George Russell clinched pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with a sensational lap, surpassing Max Verstappen. McLaren`s performance in Montreal was unexpectedly subdued.
Russell`s time of 1:10.899 demonstrated the pace Mercedes had hinted at during practice sessions. He was 0.160 seconds quicker than Red Bull`s Verstappen and secured pole at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the second year running.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri took third place and fared better than his McLaren teammate and closest title rival, Lando Norris. Norris was considered a favorite for pole but a Q3 session marred by errors left the British driver down in seventh.
Kimi Antonelli further highlighted Mercedes` speed by finishing fourth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari, however, failed to capitalize on their practice form once again, with Charles Leclerc managing only eighth.
Fernando Alonso secured a respectable sixth for Aston Martin, continuing his recent run of stronger results, despite his teammate Lance Stroll exiting in Q1 at his home race.
Isack Hadjar qualified ninth for Racing Bulls but will drop to 12th on the grid due to a three-place penalty for impeding Williams` Carlos Sainz, which resulted in Sainz being eliminated in Q1.
Alex Albon, Sainz`s Williams teammate, rounded out the top 10 after recovering from a strange incident in Q1 where a large section of his engine cover detached, causing a red flag.
Verstappen`s Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda qualified 11th but will start from the back of the grid, having received a 10-place penalty for a red flag infringement during final practice.
Canadian GP Qualifying Results
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) George Russell | Mercedes | 1:10.899 |
| 2) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.160 |
| 3) Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.221 |
| 4) Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.492 |
| 5) Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.627 |
| 6) Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.687 |
| 7) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.726 |
| 8) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.783 |
| 9) Isack Hadjar* | Racing Bulls | +0.968 |
| 10) Alex Albon | Williams | +1.008 |
| Knocked out in Q2 | ||
| 11) Yuki Tsunoda** | Red Bull | 1:12.102 |
| 12) Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:12.142 |
| 13) Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:12.183 |
| 14) Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:12.340 |
| 15) Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:12.634 |
| Knocked out in Q1 | ||
| 16) Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | 1:12.385 |
| 17) Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:12.398 |
| 18) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:12.517 |
| 19) Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:12.525 |
| 20) Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:12.667 |
*three-place grid penalty to be applied for Isack Hadjar
**10-place grid penalty to be applied for Yuki Tsunoda
Russell, Verstappen Rekindle Rivalry on Front Row After Spanish GP Incident
This front row pairing, identical to last year`s race here, comes with added tension following the incident between Russell and Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks prior.
Verstappen received a penalty for what appeared to be intentionally driving into Russell late in the race, having lost his composure after contact between the two during a chaotic late restart.
The three penalty points given to Verstappen by the stewards put him just one point away from a race ban, a threat that remains for this race and the next in Austria, before points expire from his license.
The two drivers, who have had various on and off-track confrontations in the past, ended up side-by-side on the grid after both decided to gamble on using the medium tyre compound for their final qualifying runs.
Verstappen hadn`t shown exceptional pace in Q1 and Q2 but surged to the top on his first Q3 run, ahead of Piastri, with Russell nearly three tenths back in third.
Piastri momentarily claimed provisional pole with his final lap, and Verstappen then seemed to have sealed his fourth pole of the season by going faster.
However, Russell`s strategic switch to the medium compound proved decisive as he produced a phenomenal final sector to comfortably outpace his rivals.
Russell commented: “Today was awesome! That last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life because you see the delta on my steering wheel and I was gaining a tenth every corner.”
He added: “I got into the last corner and I was six tenths up so I was like `this lap is mighty`. Crossing the line and seeing we were P1 was a real surprise but I was so chuffed with it.”
While this first pole position of the season is a significant moment for Russell and Mercedes, their challenge on Sunday will be converting this single-lap speed into race performance, which has been a relative weakness this season. Turning pole into victory will be a major test.
Russell wasted no time in lightheartedly needling Verstappen in his post-session interview, joking: “I`ve got a few more points on my licence to play with. Let`s see.”
Verstappen maintained on Thursday that the penalty points wouldn`t alter his driving style and expressed frustration when questioned about it again during the press conference after qualifying.
He responded: “I don`t need to hear it again. It`s really pissing me off. You were speaking about it on Thursday.”
He continued: “It`s such a waste of time. It`s very childish, so that`s why I also don`t want to say too much because it`s really annoying this world that we live in.”
Norris Reflects on Errors as Piastri Achieves `Nice Turnaround`
While the renewed Russell-Verstappen dynamic will grab headlines, a potentially more impactful result of qualifying is the opportunity Piastri has created to potentially extend his 10-point lead over Norris in the championship.
Earlier on Saturday, Piastri had seemed visibly unsettled in final practice, narrowly avoiding significant damage to his car after a close call with the infamous Wall of Champions.
Norris appeared to benefit from a front suspension upgrade McLaren brought to Montreal, hoping it would help him overcome the handling difficulties he`s experienced this season, particularly in qualifying.
The British driver still seemed the stronger of the McLarens after finishing ahead of Piastri in Q2, but once again struggled when it mattered most in the final session.
With McLaren opting to save a fresh set of medium tyres for the race and using the soft compound in Q3, an error at the final chicane ruined Norris`s first flying lap. This left him needing to salvage a lap on worn tyres, placing him fifth after the initial runs.
While Piastri managed to compose himself and deliver his best lap of the weekend, Norris surprisingly faltered again on his second attempt, although he was fortunate to avoid major damage after hitting a barrier.
Norris commented: “Not ideal. Just too many mistakes. I hit the wall on the last lap.”
He added: “I had confidence, the car felt good today, I just made too many mistakes.”
Piastri expressed his satisfaction with bouncing back from a difficult situation that could have put his championship lead under threat.
He said: “After how practice went I`m pretty happy with myself. A nice turnaround.”
“I`m pretty happy with third which is a bit different this year but I will definitely take it.”
