race.”

Franco Colapinto, Sprint: 9th, Qualifying: 10th, 1:13.697

“It has been a good day and a solid Saturday in general with positives to take from the Sprint and in Qualifying. I'm happy and proud of the work we've put in together as a team and I feel it's paying off with more consistent results like this one. We were close to getting a point in P9 in the Sprint, having started from P13 and the pace felt much better than the previous day and we were able to compete with cars around us. I was chasing down Arvid [Lindblad] for the final point, but we missed out which was slightly frustrating when you're so close. Then in Qualifying we were near Arvid again, and they looked very strong today, so P10 was probably the best we could have hoped for. It puts us in a good position for tomorrow and with the performance we showed in the Sprint I'm confident we can achieve a good result if the weather is consistent. We know rain is also forecast, which is an unknown for everyone, and we'll do our best and react to what happens in the race tomorrow.”

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director

“It's certainly been a better day for us today compared to Friday as we were able to make some improvements on both cars ahead of Qualifying. Franco has done another great job to be in Q3 and he's now in a competitive grid position for tomorrow. His pace in the Sprint Race was strong and, had we had a smoother day yesterday with a better Sprint Qualifying result, we are confident he could have been well in the mix for points in the Sprint. For Pierre, we tried some experiments on set-up and changed some aerodynamic components to try and put him in a happier place in the car. While it's marginally better, he's clearly still not at ease with the package as it stands and we must continue digging to understand why as it's certainly uncharacteristic to see him so far off where we expect him to be. Unfortunately, he suffered some floor damage in Q1 as a result of hitting a trackside groundhog, which impacted his car's handling in Q2. Tomorrow the talk will be about the weather as we expect heavy rain here in Montréal. We are expecting conditions to be challenging so it will be about maximising our preparation and doing our best to navigate whatever comes. We are well in the mix and we will aim for points with both cars.”

Audi

Hulkenberg had an eventful time of it at the start, running over the grass and dropping a handful of places. He also picked up a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage when battling Lawson. Bortoleto had a quieter Sprint, but could not make any progress forwards. Come Qualifying, neither had the pace to progress to Q3 although Hulkenberg came closest, grabbing P11 on the grid for the third time in five race weekends.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sprint: 15th, Qualifying: 11th, 1:13.886

“Coming up just short of Q3 once again is obviously frustrating, especially with margins this small, but overall, I’m pretty pleased with the session. I think we extracted everything that was there today. Around this track, with the low grip levels, you’re constantly fighting the balance and hanging onto the car, so it wasn’t easy out there.

“Looking at the bigger picture, it’s been a decent result considering how the weekend started for us. The main topic has really been the drivability and power unit side, and this circuit exposes those areas quite a lot. Nevertheless, we managed to get the car into a much better window for qualifying and the balance felt reasonably good.

“There’s still work to do, but tomorrow is another opportunity, especially if conditions change, and we’ll aim to make the most of it.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sprint: 12th, Qualifying: 13th, 1:14.071

“Today hasn’t been the cleanest qualifying – I would say I felt a little bit more comfortable in the car yesterday. Either way, I don’t think we could have done much more than this with what we currently have. Nico did a very good lap, on the other hand, and I reckon that's where we are standing in terms of pace.

“Tomorrow could be an interesting one, especially looking at the weather forecast. I haven’t driven this new generation of cars in the wet yet, so let’s see what’s going to happen. We’re still struggling with the starts, as we saw earlier today in the Sprint, but if we manage to get that right, we could build something during the race.”

Allan McNish, Racing Director

“Qualifying unfolded largely as expected, with both drivers completing good sessions and the overall result reflecting our current level of competitiveness. While it is naturally frustrating to see Nico finish P11 once again, it also underlines how close we are to consistently fighting for Q3 positions. The margins remain extremely tight, and with continued development, we are confident we can make that next step more regularly. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the pace we demonstrated in the Sprint gives us encouragement for the race. The biggest unknown will be the weather conditions, with significantly cooler temperatures and the possibility of rain expected. As none of the teams have yet run these cars in wet conditions, it could create a very unpredictable scenario and add another strategic dimension to the race.”

Williams

Albon started from the pit lane and pitted on his way to a P19 finish in the Sprint. But Sainz showed there was some pace in the car after starting and finishing 10th. He lost out to Colapinto, but still showed decent form that bodes well for the rest of the weekend. But Sainz’s pace disappeared in Qualifying, and he could not repeat his top-10 start. He did make Q2 at least, something his team mate could not manage – Albon exiting at the first time of asking.

Alex Albon, Sprint: 19th, Qualifying: 18th, 1:14.851

“It hasn’t been my weekend so far and we’ve been on the back foot from FP1. Since we had such limited run-time yesterday, the Sprint race was essentially another test session for us to trial a few things for qualifying and to get up to grips with the car after the team worked extremely hard to fix the damage from yesterday.

