Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix Prediction: Alonso wants to put Verstappen under pressure

The fastest circus in the world is coming back to Canada. This will be the eighth race in the calendar of this year's championship and a real spectacle is expected. The track in Montreal is named after the legendary Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve, who tragically died in Belgium in 1982. The first race in Canada was held back in 1961 and ever since than this circuit is placed among the most legendary F1 circuits in the world. The race in Canada can be one of the most interesting on the calendar, given that there are plenty of places to overtake, and there are also several critical corners where the slightest mistake means the end of the race. The last corner is also known as the "Wall of Champions", and it got its name in 1999 after three great champions (Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill) crashed into it. From then until today, that same place has been known to end races for a large number of drivers. The length of one circuit is 4.361 kilometers, and 70 circuits are driven. There are a total of 14 corners and two DRS zones. The first DRS zone is located between turns 7 and 8, and the second starts just before turn 12 and lasts until the first corner.

Max Verstappen's great streak continues. In the race for the Canadian Grand Prix, he will start from the pole position for the third time in a row. Nico Hulkenberg should have joined him on the front row at the start of the race, which is his best result since Brazil 2010 when he won his only pole position. Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso finished qualifying in third position. However, Nico Hulkenberg was summoned before the stewards for failing to maintain the minimum lap time during red flag qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. The German set a time good enough to join Max Verstappen on the front row of the grid in Q3, seconds before the stewards raised the red flag following Oscar Piastri's incident at the exit of Turn 7. After the action of cleaning the Australian's McLaren, the session continued, but in far worse conditions than those that preceded the short break. This then cemented Hulkenberg's provisional position on the front row, as Fernando Alonso was unable to complete his time as he was in contention to join Verstappen on the front row. However, the judges had their say and penalized the Haas driver 3 positions on the grid.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says he will try to give Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso a hell of a Canadian Grand Prix. The Silver Arrows driver had quite a productive first two days of the Canadian Grand Prix race weekend. The Briton set the fastest time on the first day, and worked with his team on new testing of the upgrades they brought to Monaco, to get the first double podium in Spain. During qualifying, Hamilton was consistently among the ten fastest drivers in order to secure further passes despite the rain affecting the starting order.

It was another difficult weekend in the season for Ferrari. Carlos Sainz's eighth time was reduced to 11th due to the penalty, while Leclerc faced additional inconveniences. What happened in Q2 with the Monegasque raised doubts. The start of the lap on the intermediates led to the 25-year-old questioning why he hadn't put on the soft tires, given that all the ideal track lines were already dry. Ferrari additionally told his driver to do a lap in the intermediates to find a good time, which could allow him to advance to Q3. At that moment, Leclerc made a mistake and lost the opportunity to achieve the required time. After returning to the pits to fit the soft tires, the rain started to fall again, forcing him to make a second pit stop for intermediates, but it was too late. I expect much more from both Ferrari’s drivers and I expect them to move up on this fast circuit.

OUR PREDICTION: Carlos Sainz -  top 6 finish