Russell secures pole in Canada with identical time to Verstappen in thrilling qualifying
MONTREAL, Canada — In a sensational qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix, George Russell claimed pole position for Mercedes, narrowly edging out Max Verstappen despite the Dutchman setting the exact same lap time.
Russell initially secured P1 with an impressive lap of 1m 12.000s during the first runs in Q3. Verstappen, improving on his earlier effort, managed to match Russell's time exactly, placing him in P2 for the Red Bull team.
Close behind the leading pair, Lando Norris clocked in just 0.021s slower, securing third place for McLaren. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, earned a strong fourth position, sharing the second row with an impressive Daniel Ricciardo, who finished fifth for Red Bull, marking a decade since his debut F1 victory at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.
Fernando Alonso took P6 for Aston Martin, followed by Lewis Hamilton in P7, despite the Brit showing promising pace earlier in the session. Yuki Tsunoda, fresh from confirming his seat at Red Bull for 2025, secured P8. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Williams' Alex Albon completed the top-10 qualifiers.
Read next ❯ Ferrari to reveal Hamilton's debut F1 car on February 19 at MaranelloFerrari faced a challenging session with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz struggling to make it past Q2. Leclerc and Sainz will start in P11 and P12 respectively, just two weeks after both enjoyed podium finishes in Monaco.
Logan Sargeant delivered his best qualifying performance of the season, placing 13th in the Williams, ahead of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in 14th and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in 15th.
In a dramatic twist, Sergio Perez was eliminated in Q1, ending up in P16 for the second consecutive weekend where the Red Bull driver failed to progress beyond the initial qualifying segment. Valtteri Bottas of Kick Sauber finished 17th, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 18th, who will face an additional five-place grid penalty following his incident with Gasly in Monaco. Rounding out the grid, Nico Hulkenberg's Haas and Zhou Guanyu’s Kick Sauber finished in 19th and 20th positions, respectively.
This remarkable qualifying session sets the stage for what promises to be an electrifying Canadian Grand Prix.
