Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

This was another good weekend for McLaren in a season that is turning into a nice, positive upward curve, with Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz qualifying eight and ninth. But the shine was taken off it when Sainz was given a three-place penalty for baulking Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon in first qualifying. And quite disgruntled about it he was, too.

“I went past him on my quick lap into the last chicane,” Sainz said, “and he started the lap very close to me and I had no time to get out of his way into turn one. So I did unfortunately impede him a bit but the thing is surprisingly it was his Q1 run one, he had a second attempt, he went though to Q2. After the qualifying I heard him saying in the media he was not affected and he was OK with it. But then when we got to the stewards his team and him were pushing flat out for the penalty. So not the best way to end a positive day for the team but we are going to move on. I apologise and the whole team apologise. It ended up costing us three places and him it didn’t cost him much.”

Sainz now faces starting 12th on the soft tyre, likely surrounded by a bunch of drivers on the medium. It could be a difficult afternoon for him.

30 minutes ish to go...

If you spin in one section of the track in the race in one year, you don't expect to do exactly the same the next. But that's what Kimi Raikkonen did in 2014 and 2015 with a couple of spot-the-difference spins.

Six of the last 11 Canadian races have seen Lewis Hamilton on the top step of the podium.

Image source, .

*There was no Canadian Grand Prix in 2009.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Having excelled in qualifying, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo now has his sights set on staying ahead of both Red Bulls in the race.

"I think I have a chance for sure,” he said. “If we have good race pace, even for our level, I think we can. You can overtake, but it's not the easiest track to overtake. If I can hold good pace and keep my tyres healthy throughout the stints we have a chance to still remain in the top five.”

His big issue will be starting on the softs - which Gasly also is, but which Bottas and Verstappen won’t be. “I'm sure after a few laps the mediums will start to build and build and the soft is going to fade,” Ricciardo said. “But that's where we need to be smart and pit at the right time and go from there.

"I think we can be in the mix for the first part of the race. I know Gasly's got the soft as well, alongside me, but then [sixth-place starter Valtteri] Bottas is medium.

"The start will be fun."

Lance Stroll is the big hope for Canada this weekend. Here he is flinging some merchandise into the crowd.

Cast your minds back to 2014 when Daniel Ricciardo, then of Red Bull, claimed his first ever win.

The likeable Australian had qualified sixth but overtook race leader Nico Rosberg in the 68th lap to take the chequered flag.

"Wow, this is cool," is how a stunned Ricciardo summed it up.

Today's tyres. We've got the softest three compounds available. Sometimes the C3 is classed as the 'soft', today it's classed as the 'hard'. Got that? Good.

Image source, Pirelli

Josh Gribby: Can see a comfortable win for Vettel today. Still shocked he’s not been on pole for 17 races - crazy stat!

Ranting MrP: All that Danny Ricciardo has to do to earn my driver of the weekend vote is get past Turn One in one piece when the lights go out. That was a mega quali from the honey badger - what chances rain today? I so badly want him to win this race!

Andrew Zarb: I certainly won't rule out Hamilton making a good start and leading into turn 1. Start will play a very important role in the race

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Charles Leclerc’s poor performance in qualifying - nearly 0.7secs down on Sebastian Vettel - we dealt with already. But what of Valtteri Bottas, sixth with his team-mate on the front row. The Mercedes driver, who spun on his first run in final qualifying and then produced a final lap littered with errors.

“Quite disappointed,” he said, “a really shocking Q3 for me, made mistakes and sometimes unfortunately you do those, it won’t be my last but the timing was not right.” But he said he was ruling out nothing for the race. “We expect the soft (tyre) to drop quite quickly and so it is going to be the case of trying to get past (Ricciardo and Gasly) as quickly as possible and then we go from there.”

One of the best races of all time came in Canada in 2011 when Jenson Button gained the most unlikely of wins.

He qualified seventh, but the race itself was carnage. Button collided with team-mate Lewis Hamilton, before heavy rain caused a two-hour delay. When it restarted, another collision, this time with Fernando Alonso, sent Button to the back on the 37th lap.

But Button moved up from 21st to 1st as race leader Sebastian Vettel went wide under pressure from the Englishman, who promptly took advantage and claimed a stunning win.

A Lewis Hamilton win today would see him move level with Michael Schumacher for the record number of victories in Canada.

Sebastian Vettel is chasing his third win, after victories in 2013 and here last year.

Image source, .

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

On paper, this Canadian Grand Prix promises a great deal. Two multiple world champions on the front row together, an aggressive youngster with a point to prove in third, a Renault in fourth, a Mercedes starting sixth and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in ninth. That should be a recipe for plenty of action, especially when the differing tyre strategies are taken into account.

Certainly, the men at the front are looking forward to it. Pole winner Sebastian Vettel said: "It will be a very, very close battle. We know our strengths, we know our weaknesses. Obviously we are very quick down the straights. Let’s assume not so easy to pass but we will see. It’s a long race, we know that in terms of pace it will be very, very close and we need a perfect race to fight for the win.”

Lewis Hamilton added: “This is good. This is how racing should be. I’m glad that I was able to split the Ferraris and yeah, it’s going to be interesting. The race is very long, probably a one stop so looking after the tyres is going to be really key. It’s very hard to follow here, even though there’s mainly straights, they are very quick on the straights so I don’t know how following Seb is going to be tomorrow – if I’m in that position. But I just hope that we are able to be close and have a real race throughout the race.”

Ellen Thompson: Who else thinks that either Vettel or Ferrari will make a big booboo and throw away the race?

Jeremiah Kariuki: With the "Wall of Champions " still inviting drivers for a kiss, the race may have a couple of Safety Cars. That may be a game changer. Lack of a safety car may also be a losing point to teams expecting to capitalize on SC.

Karen Waddy: I predict that a marmot will run across the finish line ahead of the race leader and take the chequered flag!

Sometimes not much happens in the pits, sometimes it is carnage. In 2008 Lewis Hamilton smashed into the back of Kimi Raikkonen on their way out of the pits as you can see below.

Just in, confirmation of how they start today.

Top 10: Vettel, Hamilton, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Gasly, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Norris, Verstappen, Kvyat.

Next 10: Sainz, Giovinazzi, Albon, Grosjean, Perez, Raikkonen, Stroll, Russell, Kubica, Magnussen (pits).

Image source, F1

And this is our track. The Wall of Champions, seen as a rite of passage in Formula 1 terms where you just have to hit it at some time in your career, is in the area of turns 13/14 and the final straight.

Image source, .

Here's more from Racing Point and some words of wisdom from local lad Lance to tell us all about today's track.

No real reason to put this picture in, other than it is very funny.