Russell takes only the second F1 pole of his career, Verstappen is investigated

George Russell achieved only the second pole position of his F1 career and secured the first starting position for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Remarkably, Mercedes driver Russell and Max Verstappen, who started second on the grid, set exactly the same time – 72 seconds apart – but as the Briton was first to make the decisive flight, he will start ahead of the three-time champion on the grid.

However, Red Bull driver Verstappen is being investigated for failing to follow the race director’s instructions in Q2. It is believed to be a breach of pit lane regulations as the three-time champion pushed his way into the line of cars instead of waiting his turn.

Qualifying was full of surprises: Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez was eliminated in Q1, where Verstappen was the fastest, while Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were eliminated in Q2 after apparently driving on worn tires on their final flying lap.

It could prove to be a crucial pole position for Russell, as the driver who takes first place on the grid has crossed the finish line first in each of the last seven Grands Prix. In 2019, Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag after claiming pole position, but had to settle for a controversial second place after receiving a five-second penalty.

In total, the driver in pole position has won the race 21 times in the 42 editions of this event.

In Q3, Russell set the benchmark in the first run on used tires with a time of 1:12.000, followed by Lewis Hamilton 0.280 seconds behind and Verstappen 0.358 seconds behind, followed by Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso.

He switched to fresh soft tyres for the second, decisive run and, with this set allowing two fast laps for those who left the pits early enough, Piastri was the first to set a time, albeit 0.103s behind Russell, before Norris crossed the line 0.021s behind.

At this point, the wind played a decisive role. Only Verstappen was able to improve on his first lap and keep up with Russell, but knew he would cross the finish line in second place and start second.

Lando Norris, just 0.021 seconds behind, will start third in his McLaren, followed by Piastri, while Daniel Ricciardo will put in an excellent lap in his RB and start the race in fifth place alongside Alonso. Hamilton had already been considered the favourite after qualifying.

Yuki Tsunoda, who has a new RB contract in his pocket, starts eighth, followed by Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Alex Albon in his Williams.

When rain started to fall early in Q2, there was understandably a queue of drivers waiting to exit the pit lane and onto the track. Piastri set a crucial early milestone with a time of 1:12.462, and was already six tenths ahead of second-best Verstappen, who was completing his first run on used tyres.

Russell then set the best lap of the session so far, overtaking Piastri by 0.139 seconds before nearly hitting the wall at Turn 4 on a later run, which he described over the radio as “holy cow”.

With all 15 drivers having achieved their times and rain looming, fresh sets of soft tyres were fitted for the final fast runs in order to still be able to get into the top 10. Norris took a clear lead with a time of 1:12.201 before Tsunoda followed suit with a time of 1:12.303.

Over the final five laps, with a minute left on the clock, Verstappen improved to fifth fastest before finishing seventh at the end of a session that surprisingly saw both Leclerc and Sainz retire.

The duo will start from 11th and 12th following their excellent performance two weeks ago in Monaco, when Leclerc won on home soil. It is the first time in almost three years that neither Ferrari has reached Q3.

Behind Sainz will be Logan Sargeant in his Williams, which reached Q2 for the first time this year. Kevin Magnussen will start in 14th place in his Haas, followed by the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

In front were the Mercedes drivers Russell and Hamilton, both under 72 seconds, with the former achieving a time of 1:11.742, the latter a quarter of a second behind, followed by Norris and Tsunoda.

At the start of the 18-minute Q1, light raindrops were reported in Turns 7 and 8, but they were never heavy enough to cause disruption.

Verstappen set the first best time with a 1:15.194, but this was quickly surpassed first by Norris and then by Stroll. The latter set a time of 1:14.519, but Russell edged out the local hero by four tenths of a second.

Between those laps, Sainz made a mistake at Turn 1 that forced him over the grass before Norris set a 1:13.541. Lap times continued to drop as the track became more rubberized, allowing Verstappen to take the lead with a 1:13.368.

Hamilton and Russell then both had problems, the former following Sainz’s previous lead into Turn 1, while the latter had to move onto the grass at the Turn 8/9 chicane on a deceleration lap, but recovered there to set a time of 1:13.242 on his next push lap.

In the final four minutes, Stroll thrilled his home crowd with a time of 1:13.088, before Norris became the first driver to stay under 73 seconds with a time of 1:12.959 and Hamilton set the fastest time by a tenth of a second.

In the final minute, Perez was under pressure in 20th place and managed a lap that only moved him up to 12th place. With others behind him setting fast laps, the Mexican only qualified in 16th place. Verstappen set the best lap of Q1 with a 1:12.360, four tenths faster than the next best Tsunoda.

Also eliminated were Valtteri Bottas in the Stake, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, and another surprise in the form of Nico Hülkenberg in his Haas. Zhou Guanyu, who caused two red flags in practice, was the slowest by three tenths of a second.

However, Zhou will start from 19th place as Ocon is serving a five-place grid penalty following his accident with teammate Gasly on the first lap of the recent Monaco Grand Prix.