Alonso 'happy now' with front row boost in Canada

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso will start Sunday's Canadian GP on the front row of the grid after all, despite having initially lost out to Nico Hulkenberg.

Alonso had been third in final practice, and completed the first round of qualifying in second place behind Max Verstappen.

The team was convinced that he could have repeated that in Q3, if not for the timing of a red flag for an accident involving McLaren's Oscar Piastri, just seconds after Hulkenberg had completed an initial push lap in the Haas.

• Read also: Verstappen sails to Canada pole, Hulkenberg surprise second!

"The red flags impacted some of Fernando’s best laps in Q1, and then in Q3 just as he was about to set a time that could have placed him second on the grid," commented Aston Martin principal Mike Krack.

By the time the session resumed, worsening conditions meant that Alonso was unable to make another run and Hulkenberg's existing time was still good enough for P2, leaving Alonso starting from third alongside Lewis Hamilton.

"We were a little bit unlucky with the red flags during Q1 and Q3 just before we could complete a faster lap that might have put us on the front row," commented the two-time world champion.

"In Q1 think it was one second to see the line and then the red flag came just in that moment," he sighed. "In Q3 it was I think four seconds before the crossing the line to be in the first row.

“We will take third place on the grid," he said, some hours before learning that he wouldn't have to settle for it after all.

Hulkenberg had been summoned to the stewards over a breach of rules about running under red flag conditions, and was eventually handed a three place penalty. That drops him to P5 and promotes Alonso to second on the grid.

As far as the driver and the team were concerned, it was the rightful reward for a hard day's work. "It was a very complex qualifying to execute and you need constant communication with the team," said Alonso.

"The conditions were changing a lot and to position yourself at the end of the pitlane with the first couple of cars, I think it did help as well.

"Sometimes you feel things on the car, but then on TV or in the pit lane there are different ideas so you need that feedback with the engineer and the driver.

"All these details can make a difference when the conditions are changing so much. But I think confidence in the car is the key, and I had a lot of confidence this year."

Alonso felt that now, with Hulkenberg no longer in the picture, there was every hope that he will be able to press the attack on pole sitter Max Verstappen in the run down to the first corner when the lights go out.

"There is an opportunity tomorrow [to] put pressure on Max in front," he said. "We have a strong chance to score many points, so I'm happy now.

"It’s always a challenging circuit with very low grip in the dry and wet conditions, and the weather is always unpredictable."

While Alonso was at the top of the timing screens for most of the session, his team mate Lance Stroll had a more torrid time and ended up missing the cut at the end of Q2. He will start Sunday's race from P16 after receiving a three place penalty for impeding Alpine's Esteban Ocon during qualifying.

“It was a tough qualifying session for us," the Canadian acknowledged. "The challenging weather conditions meant that being on the right tyre at the right time was really important, and we didn’t quite get that right.

"The pace of the Aston Martin has looked good across the weekend, though. I’ve been happy with how it’s felt and how the upgrades are performing.

There should be some opportunities to progress [in the race] with several cars starting out of position, so I’m looking forward to my home race and putting on a good show for the fans.”

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter