Russell beats Verstappen and Piastri to pole in thrilling Qualifying for Canadian GP

George Russell has stormed to pole position in Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, the Mercedes man beating Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in the final moments to take P1 on the medium tyre.

Verstappen had initially set the pace during the opening runs of Q1, but a thrilling sequence in the closing laps saw Russell topple the Red Bull driver – also on the C5 compound – by 0.160s with his effort of 1m 10.899s. Championship leader Piastri was left to settle for third in the McLaren on the soft tyres, while the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli slotted into fourth place.

Lewis Hamilton was the lead Ferrari in fifth, just ahead of Fernando Alonso in sixth for Aston Martin. McLaren’s Lando Norris, meanwhile, ended a slightly scruffy Q3 in seventh, with Charles Leclerc following for Ferrari in eighth.

Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took P9, though the Frenchman was later handed a three-place grid penalty after the session for impeding Williams’ Carlos Sainz in Q1. Rounding out the top 10 was Alex Albon, who bounced back from an unusual incident early in Qualifying that saw the engine cover fly off his Williams on the straight.

Yuki Tsunoda was eliminated in P11, meaning that the Red Bull driver will start from the back of the pack on Sunday after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement during the third and final practice session.

Franco Colapinto enjoyed his best Qualifying performance since returning to the grid by putting his Alpine in 12th, ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in 13th and the Haas duo of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon in 14th and 15th respectively.

Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto missed out on progressing to Q2 by ending the session in P16, while Sainz endured a disappointing outing after exiting in P17 for Williams.

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll faced a tough Qualifying in front of his home crowd down in 18th, and it also proved a difficult day for Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the pair finding themselves at the back in 19th and 20th places.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Norris fastest as Sainz makes early exit

After three practice sessions at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve – with a different driver topping the timesheets in each – it was time for Saturday’s all-important Qualifying session. Would one of those earlier pacesetters (Verstappen, Russell and Norris) grab pole position, or could another name get themselves into the P1 slot?

Question marks also remained over which tyre might prove the most effective in the session. While the C6 soft compound appeared an obvious choice for a flying lap, Russell had set the pace during FP2 on the C5 medium – however, given the balance needed in also saving tyres for race day, the teams would have to think carefully about their strategies.

Sainz led a queue of cars out as the green light appeared to mark the start of Q1, with the majority of the pack opting for the soft tyres for their opening runs. The Alpine pair, along with Antonelli and Alonso, were the exceptions, having all bolted on the medium rubber.

Verstappen, meanwhile, was the only driver to initially remain in the pits for the first few minutes – but the Dutchman made an impression once he had arrived on track, going fastest with an effort of 1m 12.273s. However, just a few moments later he was displaced by another World Champion in the form of Alonso, the times rapidly tumbling as the session progressed.

With five and a half minutes left on the clock, a red flag was thrown after the engine cover flew off Albon’s Williams down the straight, leaving debris scattered on the track. Both the Thai driver and team mate Sainz had found themselves in the bottom five prior to the stoppage – a dramatic turnaround following the squad’s strong outing on Friday.

A flurry of action ensued when the session resumed, with everybody trying to improve during the final minutes. Norris moved himself to the top on a 1m 11.826s, going one-tenth clear of Piastri, while Bearman, Hulkenberg and Ocon all hauled themselves out of the danger zone.

Albon did enough to avoid elimination by climbing up into the top 10, but a wide moment for Sainz left the Spaniard unable to better his effort, leaving him in P17. The Williams driver was also left frustrated after encountering a slower-moving Hadjar on track, an incident that would be investigated after the session.

Also exiting was Bortoleto in P16 and Stroll at his home event down in P18, while Lawson and Gasly brought up the rear in a disappointing 19th and 20th respectively.

Knocked out: Bortoleto, Sainz, Stroll, Lawson, Gasly

Q2 – Russell sets the pace on the medium tyre

After heading out last in Q1, Verstappen was the first to hit the track as the 15-minute Q2 segment got underway, the Red Bull man running the medium tyres while the other 14 cars looked to have opted for the soft compound.

It was a strong start for the World Champion as he pumped in an early benchmark of 1m 11.638s, going 0.038s quicker than Norris in second, while Piastri was third fastest ahead of the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Hamilton.

At the halfway point, the drivers in danger were Colapinto, Hadjar, Ocon, Hulkenberg and Albon, while it was also confirmed that Ocon would be investigated after the session for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions in allegedly not keeping to the far right side of the track.

As the minutes ticked down – with a mixture of soft and medium tyres at play across the pack – Leclerc moved up to P1 on the C6 compound, only to be bettered by Russell on the C5 via a 1m 11.570s.

There was some late drama when Russell passed Tsunoda at the pit lane exit, prompting Tsunoda to call for the Briton to receive a penalty, while the Japanese racer became the object of another driver’s ire when he overtook Leclerc as the Ferrari driver prepared for his flying lap.

When the chequered flag fell, Tsunoda found himself out of the session in P11, though the Japanese driver will start even further back on Sunday after receiving a 10-place grid drop for a red flag infringement in FP3. Also eliminated in Q2 were Colapinto (P12), Hulkenberg (P13) and the Haas pairing of Bearman and Ocon in P14 and P15.

Knocked out: Tsunoda, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Ocon

Q3 – Pole position for Russell amid a thrilling finale

The action continued at pace as the top-10 shootout began, with Norris having a moment at the final corner that undid his first flying run and led to his lap being deleted for track limits. Piastri, meanwhile, initially went fastest – only for Verstappen to surge ahead on a 1m 11.248s, two-hundredths ahead of the McLaren.

Russell put his Mercedes into a provisional P3 from team mate Antonelli, while Norris managed to recover to fifth on his next effort. Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton, Albon and Hadjar completed the order – but would the picture change as attentions turned to the final runs?

Leclerc’s prospects of improving hit a snag when he made an error in Sector 2, but Piastri was looking strong as the McLaren man grabbed provisional pole. But with others improving, Verstappen swept through to take the top spot – only for Russell to go even quicker, the Briton’s lap of 1m 10.899s putting him over one-tenth clear of Verstappen and handing him pole position in Canada for a second consecutive year.

The other Mercedes of Antonelli completed a strong day for the team by taking P4, while Hamilton followed in fifth ahead of Alonso in a solid sixth. Norris will likely be disappointed after ending up in seventh, as will Leclerc who had to settle for eighth.

Hadjar claimed ninth – ahead of visiting the stewards after the session regarding that earlier potential impeding incident with Sainz – with Albon rounding out the top 10.

Key quote

“Today was awesome in front of this amazing crowd," said Russell. "To be honest that last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life, because on my steering wheel you've got the delta and I just saw every corner I was going one-tenth quicker, one-tenth quicker. I got into the last corner and I was six-tenths up and I was like, this lap is mighty, and crossing the line seeing we were P1 was a real surprise, but I was so chuffed with it."

What’s next

The 2025 Canadian Grand Prix is set to begin at 1400 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from Montreal.