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George Russell took pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix by just 0.068s, with Toto Wolff later highlighting a Kimi Antonelli mistake that cost the Italian driver the top spot in qualifying.
The Mercedes duo have been neck and neck throughout the entirety of the race weekend so far, with George Russell currently emerging as the victor in all three of the meaningful sessions.
Four tenths separated the top eight in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix! Is a podium on the cards for Lewis Hamilton?
Interestingly, the gaps between the Briton and his younger teammate were identical across both qualifying sessions. Antonelli was sitting happily on provisional pole on Saturday afternoon before Russell snatched it away on his final flying lap.
Just over half a tenth separated the championship leaders in the shootout, a very fine margin indeed. In fact, the margin was so close that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff outlined how one small mistake from the 19-year-old may have cost him a fourth consecutive pole position.
- READ MORE: Martin Brundle saw George Russell show the gap between ‘decent’ drivers and champions at Canadian GP
Toto Wolff reveals Kimi Antonelli missed a downshift on his final flying lap
During an interview with French broadcaster Canal+ following the conclusion of qualifying, Wolff was asked if it was Russell’s experience that proved to be the difference between the Briton and Antonelli.
He began by highlighting how, despite Mercedes’ ongoing domination in the single-lap shootout, they suffered a similar issue to everyone else during the session.
“We had a problem,” he said, before adding, “In fact, everyone had the problem that we had: an imbalance in the tyres.
Will Kimi Antonelli return with a vengeance in the Canadian Grand Prix?
“But if you had the front and rear axles in good balance, there was grip. I think that for George, he needed a second lap to push the rear a bit more, to get more rear temperature, and that made the difference.”
However, on top of that, Wolff noted that Antonelli made a mistake on his final flying lap, which opened the door for Russell to claim his second pole of the season, and third consecutive front-of-the-pack start in Canada.
“What’s more, it has to be said that Kimi had a missed downshift, and that missed downshift may well have cost him pole position,” he said.
Toto Wolff admits Mercedes didn’t give their drivers a ‘strong car’ in qualifying
Despite George Russell and Kimi Antonelli locking out the front row for the third time this season, Wolff also highlighted how they were not given the strongest cars for the shootout.
After being asked if he thinks his driver duo were able to get the most out of their W17s on Saturday afternoon, the 54-year-old replied, “We qualified and made it through.
“I’m not entirely happy, to be honest. We didn’t give them a strong car for qualifying. We made some setup changes for tomorrow, for the colder conditions and perhaps the rain, and that almost cost us a place in qualifying.”
The FIA have declared a rain hazard ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, leading many teams on the grid to make a swathe of changes to their challengers in order to achieve maximum performance in tricky conditions.
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