Alonso's front-row start, Verstappen on pole in the rain - talking-points from Canada GP qualifying

Max Verstappen secured the 15th pole position of his career when he put his Red Bull Racing Formula 1 car on top of the timesheets in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. The driver finished ahead of Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).

Here are three talking points from qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen relishes the wet conditions

Verstappen has always been more than spectacular in the wet. Remember Brazil 2016 when he passed Nico Rosberg on the outside of Turn 3, making the championship leader look like an amateur in the process? That was just one of his classic performances in the rain.

With rain having descended on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montréal, Canada, pole position was anyone's guess, but the smart money would have had to be on Verstappen. And the driver did not disappoint. He improved throughout each qualifying session, eventually topping it as the fastest driver.

A thrilling end to an epic qualifying session ??Pole posiiton #15 for @Max33Verstappen! #CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/oG1dPvPsTt

Alonso still as racy as ever

"It feels great. It was an unbelievable weekend so far for us... the car was mega, I was so comfortable driving this car, and the fans pushed me to make an extra push. I think we'll attack Max on the first corner!"

This was Fernando Alonso's response after qualifying. The Spaniard put in a monumental effort in his Alpine, looking to threaten Verstappen for the top spot. Though he lost out by almost 0.7 seconds, he still managed to best Sainz by 0.795sec. Alonso last started on the front row in 2012 when he lined up for the German GP racing for Ferrari.

Alonso and Alpine may not have Red Bull and Ferrari's pace in the dry, but the weather turned all predicted