George Russell secured pole position for the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix, edging out Max Verstappen.
Canadian Grand Prix
Venue: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal Date: June 15th Race Start: 7:00 PM BST
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app
Mercedes’ George Russell claimed pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, narrowly defeating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Russell secured the fastest lap, beating Verstappen by a mere 0.160 seconds, snatching the lead from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, finished seventh, behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who delivered a strong performance.
The grid sets the stage for a captivating first-corner battle between Russell and Verstappen in Montreal, following their recent controversial encounter at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen received a 10-second penalty and three penalty points for deliberately colliding with Russell in the Spanish Grand Prix, leaving him one point away from a race ban.
Russell lightheartedly addressed the incident post-qualifying, stating, “We’re mates, so it’s all good. I have a few more points on my licence to play with, so let’s see.”
Verstappen expressed frustration when questioned about his penalty points in the press conference, stating, “I don’t need to hear it again. You asking me, Thursday. It is really childish. That’s why I also don’t want to say too much, it is really annoying this world we live in.”
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How to follow the Canadian Grand Prix on the BBC
Russell arrived at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve confident in his chances of securing pole, a belief that proved well-founded.
Similar to Verstappen’s strategic use of medium tires for his final lap, Russell described his final qualifying lap as “one of the most exhilarating laps of my life.”
He added, “I swear, every corner I was looking at my lap-time delta on my steering wheel and I was going 0.1secs quicker, 0.1secs quicker. I got to the last corner and I was 0.6secs up and I thought: ‘This lap’s mighty.’ It felt like the car was on rails. I am so pleased with pole.”
Russell expressed his elation, stating, “I had goosebumps after crossing the line. I don’t think I’ve ever had that before.”
Verstappen commented, “I felt quite good all weekend. The car was in a good window. This track is quite cool. It feels like a big go-kart on the kerbs. You need to be quite efficient on the straights, which I think we are. The tough choice was the tyres and I think we chose the right ones. We will see what we can do tomorrow. I am already happy to be on the front row and I hope we can have a solid race.”
McLaren experienced a challenging weekend, with Piastri expressing satisfaction with his third-place finish.
This result provides Piastri with a strong opportunity to extend his championship lead over Norris, who faced difficulties during the session.
Norris made errors on his initial run, requiring guidance to avoid excessive braking. His subsequent attempt fell short of Alonso’s, and his final run was hampered by Russell, Antonelli, and Hamilton.
Norris explained, “Just a couple of big mistakes. One, hitting the wall on the last lap in the exit of (Turn) Seven and first lap, I think, last corner. So, yeah, just two mistakes that cost me, I guess. We’ve clearly not been as quick as normal. I think that’s just because of the layout of the track. I think the cars have been performing relatively well and I was happy through all of qualifying. Maybe not the car to take pole today, but good enough to be up there and fighting for top three.”
Alonso’s sixth-place finish marked Aston Martin’s best grid position of the season, showcasing their progress since upgrading at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Alonso stated, “We maximised for sure the potential of the car. I feel happier with the car since Imola, since the upgrade. At the beginning of the year, it was a challenge to understand what the car needed and what kind of direction in the set-up I needed to go, but since Imola I am more comfortable and I can be more precise on the feedback and make the changes that I know will make the car faster and sometimes you succeed on that. Last four races, four Q3 (places). It makes the whole team a little more relaxed.”
Completing the top 10 were Leclerc, Racing Point’s Isack Hadjar, and Williams’ Alex Albon.
Hadjar received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Williams’ Carlos Sainz, preventing Sainz from advancing. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto will start 10th.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, who qualified 11th, will start from the back due to a 10-place penalty for overtaking Piastri’s damaged McLaren after a red flag during final practice.
Stewards rejected Tsunoda’s explanations, deeming Piastri’s speed insufficient to justify the safety rule violation.
Canadian GP qualifying results
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