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Russell on pole after dead heat with Verstappen

Theo

The Briton set his best Q3 lap in the opening runs, clocking a time of 1m12.000s, setting a benchmark for the final runs at the end of the session. After those opening laps, Lewis Hamilton joined him in the top two, but fresh tyres at the end of the session seemed to change the momentum.
Verstappen took advantage of it to set a fast opening sector, but was unable to match the highs of Russell’s second sector, crossing the finish line in exactly the same time as the Mercedes driver – another 1m12.000s – but was second thanks to the order of their laps.

“It feels so good, so much hard work has been done in the factory. We said in Monaco that we hope this is the start of the season,” said Russell. “It’s great to be coming to Montreal. The first piece is done but now we have to fight for the win.”

“Let’s try it. Since we brought some upgrades to Monaco we’ve really been in the fight, so let’s try it tomorrow.”

Hamilton was unable to improve on his final lap and had to settle for seventh. He will line up alongside RB’s Yuki Tsunoda on Sunday. Lance Stroll and Alex Albon completed the top 10 as both impressed in the qualifying round.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both suffered surprise Q2 exits as neither Ferrari driver was able to cope with the demands of the Montreal circuit, with Sainz claiming to have no grip and Leclerc aborting his final lap after failing to improve.
The Scuderia Ferrari pit crew makes a pit stop at Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

The Scuderia Ferrari pit crew makes a pit stop at Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Patrick Vinet / Motorsport Images

Both drivers attempted to stay in the top 10 on the same used soft tyres used at the end of Q1, but these were long past their best, paving the way for Ferrari to make an early exit.

Logan Sargeant qualified 13th after initially staying in the top 10 throughout the session, but felt hampered during the session. Despite this, he was only 0.008s off Sainz’s lap, earning praise from Williams team boss James Vowles over the radio. Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly were the other drivers to be eliminated in the intermediate qualifying phase.
Sergio Perez was eliminated in Q1 for the second time in a row and lost his precarious chance of progressing to Q2 when Albon shot out of the drop zone in the final moments of the session.

The Mexican had spent most of the session in the bottom half of the field and was in the relegation zone with five minutes to go. Although he improved, he fell back into the bottom five just days after signing his new two-year contract with Red Bull.

Result of the qualification for the Canadian GP

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