Mercedes' podium chances SOAR as Hamilton receives HUGE Canadian Grand Prix boost
Mercedes' podium chances SOAR as Hamilton receives HUGE Canadian Grand Prix boost
Lewis Hamilton will start the Canadian Grand Prix in third, with team-mate George Russell joining him on the second row, after Nico Hulkenberg was handed a three-place grid penalty for exceeding the speed limit under red-flag conditions.
Moments after Oscar Piastri lost control of his McLaren at turn seven, Hulkenberg went on on to record the second-fastest qualifying time in Q3 to put him second on the grid for Sunday's race.
Moments later, a red flag put a halt to Fernando Alonso's flying lap behind him. With the rain intensifying, the Haas driver appeared to have timed things perfectly to start from the front row.
READ MORE: F1 Qualifying Results: Canadian Grand Prix 2023 times Perez and Leclerc KNOCKED OUT in Q2
Hulkenberg's misery, Hamilton's joy
However, things soon went downhill for Hulkenberg after the stewards gave him a three-place grid penalty for failing to stay within the mandated speed limit after Piastri's crash.Despite a 10-place grid penalty being the usual punishment, the stewards noted that there were mitigating factors surrounding Hulkenberg's infringement.
Their report read: “The driver had just finished his fastest lap and had started another push lap. He was at T1 when the red flag was displayed, however at that point he was already 1.5 seconds over his delta time.
“He claimed this made it extremely difficult for him to come below the delta in the next sector. He also admitted to confusion about the beep signal in his headset, and therefore at one stage thought he was going too slow.
“Comparison of telemetry with that of Car 31 [Esteban Ocon] showed that in general for the rest of the lap he was approximately the same speed as Car 31 which complied with the delta times in each mini-sector. We regard this as a mitigating circumstance.
“However, the regulation is very clear and whilst there is no question of the driver acting dangerously or driving unsafely, there was a breach and thus a penalty has to be imposed.
"The normal penalty for failure to slow under red flags is 10 grid positions. However in view of the mitigating circumstance, a lower penalty is appropriate.
“We note the intention of the regulation is to ensure a car is not speeding during a red flag situation and there is no evidence that the speed was excessive in this case.
"We also note that the driver should make himself more familiar with the operational aspects of the delta signals.”
The news therefore means that Hamilton and Russell will now start in third and fourth, behind Alonso in second and Max Verstappen in first.
Hulkenberg meanwhile will begin the race down in fifth, behind the two Mercedes drivers.
READ MORE: F1 Canadian Grand Prix weather forecast
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Miami Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today
- 24 minutes ago
Former F1 champion in surprise take over safety improvements
- 32 minutes ago
F1 set for stunning 2026 RETURN to shock track
- 1 hour ago
Jos Verstappen fears Newey exit will trigger Red Bull collapse
- 2 hours ago
- 1
FIA announce Mercedes singled out for F1 inspection ahead of Miami Grand Prix
- 3 hours ago
Vettel to make F1 RETURN in tribute to legend
- Today 09:12
Related news
Hamilton and Wolff centre stage as F1 shuts down New York for new emoji launch
F1 wonderkid in Imola TEST amid driver replacement reports
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860