"Qualifying was tricky and we struggled to get the lap right procedurally with deployment, especially with traffic, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to put together a strong enough lap. There is a lot of work to do overnight and a lot to analyse and debrief with the team. The weather for race day is looking rainy, and we have no experience driving in the wet with these new cars, so it could be interesting especially with visibility. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Carlos Sainz, Sprint: 10th, Qualifying: 15th, 1:14.273

“A more challenging day today. We made good progress on setup overnight and the car had the pace to be in the top 12, however in the last run of Q2 I lost a few tenths in the first sector which proved costly, although I honestly think Q3 was out of reach today.

“If the rain comes tomorrow, this will be the first time we run wet tyres in these new regulations. It will be a challenge for all the teams to understand the tyres and energy deployment in wet conditions, so it will be interesting to see how it unfolds and we’ll try to make the most out of the race.”

James Vowles, Team Principal

“We had more potential with Alex and Carlos than what we delivered on track, so it's disappointing to be where we are. However, it’s also another reminder that we need to keep developing the car and moving it forward in this very tight field.

"Looking to tomorrow, there is rain on the way which I think will make for an interesting day and presents an opportunity to reset from where we are now and maximise the result of both drivers. The car was quick with Carlos in the Sprint today, so we need to make sure that translates to the race if it is mixed conditions tomorrow.”

Haas

Bearman opted for a pit lane start, as the team continued to try and learn about the upgrade package that was only running on his car. He also pitted during the Sprint, which contributed to his lowly position. Ocon was a handful of places higher and then received the upgrade himself for Qualifying.

But the Frenchman could not extract the best from the upgrade package and exited at the first time of asking. Bearman made Q2, but was left bemused when part of his car flew off and could not get anywhere near the top 10.

Oliver Bearman, Sprint: 18th, Qualifying: 16th, 1:14.416

“We decided last night to break Parc Ferme and try a few things on the setup. Taking a deeper dive into the data, we saw some characteristics and behaviors from the car that were unexpected, so with that, we tried to find the root cause and take a step back on set-up, and it was still a very difficult race. We need to find a way to find some performance in this car, as so far it’s been a challenge. I think we found ourselves with a car with a better corner balance in qualifying, and now we’re finding out that with a bit of confidence, we’re finally pushing the entries and locking the fronts each time. We’ve been so poor throughout this weekend that we’ve not uncovered these issues until now, when everyone else found that out in FP1. It’s going to make it tough, but it’s wet tomorrow, so hopefully there will be some opportunities.”

Esteban Ocon, Sprint: 13th, Qualifying: 17th, 1:14.845

“It was still difficult in the Sprint, but at least we got some laps under our belt. For myself and for Ollie, I hope we’ll be able to have a little bit more of a picture than what we had after yesterday. We’ve done the laps, we’ve got the data now, and the important thing is to see where we can improve as we’re struggling a bit with pace, balance, braking – there are a few areas where we need to improve. We completely changed the car just before qualifying, so it was not easy to get a proper feel, really, and we only have three or four laps to get used to everything. I was in the position of trying to find out where the grip is better, where it is worse, with the updated car, and it was very difficult to put everything together. It was the ultimate chance, that last lap in qualifying really. We keep pushing and see what we can get tomorrow.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“In terms of the overall result, it’s been a disappointing day, but I think we’ve started uncovering specific issues and understandings, so although the result is not great whatsoever, there are lots of positives to take. We have to start the weekend better, as in FP1, we really were far off in terms of car set-up. At a circuit like this, where the driver needs to gain confidence, we didn’t give them that opportunity. The car we managed to get for Esteban and Ollie in qualifying, that’s where we should’ve started the weekend.

“In terms of the aero package, the good thing is we confirmed that the aero load is delivering, but we started uncovering what is causing certain issues in certain corners, so we can now isolate it. If we really understand that and get to the bottom of it, we can direct the development well. It’s very disappointing to qualify where we have, but now we have some specific pointers. At this difficult time, we’ve had it before like in Melbourne last year, and we managed to develop the car very well. It’s one of those hiccups that’s in front of us, but there are already some good indications, so we’ve just got to stick together, work together, and improve and solve it.”

Aston Martin

There was disaster for Stroll at the start of the Sprint, when his car suffered a front suspension issue on the grid. He was wheeled back to the pits with moments to go and did manage to start the dash, but from last position. As for Alonso, he pitted and retired the car after picking up damage in an opening lap incident.

Both drivers were then involved in moments right at the start of Qualifying, with Alonso released into the path of Colapinto in the pits while Stroll’s car was sent out in an unsafe condition. Those were both investigated, and Aston Martin were handed two fines.

