Russell Beats Verstappen in Canadian GP Qualifying with Identical Times

George Russell achieved his second pole position in Formula 1 during the qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, setting an identical time to championship leader Max Verstappen.

Russell set his best lap in the first round of Q3, recording a time of 1m12.000s, setting a reference for the final rounds of the session. Lewis Hamilton also positioned himself among the top two in that initial round, but new tires at the end of the session promised to change the dynamics.

Verstappen, on fresh tires, managed a fast initial sector but could not match Russell's second sector, crossing the line with the same time - 1m12.000s - but finishing second due to the order in which the laps were completed.

"It feels great, a lot of hard work at the factory. We said in Monaco that we hoped this would be the start of the season," Russell commented. "It's amazing to come to Montreal. First part done, but now we have to fight for the win."

Lando Norris beat his teammate Oscar Piastri to reach third place, just 0.021s off Russell and Verstappen's times. Daniel Ricciardo, responding to criticism about his performance in 2024, placed his RB in fifth, ahead of Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton did not improve on his final lap and had to settle for seventh, starting alongside Yuki Tsunoda on Sunday's grid. Lance Stroll and Alex Albon completed the top ten, impressing in the qualifying session.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were eliminated in Q2, as neither Ferrari driver could adapt to the demands of the Montreal circuit. Sainz mentioned that he had no grip, and Leclerc aborted his final lap after failing to improve.

Both drivers tried to stay in the top 10 with used soft tires at the end of Q1, but these were already worn, leading to an early exit for Ferrari.

Logan Sargeant qualified in 13th place, having maintained his position among the top ten during the session but felt he was hindered. Despite this, he was just 0.008s off Sainz's time, receiving praise from Williams team boss James Vowles. Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly were the other drivers eliminated in the intermediate stage of qualifying.

Sergio Perez was eliminated in Q1 for the second consecutive race, losing his chance to advance to Q2 when Albon exited the elimination zone in the final moments of the session. The Mexican spent much of the session in the lower half of the field and returned to the elimination zone with five minutes remaining; although he improved, he fell back into the last five spots, days after securing his new two-year contract with Red Bull.

Cla	Driver	Team	Time
1	G. Russell	Mercedes W15	1'12.000
2	M. Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT RB20	+0.000 1'12.000
3	L. Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	+0.021 1'12.021
4	O. Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	+0.103 1'12.103
5	D. Ricciardo	RB-Honda RBPT	+0.178 1'12.178
6	F. Alonso	Aston Martin AMR24	+0.228 1'12.228
7	L. Hamilton	Mercedes W15	+0.280 1'12.280
8	Y. Tsunoda	RB-Honda RBPT	+0.414 1'12.414
9	L. Stroll	Aston Martin AMR24	+0.701 1'12.701
10	A. Albon	Williams FW46	+0.796 1'12.796
11	C. Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.691 1'12.691
12	C. Sainz	Ferrari	+0.728 1'12.728
13	L. Sargeant	Williams FW46	+0.736 1'12.736
14	K. Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari VF-24	+0.916 1'12.916
15	P. Gasly	Alpine A524	+0.940 1'12.940
16	S. Perez	Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT RB 20	+1.326 1'13.326
17	V. Bottas	Kick Sauber-Ferrari C44	+1.366 1'13.366
18	N. Hulkenberg	Haas-Ferrari VF-24	+1.978 1'13.978
19	Z. Guanyu	Kick Sauber-Ferrari C44	+2.292 1'14.292
20	E. Ocon	Alpine A524	+1.435 1'13.435