George Russell claimed pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix in dramatic fashion Saturday, delivering a clutch final qualifying lap that edged out his Mercedes teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli in Montreal.
The British driver, who had already won Saturday’s sprint race from the front row, managed to outpace the Italian by a razor-thin margin of 0.068 seconds in the closing moments of the qualifying session, just after the 19-year-old had posted what appeared to be the fastest time.
“That is the most exhilarating feeling in the world when it comes last minute out of nowhere,” Russell exclaimed over team radio following an excited celebration. “We made that a bit tricky…”
McLaren’s reigning champion Lando Norris secured third position for Sunday’s race, with Australian teammate Oscar Piastri starting fourth. Race officials have issued a ‘Rain Hazard’ warning from race director Rui Marques, suggesting wet conditions could impact the race.
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton earned fifth place on the grid but faces a potential investigation for allegedly blocking other drivers. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start sixth and expressed frustration with his car’s performance on the straights.
“I have no idea what is going on. I don’t really have a lot of words,” the four-time world champion from the Netherlands stated. “Everything is so confusing. I also didn’t like the set-up change we made. I think (Sunday) will be chaos regardless of the weather.”
This marks Russell’s third consecutive pole position at the Canadian venue, where he converted a similar starting position into victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last season. Mercedes brought significant car improvements to Montreal for this weekend’s competition.
The outcome seemed uncertain just minutes before the session ended, as Russell had abandoned his initial fast lap attempt and returned to the garage with six minutes remaining without posting a competitive time. He then completed two quick laps, with the second securing his pole position.
Russell had not appeared among the top three drivers in the earlier qualifying segments, while Antonelli topped the Q1 session and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar led Q2 times. Antonelli currently holds an 18-point championship advantage over Russell after winning the previous three races.
“That last lap came from nowhere,” Russell explained afterward. “It was such a great feeling when it was such a challenging session and you pull it all together on that last lap to throw yourselves up the leaderboard is epic. Kimi was more competitive than I and we weren’t as clear ahead of everyone else as yesterday, so it was a challenge but I redialled my driving and put it together.”
Hadjar will occupy seventh position on Sunday’s starting grid alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Racing Bulls newcomer Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth, while Alpine’s Franco Colapinto earned tenth place after showing improved speed following his strong Miami performance.
Antonelli, who had criticized Russell after the sprint race and suggested penalties were warranted, appeared more composed following qualifying.
“I am pretty happy. There was still a little bit left on the table but George did a great lap and all eyes on tomorrow,” he commented. “We will see what the weather is like but we will try and be ready for anything.”
Norris, who finished second in the sprint race between the two Mercedes drivers, acknowledged the difficulty of maximizing performance but praised his team’s efforts.
“It’s clear these guys (Mercedes) are a little bit quicker. It’s nice to be closer than we were yesterday,” he noted. “The weather will be different tomorrow. We are in a good place and the place we need to be.”
