MONTREAL (Reuters) - Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen took pole position on Saturday in a wet qualifying for a Canadian Grand Prix that could see him secure Red Bull’s milestone 100th win.
It was an unpredictable and wild afternoon of racing at a rain-swept Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as teams rolled the dice switching from wet tyres to slicks as the track conditions changed.
The gamble, and a bit of luck, paid off initially for Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg, who placed his Haas alongside the Dutchman on the front row but was then handed a three-place penalty for breaching red flag rules.
That elevated Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to the front row instead, with other post-session penalties causing a further shake-up.
Lewis Hamilton, a seven-times winner in Canada, will line up third with his Mercedes team mate George Russell fourth and Hulkenberg fifth.
The pole, in a time of one minute and 25.858 seconds, was the 25th of Verstappen’s career.
“It was super slippery out there in some places, but we just made all the right calls, the right time on the track to do the lap times, and I’m very happy to be on pole here,” Verstappen said. “I like driving in the wet.”
“I come from Holland, so we are used to driving in the wet.”
Verstappen started from pole last year and held off Ferrari’s hard-charging Carlos Sainz for his 26th career win.
Fast forward one year and Verstappen with another victory on Sunday can bring his career total to 41, matching Brazilian Ayrton Senna’s haul.
Red Bull have dominated this season winning all seven races, Verstappen taking five to open up a 53 point gap at the top of the driver standings ahead of team mate Sergio Perez, who has won the other two.