{"id":185797,"date":"2025-06-15T07:29:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T07:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/185797\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T07:29:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T07:29:11","slug":"winners-and-losers-from-the-2025-canadian-grand-prix-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/185797\/","title":{"rendered":"Winners and losers from the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

An incident-studded qualifying session for the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix meant there was plenty to watch for at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve \u2014 but it was George Russell of Mercedes who snagged pole position.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

But not everyone could be so lucky. These are PlanetF1.com\u2019s winners and losers for qualifying at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Winners and losers from the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying
\nWinner: George Russell<\/p>\n

If George Russell was shocked to find that he\u2019d topped the charts for the first time this year after FP2 ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, he\u2019ll be delighted with his pole position.<\/p>\n

The Mercedes team as a whole has looked impressive at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend. Cooler temperatures are kind to the W16, with both Russell and teammate Kimi Antonelli able to work magic on the medium tyres while the rest of the competition seemed focused on the softs.<\/p>\n

His time of 1:10.899 was the quickest of the session, and Russell was able to best the seemingly dominant McLarens when the time came.<\/p>\n

But there is one drawback: Russell is lining up on the grid alongside Max Verstappen, the driver who collided with him last time out in Spain. Are we about to see sparks fly on the run to Turn 1?<\/p>\n

Loser: Charles Leclerc<\/p>\n

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has had a frankly frustrating Canadian Grand Prix weekend. After having to sit out all of Friday when he crashed after three laps of action and damaged his safety cell, the man from Monaco felt that pole was on the table in qualifying\u2026 until he hit traffic in Q3.<\/p>\n

On his final flying lap, Leclerc came across the Racing Bulls machine of Isack Hadjar, which was driving slowly on the racing line. Speaking to media after the session, the Ferrari driver admitted that the dirty air thrown off the back of the RB caught him off guard. He nearly lost control, then caught his SF-25, but had to abandon his lap.<\/p>\n

Leclerc will line up eighth on the grid Sunday afternoon despite feeling like he had the pace to contend for pole.<\/p>\n

Winner: Alex Albon<\/p>\n

The Williams duo of Alex Albon have looked strong all weekend long in Canada, finishing FP1 in second and third on the timing charts.<\/p>\n

Team principal James Vowles explained that his drivers were on a different engine mode in FP1 compared to the competition, and that they\u2019d changed modes moving forward. But Albon held that performance through to Q3, and on Sunday, he\u2019ll line up ninth on the grid.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t his best start of the year, but it does signal that the Williams has the pace to retain its \u201cbest of the rest\u201d status for the time being.<\/p>\n

Albon\u2019s teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., though, was not quite so lucky. The Spaniard was impeded by Isack Hadjar in Q1, which compromised his lap and led to an early knock-out and a 16th-place start.<\/p>\n

More from the Canadian Grand Prix:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Hamilton podium? Verstappen gets banned? Bold predictions for Canadian GP<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49Eight iconic F1 moments from the Canadian Grand Prix<\/a><\/p>\n

Loser: Lando Norris<\/p>\n

It was the same song, second verse for Lando Norris in qualifying. The driver who topped FP3 struggled during Q3, citing that he \u201cjust [made] too many mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norris ran wide on his first flying lap, which meant he needed to hope his soft tyres still had enough juice for an additional flying lap right away. That was the lap that netted him seventh.<\/p>\n

He headed out again in the closing minutes of the session in hopes of going even quicker, but Norris admitted that he hit the wall in his final flying lap, which killed his momentum.<\/p>\n

Downtrodden, Norris pointed at Max Verstappen as having a better shot of victory than the No. 4 McLaren driver, adding,\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve clearly not had an advantage around this track compared to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

A seventh-place start isn\u2019t exactly death sentence for his championship hopes, but he will have a challenge making up ground on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Winner: Franco Colapinto<\/p>\n

Franco Colapinto\u2019s Formula 1 return hasn\u2019t exactly gone to plan this year. Behind the wheel of an Alpine, he has struggled to show the brilliant pace he displayed with Williams in 2024, and his five-race guaranteed stint at the team has been closing in without much hope of success.<\/p>\n

But on Sunday, he\u2019s starting 10th.<\/p>\n

Now, Colapinto didn\u2019t make it to Q3; he set a time good enough for 12th and has earned two positions courtesy of penalties imposed on other drivers. But this will be his best shot at securing the ever-critical points that could help him secure a seat for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n

The Argentine racer has gone for a few spins at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, so he\u2019ll need to play it safe on Sunday \u2014 but he\u2019s put himself in a strong position to maximise his day.<\/p>\n

Loser: Yuki Tsunoda<\/p>\n

Oh, Yuki. The Japanese racer has struggled to adapt to the Red Bull RB21 since he first got behind its wheel at his home race, and the remainder of the F1 2025 season hasn\u2019t gone particularly well for him, either.<\/p>\n

While Tsunoda\u2019s 11th-place starting position was one of his better qualis of the season, any potential advantage will be wiped out by a 10-place grid penalty that will see him dropped back to 20th on the grid.<\/p>\n

Tsunoda\u2019s penalty was handed out after FP3. Oscar Piastri collided with the wall and brought out a red flag, though he was able to drive his McLaren to the pits. Tsunoda overtook the slower-moving Piastri \u2014 a clear violation of red-flag procedure.<\/p>\n

His best start of the season with Red Bull was eighth in Saudi Arabia, while Tsunoda has started from the pit lane in both Imola and Barcelona. He\u2019ll have another tough race ahead of him on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Winner: Fernando Alonso<\/p>\n

The rumour mill has been churning overtime as pundits have pointed out that Fernando Alonso was spotted in Alpine hospitality at the Canadian Grand Prix several times this weekend \u2014 but for our purposes, we\u2019re focusing specifically on that sixth-place starting slot.<\/p>\n

Now, this isn\u2019t Alonso\u2019s best starting position of the year; he launched off the grid at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from fifth. However, he didn\u2019t manage to finish in the points \u2014 that was an honor he only just managed in Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Does this signal a change in form for the elder Aston Martin driver? It\u2019s too early to tell \u2014 but if Alonso can get his elbows out on the narrow confines of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he\u2019ll be looking good for a victory.<\/p>\n

Loser: Max Verstappen<\/p>\n

In any other circumstance, a second-place starting position on a Formula 1 grid would be something to celebrate \u2014 but it might just be the worst place Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen could be.<\/p>\n

Last time out in Barcelona, an audacious strategy ended in tears for Verstappen, who found himself restarting on hard tyres in the closing races. Frustrated by that as well as by the fact that both Leclerc and Russell made contact with him, Verstappen collided again with Russell after appearing to cede the position.<\/p>\n

The move saw Verstappen\u2019s super license hit with three penalty points, bringing his total up to 11 \u2014 just one point shy of a race ban.<\/p>\n

Heading into Canada, so much chatter has centered around Verstappen\u2019s potential race ban, with pundits even suggesting that the Dutchman\u2019s rivals should \u201cgoad\u201d him into driving aggressively and earning that 12th point. Now, he\u2019s lining up alongside the driver he collided with in Barcelona \u2014 and all the questions about his penalty points are \u201cp*ssing\u201d him off.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a recipe for a spicy entry into Turn 1 on Sunday afternoon in Montreal.<\/p>\n

Read next:\u00a0Canadian GP: Russell snatches stunning pole as Norris falters<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An incident-studded qualifying session for the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix meant there was plenty to watch for at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[72954,2894,13,225,12,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-185797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-canadian-grand-prix","9":"tag-f1-features","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-home-page","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114686208582092732","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}