Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix qualifying: How the action unfolded as George Russell took pole position from Max Verstappen
By Ben Nagle In Montreal, Canada
Published: | Updated:
That's all from me
Thank you for joining me, live from the track here in Montreal.
That was a brilliant session, and a great result for George Russell, who'll start on pole for tomorrow's race.
We will, of course, be back to do it all again with another live blog - so make sure you join us.
The race is due to begin at 2pm EST, or 7pm if you're in the UK. We'll be here an hour before that for all the build-up - see you then!
QUALIFYING REPORT
Fresh from the pen of our man in Montreal, here's Jonathan McEvoy's report from a brilliant afternoon of qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix.
George Russell took an extraordinary pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix – tied on 1min 12.000sec with Max Verstappen.
The Brit takes the honour of leading the race off, having set his time first.
So, a breakthrough for the beleaguered Mercedes team, and now the possibility of victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve tomorrow. ‘There’s no reason I can’t keep Max behind,’ declared a delighted Russell after stepping out of his car to huge cheers.
Read the full report below...
And finally: Lando Norris
'I am super happy, first of all congrats to Mr Russell. He's been quick all weekend. But I'm happy with third. Third is a good job by us, I'm happy and excited for tomorrow.
'A lot of the time [in Montreal] you think you're going to crash.
'Two overtakes tomorrow? Easy - light work. I'm exciting to see what we can do. Two very fast drivers ahead, plenty of fast drivers behind, we'll put on a good show tomorrow.'
Max speaks out
Verstappen: 'It's how it is... overall, we still had a good qualifying. The whole weekend has been a bit tricky for us, but P2 - I'll take it. It makes it exciting for tomorrow.
'I felt good in Monaco but it wasn't our track. This weekend, again we didn't have a good build-up. Hopefully it will be very exciting tomorrow.'
'I've missed this feeling'
Some words from the pole-sitter, George Russell:
'Ah, amazing. It feels so good, so much hard work back at the factory has gone into this. Hopefully this is the start of something for us this season, and I think it is.
'It's awesome here, such good energy from all the fans. First step done, but now we've got our eyes on that win.
'The car's been feeling amazing, since we brought some upgrades in Monaco.'
Breaking:POLE POSITION: GEORGE RUSSELL
Oh my goodness. Max Verstappen sets EXACTLY the same time as George Russell - to the thousandth of a second. Because Russell posted his first, he takes pole position. Wow.
He has never beaten his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Montreal, until now - and he's beaten the rest of the field too.
Russell P1, Verstappen P2, Norris P3.
A first ever 1-2 for the Merc boys?
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have never locked out the front row since becoming team-mates in Formula 1.
And the last time Mercedes started a Grand Prix 1-2 was all the way back in 2021 in Saudi Arabia, when Hamilton led then-team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
Could they do it this afternoon?
How quickly things change in F1
Mercedes are back? Ferrari are gone? Verstappen is struggling?
We have a huge Q3 in store this afternoon, with Mercedes the big winners of the first two parts of qualifying. They look very, very quick - at the track where Lewis Hamilton won his first ever F1 race back in 2007.
The biggest shock of the season?
A remarkable story emerging in Montreal. We said before the session that the Ferraris looked way off the pace, and that has turned out to be the case - with both drivers bombing out in Q2.
Joining them on the sidelines are Logan Sargeant (who made Q2 for the first time this season), as well as the second Haas of Magnussen, and the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly.
The top 10 going into Q3 looks like this: Russell, Hamilton, Norris, Tsunoda, Piastri, Albon, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Alonso, Stroll.
Important few minutes ahead
If the rain continues to fall, and the track gets gradually wetter, these laps could turn out to be very important.
All cars are out of the pits and trying to lock in an early time.
Right now, Oscar Piastri is the fastest man out there, with the two Mercedes behind him - Hamilton ahead of Russell.
Breaking:OUT IN Q1: Perez, Bottas, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Zhou
A four-letter word - not broadcastable - comes through Sergio Perez's team radio. That's a disaster for the Red Bull driver, on the week he extended his deal with the team. Perez out in Q1 - again!
Elsewhere, both Sauber drivers are gone, the Alpine of Ocon, and Hulkenberg's Haas.
A shoutout to Logan Sargeant, who makes it through to Q2 with ease - and is currently P9 in the standings.
4 minutes to go...
Here we go, then - the exciting bit of Q1 is upon us.
