Daniel Ricciardo will start the Canadian Grand Prix from the seventh row of the grid and his Scuderia Toro Rosso team-mate, Jean-Eric Vergne will be watching the red lights go out from the tenth row.
Daniel managed to make the cut into the second part of the session, but Jean-Eric got no further than Q1. Dealing with our Australian driver first, he did a good job of getting the most out of the STR7 and can be pleased with the fact he out-paced one Sauber and both Williams on his way to 14th place. The updates we brought here in terms of aero parts and a revised exhaust system have delivered a performance boost and the team will now be working hard to capitalise on this and get more out the package for the forthcoming races.
As for Jean-Eric, he simply paid the price for not running this morning, after he got caught out on the wet grass and parked his car in the barriers at Turn 2. The task of getting to grips with his car immediately the gun went off for qualifying was made even harder by the fact his car had been significantly changed since Friday and so he didn’t have much time to get used to it. Throw in the fact that all 24 cars were doing lots of laps in Q1 as the Pirelli tyres were not inclined to produce much degradation and of course traffic then became a big issue too. Let’s hope 20th place on the grid will simply turn into a springboard for an exciting climb up the order. As for Daniel, starting fourteenth in a race that always throws up some surprises, many of them involving the appearance of the Safety Car, a points finish has to be the target. In a few hours and 70 laps, we will get the answers.
Sebastian Vettel has given himself the best chance of winning by taking his second pole of the season for Red Bull Racing. On his outside as they make the exciting run down to the complicated first couple of corners will be Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. The second row features Fernando Alonso third for Ferrari, just ahead of Monaco winner, Mark Webber in the other Red Bull. The top six is completed by Nico Rosberg for Mercedes and Felipe Massa in the other Ferrari.
One in Q1, One in Q2
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One in Q1, One in Q2