Hamilton hopes of Canadian GP pole are a wash out as Verstappen leads rainy grid

LEWIS HAMILTON’s hopes of taking the fight to Max Verstappen were washed out as the Red Bull man took pole for Sunday’s Canadian GP.

The Dutchman timed it beautifully as he set his quickest lap before rain lashed down in Montreal.

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The final session was stopped after Oscar Piastri crashed out, but when it restarted it was simply too wet for the drivers to better their lap times.

It cost Hamilton, who will start in fourth alongside his Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who qualified in fifth.

Hamilton said: “It was a good result. Most people probably underestimated just how hard it was out there for everybody.

“It’s very tricky to keep it on track and deliver when the time comes. It was very slippery and difficult to generate temperature in the tyres.

“But I’m grateful for the result for George and I and hopefully from there we can move forwards [in the race].

“But we are ahead of the Ferraris, Max will be gone most likely, but if I can hold on to Fernando Alonso and give him hell, that’s what I’ll do.”

Verstappen, who is now going for his 41st win in F1 which would equal Ayrton Senna’s total, said: “It was completely wet but the car improved and you have to stay on top of the conditions.

“It was super slippery but we made the right calls at the right time. I like driving in the wet, I come from Holland, we are used to it.”

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Nico Hulkenberg was the shock result of the day as he qualified in second place alongside Verstappen as he too benefitted from setting a lap time before the heavens opened.

The Haas man added: “It was a wild quali, with crazy conditions around here with the walls so close, but it was fun. Obviously unexpected but everyone is happy.

“In this weather is it a lot about the communication and radio calls and seeing what the other teams are doing but it worked out pretty well.”

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was third and said: “It was a tricky qualifying in choosing the right tyre at the right time.”

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However, it was another horrendous mess from Ferrari as Charles Leclerc missed the top 10 shootout for the second time running.

Ferrari cocked-up their strategy in Barcelona and they did the same in Montreal as they reacted too slowly to the rain.

And Red Bull’s under-fire Mexican Sergio Perez was also given the boot from Q2 as he did little to ease the pressure building on him as he continued to be trounced by Verstappen.

Pierre Gasly was the biggest casualty from FP1 as the Alpine driver was clearly left frustrated at failing to reach the top 15.

The Frenchman lashed out in his cockpit as he was blocked on his hot lap by Carlos Sainz, which is likely to earn the Spaniard a penalty.

Not that is much help to Gasly, who shouted over the team radio: “He should be banned for such a thing! I am going at 300 [kmh].”

Sainz had only just made it into qualifying after crashing his car during final practice, causing damage to the front and back of his car as he spun into the barriers.