Max Verstappen identifies Canadian GP THREAT after 'lucky' Red Bull qualifying

Max Verstappen

Verstappen identifies Canadian GP THREAT after 'lucky' Red Bull qualifying

Verstappen might not have it all his own way in Montreal

Jack Walker

Sunday 18 June 2023 14:27

Max Verstappen has revealed that Fernando Alonso's long-run pace may trouble Red Bull during the Canadian Grand Prix, after the Dutchman admitted that he got lucky with his timings during Q3 before the rain came.

Verstappen blew the field away by over 1.2 seconds to take pole, but remains worried about other teams’ long-run pace.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were quickest during race-sim lapping in FP2 on Friday, while Ferrari and Aston Martin also showed promise in the dry.

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Will Verstappen really be threatened?

Alonso will be looking to claw back ground to Verstappen during the race in Montreal

Verstappen has hinted all weekend long that Red Bull may not have it all their own way in Montreal, and reiterated his worries of Alonso’s presence.

“Fernando [Alonso] had a very good long run,” the reigning world champion said. "The Ferraris were quite strong in the dry, including also Mercedes.

“The [Red Bull] long runs looked alright, we were quite happy with that but there [are] always of course things you want to look at and improve. Maybe the one-lap pace wasn’t fantastic, but that’s not what we are worried about in the race.”

A great qualifying lap and a little bit of luck

Max Verstappen claimed pole during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix

We all saw Charles Leclerc blast his engineer on Ferrari radio after yet another team error saw the Monegasque driver miss the window for soft tyres and crash out of Q2.

Verstappen’s garage, on the other hand, timed it to absolute perfection, not only in Q2 but Q3 as well.

The 25-year-old was one of only two drivers who were able to complete a flying lap in the final qualifying session before McLaren’s Oscar Piastri brought out the red flag.

“Luckily, we got a decent lap in at the end, which was enough to go to Q3," he added. "After that it started to slowly increase, the rain, and then at one point it was not possible to start on the slicks.

“We just had good communication with the team throughout [qualifying], which I think is the most important [thing] and we were clear with what we wanted to do."

The decision to be first in line at the pit lane exit proved crucial, and the championship leader was full of praise for his team.

“I had to wait a long time at the end of the pit lane, tyres are cold, but it does give me clean air and good vision, which I guess also helps to put a lap in.

“We just made all the right calls, had the right [position] at the track to do the lap times, and [I’m] very happy to be on pole here,” he concluded.