Alonso's underwater festival, who will start second behind Verstappen

• Starting grid Classification and times

• Free practice 3 Alonso treats himself in the rain

• Around with the 'porpoising' Why it could harm Mercedes even more

• Max Verstappen Harsh criticism of the FIA's changes for 'porpoising'

It was the hands of a champion that worked wonders in Montreal.

's Saturday

, who only gave in to

in a qualifying session that also saw

rise to third place in his Ferrari.

It was a difficult Saturday to forget for Spanish motorsports, because many things happened and all of them good on an almost impossible to decipher asphalt.

On the puddles, none like Alonso.

When conditions changed,

rallied with a couple of sublime laps.

Although it would be wrong for the World Championship leader to trust himself from pole, because the Spaniard warns: "I think I will attack him in the first corner."

A decade later, Alonso got back on the front row of the grid.

Since his third year at Ferrari, with

at Hockenheim and second place at this Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he had not seen the possibility of victory so close.

And he will do it with that A522 that did not seem like much just six days ago in Baku.

"We have been competitive from the first free practice sessions and I have felt very comfortable in the car," he said after parking it alongside Verstappen and Sainz.

Alpine's step forward, undoubtedly, multiplied its impact thanks to Alonso, who was 1.6 seconds ahead of

, his garage partner.

He fastened his time in the last effort, with 15 hundredths of a margin over Sainz, but his was the undoubted role throughout Saturday.

After setting the best time in the morning, he confirmed the omens with unprecedented ease.

When some drops were still falling, with extreme rain tires, Alonso already dominated Q1, with 58 thousandths over Verstappen and half a second against Sainz.

Meanwhile,

and

, who had escorted him to the privileged positions of FP3, plunged into disaster.

"I had no grip and it seemed that something had broken," lamented the German, unable to adapt to these conditions of almost zero visibility.

If the Canadian crowd had any hope, Q2 proved unapproachable for

and

well .

At that start, the stewards had noted an incident by Sainz due to a dangerous return to the track.

In the end, no punishment was decided for the man from Madrid, in whose hands he had placed his Ferrari hopes.

And it is that

already knew himself in advance at the bottom of the grid.

After securing penultimate place, the Monegasque did not want to take any more risks, not even getting into the car in Q2.

The loss of his great adversary seemed to reassure Verstappen, who had not looked comfortable at all over the weekend.

Red Bull's difficulties were made evident by

's accident , which destroyed the front wing on arrival at turn 3. One less rival for whoever wanted

and a breather for Ferrari, because the Mexican will only start four places per in front of Leclerc.

The first red flag of the weekend, with eight extra minutes for the asphalt to evacuate the water.

The dry line of the line could be glimpsed, although the puddle in the first corner was still wreaking havoc on

.

Those all-too-frequent restless moments when no one knows when it's time to remove the wet tires.

When the moment of truth arrived, the dance of positions took place to the rhythm in which the asphalt dried.

Who would bet on slick

?

It seemed audacious, according to the puddles that dotted the first sector, but the previous scares did not make Russell take a lesson.

Smooth rubber bands were useless.

Only a new set of intermediates ensured any option.

Verstappen made it very clear, although it was Alonso who really fell in love with F1.

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• Fernando Alonso

• Carlos Sainz Jr.

• Max Verstappen

• Red Bull Racing