George Russell produced a stunning lap to beat Max Verstappen to pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix as McLaren were surprisingly outpaced in Montreal.
Russell delivered the pace Mercedes had promised throughout much of practice to deliver a time 1:10.899, beating the benchmark set moments earlier by Red Bull’s Verstappen by 0.160s and sealing pole at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for a second successive year.
World championship leader Oscar Piastri was only third but fared well in comparison to his McLaren team-mate and nearest title challenger Lando Norris, who appeared to be the favourite for pole before an error-strewn Q3 left the Brit seventh.
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George Russell joins Karun Chandhok at the SkyPad to look back at his pole lap of the Canadian GP.
Kimi Antonelli underlined Mercedes’ impressive speed at the circuit by beating Lewis Hamilton to fourth, as Ferrari once more failed to deliver on the promise they had shown in practice, with Charles Leclerc only eighth.
Fernando Alonso claimed an impressive sixth for Aston Martin as his upturn in form continued despite his team-mate Lance Stroll making a Q1 exit as his home race.
Isack Hadjar took ninth for Racing Bulls but will start from 12th after receiving a three-place grid penalty for an impeding incident that resulted in Williams’ Carlos Sainz being knocked out of Q1.
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Isack Hadjar appeared to impede Carlos Sainz during Q1.
The Spaniard’s Williams team-mate Alex Albon rounded out the top 10 after recovering from a bizarre Q1 incident that saw a red flag shown after a huge part of the engine cover flew off his car.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda qualified 11th but will start from the back of the grid after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for a red-flag infringement in final practice.
Russell, Verstappen reunited on front row after Spain collision
The front row, which is the same as it was 12 months ago at this circuit, comes with huge baggage following an incident involving Russell and Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix just two weeks ago.
Verstappen was penalised after appearing to intentionally drive into Russell in the closing stages of the race, with the Dutchman having lost his composure after the pair came together at a frantic late restart moments earlier.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen controversially collided with George Russell towards the end of the Spanish Grand Prix – earning himself a 10-second penalty.
The three penalty points Verstappen received from the stewards took him to within one point of a race ban, with that threat hanging over him at this event and the next round of the season in Austria, after which some points drop off his licence.
The duo, who have clashed on and off track on several occasions in the past, were brought back together on this occasion after both gambling on using the medium tyre compound in the final stages of qualifying.
Verstappen hadn’t showed any hugely eye-catching pace in Q1 and Q2 but then shot to the top of the timesheet on the first run in Q3, edging out Piastri as Russell was almost three tenths back in third.
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Toto Wolff felt George Russell’s pole in Canada was one of the best for Mercedes after pipping Max Verstappen at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Piastri momentarily snatched provisional pole as he crossed the line first on his final run, but Verstappen appeared to have claimed his fourth pole of the season as he went faster.
However, Russell’s switch to the medium compound paid dividends as he produced a superb final sector to go comfortably clear of his rivals.
Russell said: “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 I was one tenth quicker.
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George Russell takes a dig at Max Verstappen after beating him to take pole in Montreal.
“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 a first grand prix pole of the season resulted in delight for Russell and his team, their weakness this season has generally been matching their one-lap pace over race distance, which makes converting the result to victory on Sunday remains a huge challenge.
Russell wasted no time in teasing Verstappen as he was interviewed on track moments after taking pole, jokingly pointing out: “I’ve got a few more points on my licence to play with. Let’s see.”
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Max Verstappen was quick to shut down a question asked to him about his penalty points this season.
Verstappen insisted on Thursday that his approach won’t change as a result of his penalty point situation, and grew frustrated in the post-session press conference when asked about it.
He said: “I don’t need to hear it again. It’s really p****** me off. You were speaking about it on Thursday.
“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 rues mistakes as Piastri produces ‘nice turnaround’
While the renewal of the Russell-Verstappen rivalry will steal the headlines, the potentially more significant consequence of the session will be the opportunity Piastri has created to extend his 10-point championship lead over Norris.
It was the Australian who appeared unusually flustered in final practice earlier on Saturday as he was lucky to avoid seriously damaging his McLaren when hitting the Wall of Champions.
Norris seemed to be benefitting from a front-suspension upgrade McLaren brought to Montreal that the team hoped would see him overcome struggles he has had with the car’s handling so far this season, particularly in qualifying.
The Brit still appeared the stronger of the McLarens as he finished ahead of Piastri in Q2, but then came unstuck once more when it mattered most.
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George Russell snatches pole position from Max Verstappen in Canada.
With McLaren choosing to stay on the soft compound rather than using the medium set they have instead kept fresh for the race, an error at the final chicane saw Norris blow the first flying lap in Q3, leaving him to salvage fifth after the first runs as he tried again on the now worn tyre.
While Piastri pulled it together to produce his best lap of the weekend, Norris inexplicably faltered again on his second run, during which he was fortunate to avoid major damage as he hit a barrier.
Norris told Sky Sports F1: “Not ideal. Just too many mistakes. I hit the wall in the last lap.
“I had confidence, the car felt good today, I just made too many mistakes.”
Piastri admitted he was pleased with turning round a situation that could have left 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.”
Sky Sports F1’s Canadian GP schedule
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A look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the Canadian Grand Prix.
Sunday June 15
3.50pm: F1 Academy Race Three
5.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Canadian GP build-up*
7pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX*
9pm: Chequered Flag: Canadian GP reaction
10pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
The 2025 Formula 1 season resumes live on Sky Sports F1 with the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
