Martin Brundle saw George Russell show the gap between ‘decent’ drivers and champions at Canadian GP

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Martin Brundle claims George Russell showed the ‘difference’ between ‘decent’ drivers and champions during qualifying ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. 

On Saturday, Russell started the day with a Sprint victory, taking the chequered flag ahead of Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli. 

Russell then built on the momentum of winning the Sprint by securing pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Russell’s best effort put him on pole position ahead of Antonelli and Norris, with Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton rounding off the top five. 

George Russell snatches pole away from Kimi Antonelli at the Canadian GP! Will we see sparks fly at turn one?

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Martin Brundle praises George Russell after stunning Canadian Grand Prix pole

Speaking on Sky Sports F1, Brundle was quick to praise Russell’s ability to find time despite having to deal with the pressure of being the last driver to cross the line. 

The former F1 driver also stated that Russell managed to show the ‘difference’ between a ‘decent’ driver and the elites.

Brundle said: “We are looking at the psychology of this World Championship and George Russell knows he’s got to somehow keep in control of everything – Mercedes and his performance and be the main man.

“That’s the difference, the great drivers, I was never good enough, I was decent in quali.

“But somehow, the people I was up against, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna, they can go and find some time that didn’t appear to be available, and we have just seen that.” 

Four tenths separated the top eight in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix! Is a podium on the cards for Lewis Hamilton?

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Speaking after the session, Russell admitted that his final flying lap ‘came from nowhere’.

The 28-year-old also stated that Mercedes made some changes to the car ahead of qualifying, which put it ‘out of sync’.

Russell said: “We made some changes and we need to review if that was the right direction.

“That last lap came from nowhere. It was such a great feeling when it was such a challenging session and you pull it altogether on that last lap to throw yourselves up the leaderboard is epic.

“We made some changes based on the forecast for tomorrow. It may have hurt us a bit for now. It put the car out of sync a little bit.

“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.”