In the Grand Prix weekend in Canada, things have been going smoothly for Max Verstappen so far. On Saturday, the World Cup leader took dominant pole position on a wet track, while Carlos Sainz only seems to be the main challenger in third place. Still, the Dutchman does not expect a run course.
“If you looked at the race simulations on Friday, it was very close between us and Ferrari,” Verstappen replied when asked who can keep him from winning on Sunday. “So I do expect Carlos to be able to stay close.”
The forty-year-old Fernando Alonso starts next to the Dutchman, who surprisingly finished second in qualifying. “As a boy I used to see him win a lot and take poles,” Verstappen recalled. “So it’s nice to start next to him now.”
Although Alonso’s Alpine is normally not a competition for Verstappen’s Red Bull, the Limburger is still watching out for the shrewd Spaniard.
“You never know with him in the first round,” Verstappen looked ahead. “He is getting older, but he can start very well.”
Alonso had set himself the goal of ‘maximum attack‘ to go into the first corner and at least take the lead for a lap. Verstappen can get through a door with the two-time world champion, but giving him the lead as a gift goes just too far. “Not really, no”, the World Cup leader answered with a laugh when asked whether he grants Alonso that.
‘Not really changed anything’
Verstappen himself is enjoying a smooth weekend in Montreal, and his first real pole position of the season. In Imola he was also the fastest, but that was only about the sprint race.
“It’s been a lot easier all weekend than in Baku, so that’s nice,” said the reigning world champion. Especially in qualifying in Azerbaijan, and a week earlier in Monaco, it was difficult for Verstappen.
Now the times rolled easily out of his car. He had a logical explanation for that. “It’s a different circuit, and a different layout. So that also demands completely different things from the car than in Baku, for example.” There was no other setting. “No, we haven’t really changed anything.”
It was Verstappen’s first ‘real’ pole of the season
It was Verstappen’s first ‘real’ pole of the season Photo: Getty Images
Verstappen enjoyed in tricky qualifying
Despite a better balance in the car, Verstappen still had to work. A mistake was lurking in the wet qualifying.
“It was very tricky yes, especially in the first part when the track was still very wet. Then you saw almost nothing, and everyone was looking for a spot”, he looked back. “After that the track dried up a bit, there was more grip and it became more fun”, the Dutchman smiled.
In the final part of qualifying, according to Verstappen, it was mainly about being in the right place at the right time. “First I drove a lap just to be sure, just to have a time on the clocks. Then you just have to follow the track, get the tires to work and look for more grip. When that worked I did enjoyed it.”