George Russell of Mercedes secured his second consecutive pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix, narrowly surpassing Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by nearly two tenths of a second. Championship leader Oscar Piastri qualified in third place.
Russell established an early lead in Q1 with a lap time of 1:12.574, placing him in P1 ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli. Piastri subsequently improved his performance, securing the top position with a time of 1:12.332, slightly over a tenth of a second faster than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Following this, Red Bull’s Verstappen took to the track and advanced to P1 with a lap time of 1:12.273.
“Today was awesome in front of this amazing crowd as well, to get the pole. I mean, 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,” Russell said. “And I got into the last corner and I was, you know, six tenths up. I was like, alright, this lap is mighty. And crossing the line, seeing we were P1, was a real surprise, but I was, yeah, so chuffed with it.”
Fernando Alonso set the fastest time of 1:12.239. However, with just over five minutes remaining, red flags were displayed after the engine cover of Alex Albon’s Williams disintegrated approaching the final chicane. The Thai driver returned to the pits, and due to debris scattered across the back straight, the session was temporarily suspended.
When the session resumed, Lando Norris set the fastest time, recording a 1:11.826, which positioned him one tenth ahead of Piastri. Following them were the Ferrari drivers of Hamilton and Leclerc, with Verstappen progressing to fifth place.
At the conclusion of the session, the following drivers were eliminated: Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto in P16; Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who was hindered by Isack Hadjar during his final run; Lance Stroll; Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls; and Pierre Gasly from Alpine.
Max Verstappen was the first driver to set a time at the beginning of Q2 and subsequently claimed the top position with a lap time of 1:11.638 on Medium tires. Lando Norris, on used Soft tires, was unable to match this performance, finishing his lap 0.038 seconds behind Verstappen. Oscar Piastri, utilizing new Soft tires, secured third place ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc proceeded early with his final run and completed a lap in 1:11.626, securing the top position. Verstappen, utilizing soft tires, was unable to match this time. Meanwhile, Russell, on medium tires, moved into the top spot ahead of Norris and Leclerc.
Yuki Tsunoda recorded a lap time of 1:12.102, securing a position near the top 10. However, in the final moments, Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar improved his time by 0.099 seconds, overtaking Tsunoda and dropping him into the lower rankings. Consequently, Tsunoda will begin the race from the back of the grid following a 10-place grid penalty imposed for overtaking under red flags during FP3.
At the beginning of Q3, Leclerc posted an early benchmark with a time of 1:11.729. Norris was next on track, but he encountered an error near the end of his lap and was forced to abandon his attempt at the final chicane. This allowed Piastri and the championship leader to take provisional pole position with a lap time of 1:11.273. However, Piastri was unable to maintain the top spot, as Verstappen improved and crossed the finish line 0.025 seconds ahead of the Australian to reclaim P1.
“Every corner I was going a tenth faster, a tenth faster, and it was just like the car was on rails,” Russell added. “I just felt in such a rhythm, and crossing the line, when you do a lap like that, to get pole position afterwards as well was just insane. I had goosebumps in that moment. I don’t think I’ve ever had goosebumps after a pole position or a good result. That one meant a lot to me.”
In the final runs, Verstappen selected the Medium tire, which proved to be the optimal choice. While Norris continued to encounter difficulties, Piastri advanced to P1 with a lap time of 1:11.120. However, Verstappen posted a faster time, ultimately finishing 0.061 seconds ahead of the McLaren.
Russell was also on medium tires; however, the Mercedes driver was demonstrating even greater pace. He secured his second consecutive pole position in Montreal, finishing 0.160 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Piastri maintained third place ahead of Antonelli, with Hamilton in fifth position ahead of Alonso. Norris qualified seventh, followed by Leclerc and Hadjar, with Albon completing the top ten.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:10.899 – –
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:11.059 0.160
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.120 0.221
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:11.391 0.492
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:11.526 0.627
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:11.586 0.687
7 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.625 0.726
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.682 0.783
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:11.867 0.968
10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:11.907 1.008
11 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:12.142 1.243
12 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.183 1.284
13 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:12.340 1.441
14 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:12.634 1.735
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.385 1.486
16 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:12.398 1.499
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.517 1.618
18 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:12.525 1.626
19 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:12.667 1.768
20 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:12.102 1.203
Photo/GeorgeRussell/X
