First two places already gained. Max starts from P9: 'Fifth place is possible'

Published on 09 June 2019 by Kees-Jan Koster

A crash from Kevin Magnussen in the second part of qualifying in Montreal means bad luck for Max Verstappen, who was on his way to improve his time. Because of the resulting red flag, that did not happen, and the Dutchman ended on an eleventh place on the grid.

However the Danish, who went through to Q3 as tenth, will start from the pits. Haas had to change the gearbox of Magnussen – with the corresponding five place grid penalty – and concluded it was better to start from behind with a free tyre choice than to start from P15 on the soft tyre compound. So Max moves one place forward on the grid.

The second place gained comes from a grid penalty for Carlos Sainz. The Spanish McLaren driver held up Toro Rosso driver Alexander Albon in Q1, who was on a flying lap. Sainz was referred for his wrongdoing three places back on the grid.

That means that on balance Max will start the Canadian Grand Prix from ninth position. He will keep his free tyre choice, so he can start the race on mediums or even the hard compound.

“When nothing crazy happens, a fifth place is possible. Mercedes and Ferrari are just too fast,” says Max about his expectations for the race. “There are a couple of drivers in front of me on the soft tyre. On those they will get into trouble after eight to ten laps. In itself that is nice, but I will lose a lot of time during the starting phase of the race in comparison to the top three. And those are the men I want to match.”

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Starting Grid Canada: