Yahoo Autos George Russell Denies Verstappen F1 Pole In Canada
When Max Verstappen finished his qualifying lap for Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix he recorded a time that was the fastest of the bunch.
That’s not an unusual feat given that Verstappen entered the weekend having been fastest in seven of the eight qualifying sessions held so far in 2024.
Unfortunately for the reigning World Champion, as he crossed the line and posted a time of 1:12.000, Mercedes rival George Russell had already set exactly the same time.
Under Formula 1 regulations the driver who sets a time first finishes ahead, and that was Russell.
It is the first time since 1997 that such a scenario has unfolded in the fight for pole position.
It marked only a second career pole position for Russell, whose only previous pole came in Hungary in 2022, and puts Mercedes back at the front of the field for the first time since last July’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Mercedes has endured a tough start to the season and is only fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, without a podium finish to its name in 2024.
It is without a win since Russell’s sole triumph to date at the penultimate round of 2022 in São Paulo.
“Amazing, it feels so good, so much hard work has gone into this – we said in Monaco we hoped it’d be the start of something for our season and I think it is,” Russell said. “I’ve missed this feeling!
“Obviously the first step is done, but now we’ve got our eyes on that win. Let’s go for it. The car’s been feeling amazing here, since we brought some upgrades to Monaco, we’re going for it tomorrow.”
McLaren continued its recent fine form with Lando Norris third – just 0.021 of a second behind Russell and Verstappen – while Oscar Piastri took fourth.
It was a very tight session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, best demonstrated by Russell’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton finishing just 0.280 of a second behind, but he was down in seventh position.
“The car was feeling great all weekend but as it got to qualifying it vanished for me,” Hamilton said.
That front-running group included the under pressure Daniel Ricciardo, who put in an excellent lap to take fifth on the grid, on a day on which teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s place at RB was confirmed for 2025 while his own future remains unresolved.
“F*ck yeah,” said an exuberant Ricciardo, a phrase he repeated three times, on his in-lap.
Ferrari, meanwhile, endured a dismal day as its drivers struggled for grip and were eliminated in Q2.
Monaco Grand Prix winner Charles Leclerc will start from 11th and Carlos Sainz will line up 12th.
“Every time it was dry conditions this weekend we were nowhere and we have to look into it,” Leclerc said. “It feels bad. Like there’s no grip at all. The tires never feel ready and this is the biggest problem.”
They at least made it through to Q2, which is more than can be said for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
For the second straight event Perez was knocked out of qualifying at the first hurdle and he will take the start from 16th place.
“Basically I had no grip, I was sliding too much, our qualifying was a total disaster,” Perez said.
