Montreal, QC – George Russell took pole for the F1 Canadian Grand Prix with a last-second lap in final qualifying that seemed to surprise even himself.
The Mercedes driver jumped out of his car and excitedly waved to the crowd before embracing his team in the pit lane after grabbing the top spot on the grid with a time of 1 minute and 10.899 seconds.
“Today was awesome; that last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life because, on my steering wheel, you have the delta and I was seeing every corner (that) I was one tenth quicker,” he said. “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. I had goosebumps and I don’t think I’ve ever had goosebumps after qualifying.”
Russell ended the session 0.160 seconds ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen of Red Bull, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri third.
When asked about the battle to the first corner tomorrow, with the four-time world champion, after the pair clashed in the last race in Spain and Verstappen got penalized, Russell stuck his tongue firmly in cheek.
“I’ve got a few more points on my license to play with,” he said. “Let’s see.”
Verstappen got slapped with three penalty points for ramming Russell in Spain, bringing his total to 11. One more and he must sit out a race. Two of his points expire on June 30.
For his part, Verstappen seemed a bit subdued and didn’t really respond to questions about the points, saying there’s no point talking about it.
As for his qualifying, he said he “felt quite good all weekend and the car actually was in a good window.”
“The tough choice was the tires, and I think we did the right thing,” said Verstappen. “I would always pick P1, but this is fine — I’m already very happy with what we achieved.”
Championship leader Piastri put his car third on the starting grid after struggling in practice and not being able to match his teammate Lando Norris, his main rival for the 2025 title.
“To be honest, after how practice went, I’m pretty happy with myself at the moment,” said Piastri. “I’m pretty happy with third, which is a bit different, but I’ll take it here.”
More importantly for Piastri, Norris could not put a good lap together in qualifying and ended the day seventh on the grid, behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Williams driver Alex Albon rounded out the top-10.
Norris ended the first session atop the charts; Canadian Lance Stroll was 18th and knocked out of further action, along with Team Stake’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Racing Bull driver Liam Lawson and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Sainz expressed frustration with Hadjar, who got in the driver’s way late in the session, screaming “[expletive] impeding” to his team.
In the second session, Russell went fastest, followed by Norris and Leclerc. Drivers knocked out were Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Team Stake’s Nico Hulkenberg and both Haas cars of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon.
Earlier in the day, Norris went quickest in third practice, posting a time of 1 minute and 11.799 seconds. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc put up the second-fastest time, just 0.078 seconds slower, with Mercedes driver George Russell third, 0.151 seconds back.
Check back Sunday for a race recap on InsideTrackNews.com.
