George Russell snatches Canadian Grand Prix pole from Kimi Antonelli after ‘tricky’ qualifying

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George Russell has taken pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix from Kimi Antonelli after a tricky qualifying session for the Brit.

Russell converted pole into victory in the Sprint race but it was far from straightforward for the Mercedes driver. The Brit was pushed all the way by teammate Kimi Antonelli in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle, which allowed Lando Norris to capitalise and snatch second place

Alex Albon led the cars out for qualifying after missing Friday’s Sprint qualifying due to heavy damage to his Williams caused by striking a groundhog in practice. Albon’s initial flying lap found him in P15, although his teammate Carlos Sainz sat a second faster in P7.

Fernando Alonso was noted for an unsafe release involving Franco Colapinto, with the incident set to be investigated after the session. It continued a difficult weekend for the Spaniard, who crashed in SQ1 before retiring from the Sprint race after just three laps.

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Lance Stroll was also noted for driving an unsafe car after Aston Martin allegedly sent him out in qualifying with a damaged wheel rim. It followed a front suspension issue that forced him off the grid before the Sprint race earlier in the day.

Cooler temperatures in Montreal made conditions kinder on the soft tyres, giving drivers more than one opportunity to set a flying lap.

Antonelli topped the timesheets in Q1 ahead of the two McLarens, while teammate Russell could only manage eighth after complaining over the radio that “the ride feels worse than yesterday.”

The usual names dropped out at the end of Q1, with both Cadillacs and the two Aston Martins eliminated alongside Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon.

Early flying laps in Q2 saw Antonelli lead Lando Norris, with Lewis Hamilton splitting the two McLarens. Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc continued to endure a difficult weekend at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, finding himself in the drop zone after the opening runs.

Red Bull appeared to have solved some of their earlier issues, with Isack Hadjar going third quickest and Max Verstappen also posting a strong lap despite complaining about a lack of front-end grip.

Hadjar continued to impress with his final Q2 lap, topping the timesheets ahead of Hamilton by six hundredths of a second. The two Mercedes drivers ended the session in fourth and fifth, though both still had time to fight for pole in Q3.

Leclerc scraped into Q3 in eighth place and sounded frustrated over the radio, claiming Ferrari were “completely off the pace”, saying he would either put it in the wall or finish eighth in Q3, before asking his engineer to make sure he had clean air for his next run.

The opening flying laps in Q3 saw Norris edge Piastri for provisional pole before Hamilton split the two McLarens with a strong first sector. Russell, meanwhile, aborted his lap and returned to the pits after struggling for rear grip through Turn 6.

Antonelli also couldn’t match the pace of the reigning world champion, finding himself over three-tenths slower than provisional pole.

Hadjar, who had looked quick throughout qualifying, seemed set to go fastest before a snap of oversteer sent him skimming the wall, leaving him short of his teammate’s time.

In the closing stages of qualifying, Antonelli jumped ahead of both McLarens to take provisional pole, while Russell could only manage seventh on his first Q3 run. But the Brit responded in style with a stunning final lap to snatch pole by six hundredths of a second.