Plenty of cars are in and out of the pits, and Sergio Perez is leaving it very late. He's just had a new set of tyres put on, is getting his car re-fueled as I type, and will then have about 3 minutes to get round before one timed lap to finish the session. He's 18th and heading out, as it stands.
Norris into the 1:13s
The first man to break into the 1:13s is Lando Norris, with the McLaren man moving himself to the top of the standings.
We're still a way off what these cars are capable of achieving, but the times are tumbling now.
Right now the top three looks like this:
1 - Norris
2 - Stroll
3 - Ricciardo
All fun and games in the paddock...
The full drivers' picture
Here's where we're at - officially - with drivers for 2025.
We are, of course, reporting Bearman to Haas, so lock that one in too.
Elsewhere, it'd be a big surprise if Lance Stroll was dropped out of Aston Martin given the fact his dad owns the team.
At Mercedes, it's looking increasingly like young Kimi Antontelli will replace Lewis Hamilton, and Liam Lawson is the most favored to join Tsunoda at RB.
Any thoughts on the others? Tweet me @bennagle17 or comment below!
Watch out for that wall
Montreal is famous for its Wall of Champions on the final turn, so named because of the wealth of winners that have ended up at its mercy.
Just this morning, Max Verstappen had a little tap and got away with it, while Alex Albon also sustained some damage. Expect a bit more where that came from when the real action gets underway in just 15 minutes' time.
Pole predictions
Who's my money on? Well, as you've asked...
I think Red Bull and Max Verstappen will have sorted out their FP1 and FP2 issues ebough to get the Dutchman back firing on all cylinders. There's been a lot of question marks over whether they're still as dominant as they were previously, but my prediction is that he'll pull a big lap out of the bag and nick pole.
Behind him, I think Oscar Piastri will complete the front row, with Lewis Hamilton P3. Norris P4, and Sergio Perez P5.
Worth screenshotting this so you've got it later.
All the driver news is coming out today...
So after Mail Sport broke the news of Bearman to Haas, there's another confirmed place on the grid for 2025 with Yuki Tsunoda staying at RB.
There's still some question marks over who will be alongside him, with current team-mate Daniel Ricciardo out of contract at the end of 2024. Liam Lawson still looks to be an option.
They were one of the last teams to confirm their 2024 line-up, so don't expect it to be locked down any time soon.
As for Bearman's partner at Haas, that's also yet to be decided. Nico Hulkenberg is definitely off to Sauber (soon to be Audi!), and there's question marks over whether they'll move away from Kevin Magnussen in a new direction. Some options: Bottas, Zhou, Ocon
Who will be on pole?
Well, that's the million-dollar question. But it's looking like it'll be a lot, lot closer than it would have been a couple of months ago.
Much to the excitement of the majority of F1 fans, Red Bull's dominance looks to be waning ever so slightly, and there's some question marks over how they'll perform in Montreal this afternoon, and in tomorrow's race.
In FP3 - which finished an hour or so ago - Lewis Hamilton produced a blisteringly quick lap to top the timesheets, so we wait to see whether that was an anomaly or a sign of things to come.
Elsewhere, McLaren look very quick again, Aston Martin are having a good weekend - and Ferrari look considerably off the pace they anticipated. That said, the real work starts in qualy, so we'll see what happens.
Why Montreal is worth a watch
While we're building up to qualifying (T-minus 50 minutes now) here's a look at why this race is so beloved - and is perhaps the best North America has to offer.
A weather update
It's been a crazy couple of days of weather here in Montreal. The first day of running yesterday was marred by thunderstorms, hail and heavy rain ahead of FP1, and then we've had some bright sunshine this morning for FP3.
In the last hour, it's rained very heavily again - but the sun's now back out and it doesn't seem as though there's any more on the forecast.
From a racing perspective, it would have been nice to have a wet session - but that's looking unlikely!
First, some exclusive breaking news...
Where better to start than with an exclusive story from my esteemed colleague Jonathan McEvoy, who this morning broke the news of young English sensation Oliver Bearman joining Haas for the 2025 season.
He starred earlier in the season when he jumped in a Ferrari in Jeddah, and now he's been tied down for his first season in the sport.
For the full story, click below...
- The full standings
- POLE POSITION: GEORGE RUSSELL
- OUT IN Q2: Leclerc, Sainz, Sargeant, Magnussen, Gasly
- OUT IN Q1: Perez, Bottas, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Zhou
- Tsunoda EXTENDS with RB
- First, some exclusive breaking news...
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