Max Verstappen claims pole with shock front row partner for Canadian Grand Prix

Verstappen has won five of the opening seven races and even a wet-dry-wet track could not slow him down

Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix following Saturday’s rain-hit qualifying session in Montreal.

Verstappen has won five of the opening seven rounds and even a wet-dry-wet track in Montreal could not slow the Dutchman down.

Nico Hulkenberg took advantage of the sodden track to take second spot for Haas, 1.2 seconds behind Verstappen, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third.

Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell in the other Mercedes, while Lando Norris claimed seventh for McLaren.

Verstappen has been in a class of one this year and the Red Bull man kept his composure in changeable conditions to take an impressive pole.

Verstappen was quickest out of the marks in Q3 before Oscar Piastri’s shunt on the exit of the second corner led to a red flag.

The session was delayed for eight minutes and – with the intensity of the rain increasing – no one would threaten Verstappen’s time.

Hamilton had briefly held third spot, but the seven-time world champion was usurped by Hulkenberg just as the red flag arrived for Piastri’s collision with the wall.

Max Verstappen is on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix (Getty Images)

Sergio Perez’s string of poor races continued after he was eliminated in Q2 and starts Sunday’s round from 12th place.

Perez, who trails team-mate Verstappen by 53 points, started last in Monaco after he crashed out of qualifying and then was only 11th on the grid last time out in Spain.

Here, the Mexican again begins a race outside of the top 10 after he failed to get a clean lap together and faces losing even further ground to Verstappen.

On an afternoon of surprise results, Charles Leclerc was also knocked out in Q2. The Monegasque, who, too, performed badly in Barcelona – qualifying 19th and taking the chequered flag in 11th – was denied an early switch by Ferrari to dry rubber.

TOP-10 - CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

1) Max Verstappen

2) Nico Hulkenberg

3) Fernando Alonso

4) Lewis Hamilton

5) George Russell

6) Esteban Ocon

7) Lando Norris

8) Carlos Sainz

9) Oscar Piastri

10) Alex Albon

When the brief changeover to slicks arrived, Leclerc could not do enough to progress to Q3, yelling in frustration over the radio.

“The tyres are not ready,” he said. “Come on!”

Earlier, qualifying was red-flagged after a handful of minutes when Zhou Guanyu temporally broke down in his Alfa Romeo.

The Chinese driver managed to get going again, limping back to the pits, with the session restarted after a seven-minute suspension.

Zhou was able to continue in Q1, but he finished 20th and last.