Today we witnessed an exciting qualifying session in which Russell managed to beat his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli at the very end. The Briton was the fastest driver in Q3 with a time of 1:12.578. Antonelli finished second on 1:12.646, while Lando Norris took third with a 1:12.729.
Russell set his fastest lap on the second flying run, using the same set of C5 tyres, earning him the right to start from the front of the grid on Sunday. Several drivers went quicker on their second push lap with the same set of tyres, making the session uncertain right up to the final seconds.
The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented by Giacomo Gianniotti. The actor, of Italian heritage, grew up in Canada and achieved worldwide fame thanks to the series Grey’s Anatomy, in which he played doctor Andrew DeLuca. He currently stars in the crime series Wild Cards on Netflix.
The Mercedes driver also claimed victory in today’s Sprint, making the most of the pole position he secured for the short race on Friday. Second place went to Norris, with Antonelli finishing third. The Mercedes drivers opted to start on a used set of Medium tyres, while Norris started on a new set of the same compound. Arvin Lindblad, running the Hard, finished in eighth position, while Sergio Perez, classified eleventh, completed today’s race on the Soft.
DARIO MARRAFUSCHI – PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR
The choice of compound for today’s Sprint was almost uniform across the grid, with a few exceptions that ultimately allowed all three compounds to be seen in action. Over the distance of the short race, the Soft showed linear and limited degradation, a sign that it could represent a useful joker in the strategies for Sunday’s race, should the track remain dry.
For tomorrow, the one-stop strategy is clearly the best option, with the Medium-Hard combination indicated as the quickest on paper. This conservative approach, which we believe will be the most widely adopted by the teams in the absence of rain, calls for the pit stop to take place between laps 21 and 27.
Slower than the previous option is the Hard-Medium strategy, which allows the first stint to be extended until laps 38 to 44. Depending on grid position, some drivers could benefit from starting on the Soft, bringing forward the pit stop to between laps 17 and 23, before completing the final stint on the Hard.
There is, however, a high probability of rain tomorrow, which opens up the use of the two wet-weather products. From Miami onwards, Pirelli has extended the authorisation for the use of tyre blankets to the Full Wets as well, setting them at 40 °C for two hours. A temperature increase had already been adopted for the Intermediates, which can be heated to 70 °C for two hours, as is the case with slicks.
The use of tyre blankets certainly makes it easier to bring wet tyres up to temperature in the opening laps, even in low-grip conditions, such as low ambient temperatures or due to the characteristics of the circuit itself. Both factors apply at Montreal, where the relatively low lateral forces make it difficult to generate tyre temperature, as seen in today’s qualifying, and where forecasts indicate a further drop in minimum temperatures.
