Hamilton took pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with a 1:12.812. Rosberg was second, 0.062 seconds behind, while Vettel took third on a 1:12.990. Less than two tenths of a second covered the top three.
Archive photograph of championship celebrations at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.
Rosberg led Q1 with a 1:13.714, followed by Vettel, Ricciardo and Hamilton. During light rain near the end of the segment, Haryanto hit the barriers at Turn 4. He was eliminated along with Palmer, Wehrlein, Ericsson and Nasr.
Magnussen did not take part in qualifying because Renault could not repair his car in time after his FP3 crash, and the team needed to change the gearbox. The official starting grid listed him at the back, with no qualifying time recorded.
About five minutes into Q2, Sainz hit the right-hand side of the Wall of Champions at the final chicane. A red flag followed, and he was eliminated. He was classified sixteenth with his Q2 time of 1:21.956.
After Q2 resumed, Hamilton was fastest with a 1:13.076, just 0.018 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Ricciardo was third, Bottas fourth and Verstappen fifth. Räikkönen and Vettel were sixth and seventh, with both Ferraris around 0.8 seconds off the pace.
Hülkenberg moved up to ninth on his final Q2 run, pushing Pérez down to eleventh. Button was twelfth, Kvyat thirteenth, Gutiérrez fourteenth and Grosjean fifteenth. Sainz remained sixteenth at the end of qualifying.
Hamilton set a 1:12.812 on the opening Q3 runs, with Rosberg just 0.062 seconds behind and Verstappen initially third. Vettel brushed the Wall of Champions without damage, then improved to third on his second run. Rosberg locked up at Turn 1 and abandoned his final lap.
In the final classification, Ricciardo was fourth, Verstappen fifth and Räikkönen sixth. Bottas took seventh, Massa eighth, Hülkenberg ninth and Alonso tenth. Before Sunday’s race, Sainz received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, while Kvyat and Ericsson each had three-place grid penalties.
| Position | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:14.121 | 1:13.076 | 1:12.812 | 21 |
| 2 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:13.714 | 1:13.094 | 1:12.874 | 19 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:13.925 | 1:13.857 | 1:12.990 | 24 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:14.030 | 1:13.540 | 1:13.166 | 20 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:14.601 | 1:13.793 | 1:13.414 | 24 |
| 6 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:14.477 | 1:13.849 | 1:13.579 | 23 |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:14.389 | 1:13.791 | 1:13.670 | 20 |
| 8 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:14.815 | 1:13.864 | 1:13.769 | 21 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:14.663 | 1:14.166 | 1:13.952 | 23 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:15.026 | 1:14.260 | 1:14.338 | 24 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:14.814 | 1:14.317 | — | 18 |
| 12 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:14.755 | 1:14.437 | — | 16 |
| 13 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:14.829 | 1:14.457 | — | 16 |
| 14 | 21 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Haas | 1:15.148 | 1:14.571 | — | 25 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:15.444 | 1:14.803 | — | 24 |
| 16 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:14.714 | 1:21.956 | — | 11 |
| 17 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:15.459 | — | — | 11 |
| 18 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:15.599 | — | — | 9 |
| 19 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:15.635 | — | — | 11 |
| 20 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:16.663 | — | — | 9 |
| 21 | 88 | Rio Haryanto | Manor | 1:17.052 | — | — | 9 |
