George Russell beat Max Verstappen to pole position during a frenetic qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix, despite the pair incredibly setting identical lap times, while Sergio Perez dropped out in Q1 and Ferrari lost both cars at the end of the Q2 phase.
After a dry final practice, dark clouds approached the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve once more and, while slicks were the tyres of choice for the start of qualifying, spits of rain led to a tense grid-deciding hour.
The cooler, slippery conditions proved tricky for the drivers, underlined by Perez – having just renewed his Red Bull contract – falling at the first hurdle and Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at the second.
When the decisive Q3 segment arrived, it was Russell who rose to the fore with an impressive time of 1m 12.000s, and although Verstappen went on to match that to the nearest thousandth, the Mercedes man took pole thanks to his lap coming first.
Hit go on the video player above to watch the highlights from qualifying.
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