HAMILTON TO START IN FOURTH
LEWIS HAMILTON is facing a battle at the Canadian Grand Prix today after only qualifying in fourth place.
The Gilles Villeneuve circuit has historically been good for the Mercedes star, where he has taken six wins.
Hamilton warned his performance would suffer due to the postponement of an engine upgrade, and he was proved right.
The world champion said: “It was just a difficult session. The laps weren’t great laps. Our race pace was good yesterday.
“Our single lap was good, too, but today it just didn’t come together. Ferrari did a better job and that’s just the way it is.”
Championship rival Sebastian Vettel took pole position in his Ferrari with a track record and, to make matters worse for Hamilton, he was outqualified by his team-mate Valtteri Bottas who will start second.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is third.
Vettel, who trails Hamilton by 14 points in the championship race, said: “Yesterday we were a bit in trouble. I was not really happy with the car and I could not get the rhythm.
“Today was switched on and what a day, the car was incredible. Thanks to the team, thanks the crowd. A lot of Ferrari fans here.”
Bottas added: “It was close. It is always annoying when it is so close but anyway – front row and let’s see tomorrow.”
Verstappen, who needs a clean race after an incident-packed season so far, said: “I’m very happy with this weekend.
“The car has been working really well and we know in qualifying we are missing top speed. We have the pace to take the fight to Ferrari and Mercedes. Starting on the softer tyre is a benefit as it’s quite slippery on track and in the race I think we’ll be competitive.”