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Rain, red flags, and changing weather featured prominently in the 2023 F1 Canadian GP qualifying. It was Max Verstappen who once again made short work of all the challenges put in front of him to secure the pole position.
There was, however, a surprise in store in P2 as the Red Bull driver will be accompanied by Nico Hulkenberg on the front row.
In a session that got red-flagged early in Q3 because of Oscar Piastri's crash, Nico Hulkenberg set his fastest lap just seconds before the flag was brought out. In P3, we had Fernando Alonso once again doing the job that many expected of him.
In a session that had so many twists and turns, who would be having a slight grin on their face as they look forward to the 2023 F1 Canadian GP? Also, who would be holding their heads in their hands? Let's take a look.
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2023 F1 Canadian GP Qualifying
Winner
Nico Hulkenberg
The new 'Drive to Survive' fanbase was not aware of the talent that is Nico Hulkenberg before this season. He left the sport in 2019 when the docuseries had not truly kicked off. He had made these sporadic appearances that were although impressive but never really got the credit that they deserved.
When Guenther Steiner decided to replace Mick Schumacher with Hulkenberg, the backlash was obvious. 8 races into the season and Steiner sits pretty with his decision. Hulkenberg has been one of the standout qualifiers this season, consistently outclassing Magnussen. He did the same with just the added caveat of a red flag working in his favor.
Loser
Ferrari
It's become repetitive, it's become disappointing, and to be fair, it's become boring as well. Ferrari has become the butt of all jokes in F1 now and the 2023 F1 Canadian GP qualifying session was no different. The car deserved to be on the front row without a doubt. The speed was there, the drivers showed it in all conditions as well.
Once again, though, when it came to fulfilling the basics, the team just could not get it done. Leclerc asked for slick tires (the same choice that helped Alex Albon secure a Q3 slot) but was shot down. The decision came back to bite the team.
In conditions that were worsening in Q3 and you had to be the first on the track, Ferrari took its own sweet time to roll Sainz out on track. The team is failing its drivers right now and it's almost painful to watch what's going on with the team.
Winner
Max Verstappen
Sure, he has the best car, but one just needs to look at the second Red Bull garage to understand how easily it could go wrong. The number of challenges that Verstappen had to overcome during the 2023 F1 Canadian GP qualifying was plenty. The track conditions continued to change, the lap times had to be perfect, and he had to make sure when to push and when to coast.
Most importantly, he could not afford to make mistakes. At the end of the day, Max continued to remain flawless when far too many of his competitors fell by the wayside. The 2023 F1 Canadian GP could be the race where Verstappen matches Senna's 41 career race wins, him doing it on a weekend affected by rain seems apt.
Loser
Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez is starting to realize that the rarefied air at the top is not easy to contend with and the Mexican is choking right now. This is the first time in his career that Perez is in a title battle. This is also the first time in his career that he drives the fastest car on the grid by some distance.
Unfortunately for him, he's choking. The driver can't put a qualifying session together without making a mess of things these days and this is the third race weekend in a row where he's not made it to Q3.
In all of them, his teammate has smashed the field and secured pole position. Checo needs an intervention from Red Bull because he seems to have lost his way in the last few races.
Winner
Williams
The inspired choice of setting the lap time in Q2 on slick tires was an inspired choice by Williams and one can't help but give some credit to James Vowles for it. Vowles has brought a different energy within that team and while it's hard to see the team scaling big heights soon, it has the right man to lead it to something glorious.
The 2023 F1 Canadian GP will see Alex Albon start the race in the top 10 and if he does secure a point, it will all come down to that inspired choice in Q2.
Loser
Lance Stroll
It's your home race, you have a strong car underneath you, it's wet weather conditions, the ones that you excel in, and yet you're out in Q2. To make matters worse, Stroll's teammate Fernando Alonso has once again plonked that Aston Martin into the top 3.
We'd recently done a feature of Lance Stroll being a dead weight at Aston Martin and the 2023 F1 Canadian GP is proving once again why that is the case.
Unfortunately for Lawrence Stroll, that dream of a double podium at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP might not get fulfilled this weekend.
