- George Russell took pole in Canada with Max Verstappen lining up next to him
- Russell joked about a collision with his rival, who is one point short of a race ban
- Verstappen branded the comment ‘so childish’ and said it ‘really p***ed him off’
George Russell took a dazzling pole position for Mercedes in Montreal – and showed Lando Norris how to do it.
Norris, who qualified seventh, was a woeful seven-tenths behind Russell, the McLaren man’s recent errors resurfacing. He was skating on ice on track and, alas, his world championship hopes are none too sure-footed in general going into Sunday’s race, which Oscar Piastri starts from third place.
Intriguingly, Russell – so impressive here – lines up on the front row alongside Max Verstappen, setting up a potential explosion between the two men who clashed in Barcelona a fortnight ago.
The pair shook hands after qualifying. ‘We’re mates,’ said Russell, smiling. He had driven fabulously to his career fifth pole with the ‘most exhilarating lap of my lap, I had goosebumps.’
First corner potential of a clash with Verstappen? ‘I have a few more points on my licence,’ explained Russell, referring to Verstappen going to 11 points, and one short of a race ban, by biffing him in Spain.
‘So childish,’ said an irritated Verstappen. ‘I don’t need to hear it again. It is really p***ing me off. You speaking about it, on Thursday, it is such a waste of time. It is childish and really annoying.’
Max Verstappen blasted George Russell for his ‘childish’ comments after Canada qualifying
With the rivals lining up next to each other on the front row, Russell joked: ‘I have a few more points on my licence,’ regarding the possibility of a first-turn collision
Russell and Verstappen took P1 and P2 respectively, while Oscar Piastri completed the podium
Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth for Ferrari, a place behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
As for Norris, 10 points behind leader Piastri, he made a mess of his first run in Q3. He ran wide at the final left, right chicane. He had missed out on his banker lap and it appeared to play on his mind.
‘Lando, let’s reset and remember your braking references,’ he was told by race engineer Will Joseph. ‘Primacy focus this lap is line,’ he was reminded.
His father Adam grimaced in the garage. What the old man feared transpired. Norris, going again, was out of shape and never in contention, en route to seventh, a little faster than before but not by enough, by far.
Qualifying was red flagged early on when the engine cover of Alex Albon’s Williams flew off. He was travelling down the back straight when his car partly disintegrated. As a consequence, he nearly lost control at the final chicane but hung on.
A delay followed while the track was cleared. The London-born Thai’s involvement was not over. He returned to make it into Q2.
Yuki Tsunoda will start at the back after a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking under a red flag in third practice. He had qualified 10th for Red Bull.
Aston Martin’s local boy Lance Stroll bombed out in Q1 – a fortnight after the Canadian sat out the Spanish Grand Prix with a damaged hand.
