Hello, MiniFans! We’ve landed in Canada to a very tight knit grid, with very small gaps among themselves throughout the timing tower. McLaren still seems to be at the very top, but the closeness could hurt them the most, as qualifying is a bit of a weaker spot for them than the Sunday race, with their pace on Sunday being where they shine the most.
Everyone was eager to go on track, with drivers making up a queue for Q1 from very early on. The top dogs didn’t join in this wait, preferring to wait for the quick track improvement that the Gilles Villeneuve circuit is known for. Softs were prevalent from the beginning, as mediums were presenting themselves as the Sunday tyre, but even with this compound, a lap to get it up to the correct temperature was deemed necessary due to the lowering track temperature as the afternoon went on.
In a bit of a continuation from free practices, Alonso managed to climbto the top in mediums, getting a faster time than all the frontrunners, who were sporting the softer compound. Just as the last stints were about to start, Albon’s engine cover blew open, being left in the middle of the track and forcing a red flag so that all the debris could be cleaned out without putting the marshals in danger. Once the restart time was announced, the queue was once again present in the pitlate, not wanting to miss even a second of time. No one was left in the pits, not daring to risk it even a tiny bit, and they were proven right as the times lowered and the order mixed up again, to the point of tearing teammates apart by ten positions, plus adding the risk of impedings to the table, which Sainz suffered in his own sking after a very promising set of practice sessions. The eliminated drivers in Q1 were Bortoleto (P16), Sainz (P17), Stroll (P18), Lawson (P19) and Gasly (P20).
Q2 kicked off with Verstappen being the first on track with a bit of an unusual choice: after Alonso made it through with the medium tyres, Red Bull decided to try it as well. It started out working nicely, as he managed to set purple sectors and top the sheets when McLaren had one car with new softs on track at the same time. No one else dared use the yellow rimmed compound in the first stint, but the second one did see a few more spread out throughout the grid, mostly from backmarkers who were trying something different.
Mediums quickly became the tyre of choice for non-frontrunners who weren’t sure about which tyre was the optimal choice. Their lower times were a mix of the tyre choice and the track improvement, so it wasn’t quite clear whether the medium was actually better or if the improved track surface was solely to blame, despite the harder compound used. The mastermind behind the use of mediums made it through quite easily, but the highlight was in a few manoeuvres that would bery likely be under scrutiny by race direction, both involving Tsunoda, who could see his already acquired penalty for overaking under red flags in FP3 increased. The eliminated drivers in Q2 were Tsuonda (P11, +10 positions due to penalty), Colapinto (P12), Hulkenberg (P13), Bearman (P14) and Ocon (P15).
Q3 posed a dilemma for those inclined to use mediums, as the teams are forced to use at least one set of new soft tyres. Most got rid of them at the start after doing the now traditional queueing in the pitlane waiting for the lights to turn green. Hamilton was the exception, as his choice was a used set, whereas his teammate was the first to cross the line in pursuit of a good time. Piastri quickly got rid of them, but Verstappen was soon pushing everyone off to settle in first by barely two hundredths.
Alonso and his mediums were out pretty early on for the second stint, getting them nicely warmed up for a good try at a fast lap. His first attempt got him to fourth, being barely beaten by Hamilton on a set of fresh softs. Verstappen and Russell copied the strategy, clearly feeling comfortable with the choice of harder compound. A few of the top dogs’ mistakes meant that Alonso finished higher up than expected, while both Verstappen and Russell managed to edge out the McLaren, locking out a front row with no papaya colouring whatsoever in it for Sunday.
After a not so great start to the weekend, as he hadn’t exactly been keeping up with his teammate or even the first handful of positions, Piastri showed up where it mattered most. Qualifying was the best session of the weekend for him, specially Q3, as his times with used tyres pretty much mimicked those with fresh sets, but Verstappen first and Russell later on pushed him down the order, relegating him to third. Eyes also turned further down, as neither Norris not Leclerc could improve their times, setting them up for a comeback on Sunday to try and match their teammates’ performance.
MiniDrivers – F1
2025 Canadian GP
Qualifying
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