George Russell secured pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with a remarkable lap, edging out Max Verstappen. McLaren`s pace in Montreal was unexpectedly off the mark.
Russell showcased the speed Mercedes hinted at during practice, posting a time of 1:10.899. This lap was 0.160 seconds faster than Max Verstappen`s Red Bull and secured Russell`s second consecutive pole at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri qualified third. He outperformed his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, his closest title rival, who was tipped for pole but finished a disappointing seventh after a Q3 session marred by errors.
Kimi Antonelli highlighted Mercedes` strong performance by taking fourth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari, meanwhile, couldn`t replicate their practice form, with Charles Leclerc managing only eighth.
Fernando Alonso continued his improved form, qualifying sixth for Aston Martin. This was in contrast to his teammate Lance Stroll, who exited in Q1 at his home race.
Isack Hadjar placed ninth for Racing Bulls but drops to 12th on the grid due to a three-place penalty for impeding Carlos Sainz, which contributed to the Williams driver`s Q1 elimination.
Alex Albon, Sainz`s Williams teammate, completed the top 10. He recovered from a strange incident in Q1 where his engine cover detached, causing a red flag.
Yuki Tsunoda, Verstappen`s Red Bull teammate, qualified 11th but faces a grid start from the back due to a 10-place penalty for a red-flag violation in the final practice session.
Russell, Verstappen Reunited on Front Row After Spain Collision
The front row mirrors last year`s lineup at this track and brings added tension, particularly after the clash between Russell and Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks prior.
Verstappen received a penalty for seemingly intentionally driving into Russell late in that race, having appeared unsettled by contact during a preceding late restart.
Verstappen`s three penalty points brought him precariously close to a race ban (within one point), a threat looming over him for this race and the next in Austria before points expire from his license.
The two drivers, who have a history of on and off-track altercations, ended up side-by-side again after both opted for the medium tyre compound late in qualifying.
Verstappen hadn`t demonstrated standout pace in Q1 or Q2 but topped the Q3 timesheet on his first attempt, narrowly ahead of Piastri, while Russell was nearly three-tenths adrift in third.
Piastri briefly held provisional pole after his final run, and Verstappen then seemed to secure his fourth pole of the season by going even quicker.
However, Russell`s strategy to use the medium compound paid off spectacularly with a brilliant final sector that propelled him well ahead of his competitors.
Russell commented: “Today was awesome! That last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating of my life. I could see on my steering wheel`s delta display that I was a tenth quicker at every corner.”
“Going into the last corner, I was six tenths up and thought `this lap is incredible`. Seeing P1 when I crossed the line was a genuine surprise, and I was absolutely thrilled.”
While this marks Russell`s first pole position of the season, bringing joy to him and Mercedes, their challenge has consistently been translating their strong qualifying pace into similar performance over a full race distance, making victory on Sunday a significant task.
Russell playfully teased Verstappen during his post-qualifying interview on track, remarking with a smile: “I have a few more penalty points on my license to spare. We`ll see.”
Verstappen stated on Thursday that his driving style wouldn`t be affected by his penalty points situation. He appeared frustrated when questioned about it again in the post-session press conference.
He responded: “I don`t need to hear this again. It`s truly annoying me. We already discussed this on Thursday.”
“It`s a complete waste of time and quite childish. That`s why I prefer not to elaborate further because this aspect of things is genuinely irritating.”
Norris Rues Mistakes as Piastri Produces `Nice Turnaround`
Although the renewed Russell-Verstappen rivalry will grab attention, a potentially more crucial outcome of qualifying is the chance it gives Piastri to extend his 10-point advantage over his teammate Norris in the championship standings.
Earlier on Saturday, Piastri seemed uncharacteristically unsettled in final practice and was fortunate to avoid significant damage to his McLaren after touching the `Wall of Champions`.
Norris appeared to benefit from a front-suspension update introduced by McLaren in Montreal, which the team hoped would help him overcome his season-long struggles with car handling, especially in qualifying.
The Briton still looked like the stronger McLaren driver, finishing ahead of Piastri in Q2, but once again faltered when it counted most in Q3.
McLaren opted to stick with the soft tire compound for Q3, saving their fresh mediums for the race. An error at the final chicane ruined Norris`s first flying lap, forcing him to salvage fifth place after his initial run on a worn tire.
While Piastri composed himself to deliver his best lap of the weekend, Norris inexplicably made another mistake on his second attempt, hitting a barrier and narrowly avoiding significant damage.
Norris admitted: “Not ideal. Too many mistakes. I hit the wall on the last lap.”
“I felt confident, the car felt good today, I just made too many mistakes.”
Piastri acknowledged he was satisfied with recovering the situation, especially considering it could have jeopardized his championship lead.
He said: “Considering how practice went, I`m quite happy with myself. A good turnaround.”
“I`m pretty happy with third place, which feels a bit different this year, but I`ll certainly accept it.”
