Mercedes driver delivered an incredible pole position in Montreal, finding great grip with the medium tires to beat Verstappen by 160 thousandths. He and the Red Bull driver line up on the front row after their clash in Barcelona, and George will need to be smart to keep Max behind, who appears to have better race pace.
“The most exciting lap I’ve ever done.” George Russell’s joy after qualifying in Montreal was championship-worthy. It wasn’t unfounded, because his pole had seemed unlikely after Q1 and Q2. To achieve it, both Russell and his engineers had to put everything together when it mattered most — the final Q3 run. With the first set of soft tires, Russell was three tenths behind Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (1:11.516), seemingly out of contention.
For the final attack, Mercedes switched to medium tires (C5 compound in Montreal), the same choice as Red Bull. In a thrilling sequence, Oscar Piastri crossed the line first as provisional poleman, then seconds later Verstappen improved the time by 61 thousandths. It seemed settled, but Russell then launched his final flying lap. “At every corner I could see I was gaining a tenth on my previous time,” George explained. “It felt like the car was on rails. I felt an incredible rhythm, and when I crossed the line I knew I’d done a great lap.”
The few seconds of radio silence while waiting for the final result felt endless (even Mercedes staff were frozen), then his engineer Marcus Dudley said the two words George wanted to hear: pole position. “I got goosebumps,” he smiled. “It had never happened before, and I think that says a lot about what this means to me.”
The margin over Max Verstappen (0.160) mainly came at the braking into turn 10, an extreme braking point Russell managed without losing his racing line. “The tire choice played a role,” George continued. “I think the medium compound ended up being the fastest, but the four tenths improvement over the previous run wasn’t just because of the tires.”
Max Verstappen took the hit, having passed Oscar Piastri and looking likely to get pole, but confirmed he has no regrets. “I couldn’t have done better. We planned to use the mediums in the last run, so everything went according to plan.” The mood heated slightly when Russell, in his first interview after the session, referred to Max’s penalty points on his super license ahead of the race start. “How will it go? Let’s say I have a few more points to play with on my license.” Shortly after, Max Verstappen was asked about this again in the press conference. “That story again! I don’t need to hear it again, it’s really pissing me off, we already talked about it Thursday.”
Max Verstappen knows he is the slight favorite for the race win. The first corner will be crucial, both as attacker against Russell and defender against Piastri, but Max usually excels in these moments. The key variable will be managing rear tires, with the dreaded (and predicted) graining becoming a critical handicap on a track where traction is vital.
“On Friday we had a good race pace,” George Russell explained, “but it all depends on track temperature. The race starts at 2:00 p.m., two hours earlier than qualifying, and that makes a big difference. So far the tires haven’t overheated, and when we stay in that window — like last year in Las Vegas — our car performs very well. We’re in a situation where if clouds come, we suddenly gain two tenths on McLaren, but if the sun comes back out, we drop behind. It’s out of our control.” Current forecasts indicate an air temperature of 24 degrees and clear skies.
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