Fernando Alonso, Sprint: DNF, Qualifying: 19th, 1:15.196

“I always enjoy driving here in Canada and I have felt a little bit more competitive this weekend. There are some small steps for us in the right direction, but we still need more performance to get through to Q2. In the Sprint race, we had some contact into Turn 1 and in the end, we retired the car. If it does rain tomorrow, it will be interesting as we haven’t run in wet conditions with these new regulations, and the grip levels here will be very low. It will be a demanding race for everyone, but let’s see what we can do.”

Lance Stroll, Sprint: 16th, Qualifying: 21st, 1:16.195

“It’s been a tough day. We started from the pit lane after finding a suspension issue on the grid this morning, so that compromised things straight away for the Sprint Race. In Qualifying, I just didn’t have confidence in the car because of the lack of grip, which made it difficult to really push. Rain is expected tomorrow, so that could mix things up a bit and maybe help the lower downforce cars.”

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer

“A busy day in Montreal. The drivers gave it everything to extract as much performance as they could, but the results reflect our performance level right now. Our battle tomorrow will be with the Cadillacs. It was not a straightforward day operationally with several issues holding us back. That’s an area where we must improve going forward. Let’s see what tomorrow brings: the weather forecast suggests wet conditions, which might open up some opportunities for us.”

Cadillac

Bottas was another to start from the pit lane for the Sprint after Cadillac opted to make some set-up changes to his car. Perez started on the grid and fought hard to cross the line 11th, but he was handed a 10-second time penalty for forcing Lawson off track, which dropped him to P14.

Perez was back in front of the stewards after Qualifying, for not returning to the track correctly - he received a reprimand. As for Bottas, the Finn locked up and ran wide on his last flying run in Q1 so lost out on a chance to improve late on.

Valtteri Bottas, Sprint: 17th, Qualifying: 22nd, 1:16.272

“Not the ideal Qualifying session as I was hoping for a lot more but had a lock up into Turn One, so my mistake, and that was the first lap of the second run, so that ruined the run. The cloud cover and the track temperature dropping meant it was trickier to get the tyres in the right window. It’s difficult to say how much there was to be gained but certainly quite a bit of time. We've been chasing the setup all week, so it's been busy in the garage. We used the Sprint Race as a test and put everything we’ve learned together for the Qualifying setup. It wasn't meant to be today, but we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Sergio Perez, Sprint: 14th, Qualifying: 20th, 1:15.429

“The Sprint race this morning was incredible – it was a really top performance from the team. It was a great strategy to go on the Softs. We got it wrong in Miami, but today we showed we were on the right tyre, made some good calls and were defending well. It’s a shame about the penalty, but regardless, it was a great performance and we had a lot of cars behind – I'm really happy with that race. Qualifying was tougher and once everyone puts their pace together it shows a clearer indication of where we are. We didn’t maximise the session and had a bit of a problem with the ride following a set up change, so it was difficult to get a lap in. Tomorrow’s race will be quite interesting – we will look to pick up any opportunity we can.”

Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal

“There’s a lot of positives to take from today. We had the confidence to make a bold strategic call in the earlier Sprint and Checo was able to race competitively. Valtteri had a harder time, but Checo’s P11 over the line shows when everything comes together we can be in the mix of the midfield. We couldn’t replicate the form in the later Qualifying, but tomorrow’s weather looks unpredictable so we need to trust our ability to make the right calls, keep focused and take advantage of any opportunities that come our way.”

Pirelli

Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli Motorsport Director

"The choice of compound for today’s Sprint was almost uniform across the grid, with a few exceptions that ultimately allowed all three compounds to be seen in action. Over the distance of the short race, the Soft showed linear and limited degradation, a sign that it could represent a useful joker in the strategies for Sunday’s race, should the track remain dry. For tomorrow, the one-stop strategy is clearly the best option, with the Medium-Hard combination indicated as the quickest on paper. This conservative approach, which we believe will be the most widely adopted by the teams in the absence of rain, calls for the pit stop to take place between laps 21 and 27.

"Slower than the previous option is the Hard-Medium strategy, which allows the first stint to be extended until laps 38 to 44. Depending on grid position, some drivers could benefit from starting on the Soft, bringing forward the pit stop to between laps 17 and 23, before completing the final stint on the Hard.

"There is, however, a high probability of rain tomorrow, which opens up the use of the two wet-weather products. From Miami onwards, Pirelli has extended the authorisation for the use of tyre blankets to the Full Wets as well, setting them at 40 °C for two hours. A temperature increase had already been adopted for the Intermediates, which can be heated to 70 °C for two hours, as is the case with slicks.

"The use of tyre blankets certainly makes it easier to bring wet tyres up to temperature in the opening laps, even in low-grip conditions, such as low ambient temperatures or due to the characteristics of the circuit itself. Both factors apply at Montreal, where the relatively low lateral forces make it difficult to generate tyre temperature, as seen in today’s qualifying, and where forecasts indicate a further drop in minimum temperatures."