Canadian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen takes pole as Nico Hulkenberg given grid penalty after qualifying second

Charles Leclerc was eliminated in Q2 after Ferrari left it too long to put him on slick tyres before the rain returned

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole position in a wet qualifying session at the Canadian Grand Prix that produced a series of shocks.

He will start ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Haas' Nico Hulkenberg initially qualified second but was given a three-place grid penalty for exceeding the speed limit under red-flag conditions.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Sergio Perez are 10th and 12th.

They were knocked out in the second session after waiting too long to switch to slick tyres before the rain returned.

Veteran German Hulkenberg, who was demoted to fifth, was one of four drivers to be given three-place grid penalties for infringements during qualifying on a busy day for the stewards.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz qualified eighth but was given a penalty for impeding Alpine's Pierre Gasly in the first part of qualifying.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon starts sixth with Lando Norris in seventh, immediately in front of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Piastri crashed early in the final session, an incident that brought out the red flag and ultimately prevented any drivers from improving their position because the rain became heavier during the delay.

Williams driver Alex Albon was another to put in an outstanding performance, finishing the second session fastest after gambling on starting it on dry-weather tyres.

The British-born Thai was unable to repeat the heroics in the final session but a ninth-place start is Williams' best of the season so far.

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Hulkenberg shows 'enduring quality' despite penalty

Nico Hulkenberg (left) made his Formula 1 debut in 2010

Even with his penalty, imposed for failing to stay within the speed limit after Piastri's crash, Hulkenberg and Albon provided the stand-out performances of a dramatic session dominated by the ever-changing conditions on the demanding Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Ile Notre Dame, across the St Lawrence Seaway from downtown Montreal.

Brought back to F1 by Haas this year for his experience after three years without a regular drive, Hulkenberg offered a reminder of his enduring quality in conditions in which he has often excelled.

He was the last driver to set a timed lap in the final part of qualifying as the rain was just beginning to intensify before Piastri lost control at Turn Seven.

The Australian rookie's error came after he had impressed in the second session, setting the fourth-fastest time behind Albon, Verstappen and Norris.

Piastri was not the only driver to suffer as conditions started damp and became drier through the first one and a half sessions before the rain began to come down, at first lightly and then more heavily into the final part of qualifying.

Ferrari had looked quick in practice earlier in the day, and in the dry conditions of Friday, but Leclerc's day unravelled in the second session.

Like most drivers, but not Albon, he started it on intermediate tyres, but on his out lap was already radioing that the track was dry enough for slicks and he wanted to come in immediately.

The team advised him to stay out to set a 'banker' lap, which he did, but after returning to the track on slicks, he was never competitive.

In desperation, he switched back to intermediate tyres for the final part of the session, but when he went back on track in increasing rain, he radioed to say the tyres were "not ready", and let out an anguished scream to show his frustration.

Sainz was penalised for an alarming incident in which he and Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda were together at the final chicane trying to start a flying lap and Sainz and Ferrari between them failed to account for Gasly closing at a rapid pace as he sought to end a flying lap.

Tsunoda was himself given a three-place grid drop for impeding Hulkenberg, relegating him to 19th, while Aston Martin's Lance Stroll will start 16th at his home grand prix after he was penalised for impeding Ocon.

Perez was another to fail to get the best out of the tyres through the first part of the second session, and he faces his third consecutive race starting outside the top 10, an unenviable record for a man in the fastest car who a month ago still had pretensions of winning the championship.

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