Qualifying report

F1 Canadian GP: George Russell storms to pole ahead of Max Verstappen

The Mercedes driver claimed pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri

George Russell stormed to pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix and will start on the front row alongside his Barcelona rival Max Verstappen.

Verstappen was hit with a 10-place penalty and three penalty points after colliding with Russell’s Mercedes during the Spanish Grand Prix. Now, the duo’s fight will head to extra time as they start alongside one another in Montreal.

Russell looked strong all weekend and took his first pole since the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a race he went on to win, with a time of 1m 10.899s.

Verstappen had topped the timesheets until Russell’s final run usurped the Dutchman, while championship leader Oscar Piastri will start third for McLaren.

Piastri’s title rival and team-mate Lando Norris endured a tough afternoon and is down in seventh, starting on the fourth row alongside the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Andrea Kimi Antonelli starts fourth for the second Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Fernando Alonso taking a standout sixth for Aston Martin. Isack Hadjar and Alex Albon round out the top 10.

Yuki Tsunoda was hit with a 10-place grid drop and three penalty points during the session after stewards ruled on a red flag infringement during FP3. This means he will start from the back of the field having been 11th fastest in Q2.

Franco Colapinto improved on his weekend so far and will start in the 11th spot vacated by Tsunoda, with Nico Hulkenberg and the Haas pair of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon following close behind.

There were some surprising names out in Q1, with Pierre Gasly the slowest and Liam Lawson also knocked out in 19th. Home favourite Lance Stroll struggled on his return from injury and is down in 18th.

There was a delay during the session with a red flag needed after Albon’s Williams shed a large part of bodywork down the back straight.

His team-mate Carlos Sainz was then left fuming with Hadjar, who had clearly impeded the Williams driver as he narrowly missed the cut, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto also eliminated.

Photos from Canadian GP - Practice & Qualifying

F1 Canadian GP results - qualifying

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	6	1'10.899		M	221.436
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	6	+0.160 1'11.059	0.160	M	220.937
3	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	8	+0.221 1'11.120	0.061	S	220.748
4	A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	6	+0.492 1'11.391	0.271	M	219.910
5	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	8	+0.627 1'11.526	0.135	S	219.495
6	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	8	+0.687 1'11.586	0.060	M	219.311
7	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	8	+0.726 1'11.625	0.039	S	219.191
8	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	7	+0.783 1'11.682	0.057	S	219.017
9	I. Hadjar Racing Bulls	6	RB	Honda	6	+0.968 1'11.867	0.185	S	218.453
10	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	8	+1.008 1'11.907	0.040	M	218.332
View full results