Fernando Alonso said after qualifying in Canada that his experience of the circuit gave him an extra advantage as he sealed P2 in the Alpine for today's race.

The Spaniard produced a stunning performance in the wet in Montreal on Saturday, as he guided his A522 to the front row of the grid, meaning he'll line up there for the first time since 2012.

Indeed, it's incredible a driver of his talent has been away from the top two positions at lights out for a decade, but that rather underlines that he's not been in the best car, or anywhere near that at points, during the last ten years.

Yesterday, though, the Alpine took to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve suitably like a duck to water and the two-time world champion, as ever, took the opportunity to deliver, with him now aiming to take on Max Verstappen into turn one.

Speaking after the session, he credited his experience around the circuit as one of the key reasons behind his performance:

"It’s a circuit that I think you need some rhythm. You use a lot of kerb riding here and it’s quite bumpy.

“There are a few things that are there for many, many years. I guess for half of the grid it’s either the first time they come here or the second time because after the pandemic there were not many races hosted here in Canada.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 18: Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Alpine F1 A522 Renault in the wet during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 18, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“I’ve been racing here 16 or 17 years so as I always said, age and experience is always a help, it’s never a downside.”