11 hours ago
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George Russell took a brilliant pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix after he saw off Max Verstappen of Red Bull to clinch top spot in Montreal. Mercedes’s Russell delivered with the final lap of a thrilling qualifying session to cross the line 0.160sec clear of Verstappen.
The drivers’ championship leader, Oscar Piastri of McLaren, had to settle for third but another disappointing one-lap showing from his teammate Lando Norris left him seventh. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) finished fourth, one place ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Russell started on pole in Montreal last year and came from nowhere to secure first place again. Verstappen, who crashed into Russell at the previous round in Spain, will join him on the front row.
“Today was awesome in front of this amazing crowd,” said Russell. “The last lap was one of the most exhilarating laps of my life. I got into the last corner and I could see on my steering wheel that this lap was mighty. It was a surprise to see I was first, but I was chuffed.”
Verstappen is one point away from a ban following his coming-together with Russell in Barcelona and, when asked about the prospect of being joined on the front row by his rival, Russell said: “We are mates, so we are all good. I have got a few more points on my licence to play with so let’s see.”
Norris, whose championship challenge has been derailed by errors in qualifying, made a mistake on his first run in Q1 and had to abort the final right-left chicane. “So Lando, let’s just reset and remember your braking references,” Norris was told by his race engineer, Will Joseph.
Norris’s error handed the advantage to Verstappen and Piastri, with the world champion holding a 0.025 advantage over the Australian. Norris came round again but he was 0.377 off the pace.
In the final runs it was Piastri who went fastest only to quickly be usurped by Verstappen and then Russell. Norris, who trails Piastri by 10 points in the drivers’ standings, was a distant 0.726 behind Russell and half a second adrift of Piastri in the other McLaren to deal another blow to the Briton’s title hopes.
A red flag was deployed in Q1 after bodywork flew off Alex Albon’s Williams on the back straight. An eight-minute delay followed as the debris and Albon’s car was repaired to allow him to take part in the restart. Albon progressed to the next phase, and qualified 10th but his teammate Carlos Sainz, who appeared to be impeded by RB’s Isack Hadjar, was eliminated.
Hadjar finished ninth but he may be served a penalty, with the stewards investigating. Sainz was left in 17th but will start one place higher after Yuki Tsunoda was demoted from 11th to last as a result of a red-flag infringement in final practice. The home favourite Lance Stroll will start a place back from Sainz after he fell at the first hurdle, 14 days after he withdrew from the race in Spain with a wrist injury.
Meanwhile, Derek Warwick has been suspended from his role as a driver steward in Montreal as a result of “recent unauthorised media comments”, the FIA announced. The 70-year-old former driver’s suspension follows remarks circulated by a gambling platform about a variety of matters including the 10-second penalty given to Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The FIA confirmed that Enrique Bernoldi, who raced for the Arrows Formula One team, will replace Warwick in Montreal, but added: “After discussion, Derek acknowledges that his comments were ill-advised in his role as an FIA steward and has apologised. Derek will resume his duties as a steward in the forthcoming Austrian Grand Prix.”
