2022 F1 preview: Canadian Grand Prix
Brenden Martin previews the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
The 2022 Formula 1 season is heating up despite racing at a track that has cooled things down. Much like the conditions of last month’s Monaco Grand Prix, drivers had to prepare in harsh, rainy conditions on Saturday for final practice and qualifying.
The first two practice sessions on Friday, however, saw the sunny conditions that are to be expected on Sunday. Red Bull Racing No. 1 Max Verstappen earned his second pole of the season and 15th of his career after being the fastest in both Friday practices and taking a pole time of 1:21:299.
Verstappen will start on the front row in Montreal for the first time in his career at a track Formula 1 has not been at since 2019 when Mercedes No. 44 Lewis Hamilton took the win over then-Ferrari No. 5 Sebastian Vettel due to a five-second time penalty after exceeding track limits and reentering the track unsafely on Lap 48 of 70.
Hamilton took home his seventh Canadian Grand Prix win without leading a single lap by finishing within five seconds of Vettel who crossed the finish line first. In retaliation to the controversial decision to penalize him, Vettel famously switched the signs with the finishing positions with him and Hamilton.
Hamilton and Mercedes as a whole are still trying to figure out issues with their cars, such as porpoising. The wet setting might nullify those issues for the time being. Hamilton will be starting a season-best P4 with Ferrari No. 55 Carlos Sainz next to him in P3.
Vettel, however, continues to get the short end of the hockey stick in Montreal, the four-time champion was eliminated in Q1 after showing promise in practice with Aston Martin. He qualified 17th but will roll off 16th due to issues with his former team.
Ferrari No. 16 Charles Leclerc, who suffered an engine failure while leading the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, will suffer a 10-spot starting penalty for changing his power unit. AlphaTauri No. 22 Yuki Tsunoda will also undergo the same penalty.
Leclerc has a lot of ground to make up if he doesn’t want to fall further behind Verstappen in the points standings. The lead Red Bull driver holds a 21-point lead over Leclerc after Baku.
The biggest surprise going into the race is the driver who will be starting alongside Verstappen on the front row, Alpine Renault No. 14 Fernando Alonso. The 40-year-old two-time champion showed a lot of speed on Saturday, earning the top spot in the third and final practice.
In the soaking wet qualifying session, Alonso was just 0.645 seconds off of Verstappen’s time and puts a wedge between the defending champion on pole and Sainz’s Ferrari.
Red Bull and Ferrari remain the top two in the Constructor’s Cup, but the problems Ferrari has faced have put it 80 points behind the duo of Verstappen and Red Bull No. 11 Sergio Pérez.
Each team will have battles from the front and back of the packs with Verstappen and Sainz up front and Pérez and Leclerc fighting from behind. Pérez brought out the red flag in Q2 by slamming into the barrier of a turn, forcing him to make the long walk back to the garage.
Barring any other changes to the car, Pérez is set to roll off the grid P13.
The surprises continued in qualifying with rookie Alfa Romeo No. 24 Zhou Guanyu reaching Q3 for the first time in his Formula 1 career, out-qualifying his Alfa Romeo teammate No. 77 Valtteri Bottas for the second-straight week.
Haas also outperformed expectations leading up to the race on Sunday as each car advanced to Q3. Haas No. 20 Kevin Magnussen and No. 47 Mick Schumacher will start on the same row in P5 and P6 respectively.
Schumacher is still searching for his first career points finish in his second season. The weather helped shift around the starting grid, but the forecast for the race on Sunday could even things out with the high to be 71 degrees Fahrenheit, 11 degrees higher than on Saturday.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a 4.361-kilometer track, is known for its passing ability thanks to its long straights and 90-degree turns.
The 2022 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal will be 70 laps long and will begin at 2 p.m. EST and can be watched on ESPN.
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