George Russell took a surprise pole during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, during an exciting end to the top ten shootout.
Oscar Piastri initially set the quickest time in the dying moments of the session, but Max Verstappen went even faster and took provisional pole.
It wasn’t until Russell crossed the line that the pole was sealed for the Briton, getting into the high 1:10s with his lap that put him 0.160s clear of Verstappen.
Both Verstappen and Russell used the medium tyre during their final runs, which turned out to be a quicker tyre than the soft.
It is the second pole in a row for Russell at Montreal, and he credits some of it with what he learned from Lewis Hamilton during his time at Mercedes when speaking to TSN.
George Russell learned a lot from Lewis Hamilton at Canada
Russell was teammates with Hamilton for three years at Mercedes before the seven-time world champion left at the end of 2024 to join Ferrari.
Hamilton was one of the most successful drivers in Canada and could surpass his shared record with Michael Schumacher for most wins at the track.
Having now earned another unlikely pole in succession, Russell explains how he learned a lot from Hamilton about the track.
“I learned a lot from Lewis [Hamilton] my first year I came here,” said Russell.
“He’s always been so strong and he’s the GOAT, well he’s the Montreal GOAT in the past, and that helped me take another level here. So two poles in the last two years is pretty good.”
All eyes on George Russell and Max Verstappen for the start
Both Russell and Verstappen line up alongside each other at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix, just a couple of weeks on from their spat during the Spanish GP.
Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty and points on his superlicence after colliding with Russell in the final laps, after Red Bull told him to hand the position back due to an earlier overtake.
With Verstappen now one penalty point away from earning a race ban on his FIA superlicence, he will need to be on his best behaviour.
Russell has admitted that he will need to be aggressive, which is one of the key areas where he is better than Lando Norris when fighting for Verstappen, according to Nico Rosberg.
