Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying: Russell grabs pole from Verstappen, Ferrari shockingly eliminated in Q2

George Russell claimed pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix by a thousandth of a second over Max Verstappen in a qualifying session where both Ferraris surprisingly exited in Q2.

With uncertain weather, all cars hit the track at the start of qualifying, and several drivers ignored team orders to pit, resulting in a rapidly changing timesheet. When both Ferraris and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull failed to make it to Q3, the pole fight came down to Verstappen versus the Mercedes duo, with some hope for McLaren as well.

After the first runs in Q3, Russell posted a 1:12.000 to lead, while Lewis Hamilton was second with a 1:12.280, and Verstappen initially had a 1:12.358.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri climbed ahead of Hamilton on their second attempts, but Norris remained at 1:12.021, not challenging Russell. Meanwhile, Verstappen improved on his second lap, but his late time left him behind the Briton. Hamilton’s second attempt didn’t improve, dropping him to seventh. This meant that despite being slower by 0.028 seconds in his second try, Russell secured his second pole, denying Verstappen a third consecutive pole at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mercedes, having struggled at the start of the season, has gradually improved the W15’s performance through development upgrades, securing their first pole of the year.

With Hamilton unable to improve, McLaren locked out the second row, with Daniel Ricciardo delivering an impressive performance after helping both RB cars into Q3, securing fifth overall. Aston Martin enjoyed its best qualifying session of the season, with Fernando Alonso joining Ricciardo on the third row.

Hamilton’s seventh-place finish marked the first time in his 15 visits to Montreal that he failed to start from the top five, and he will again share the fourth row with Yuki Tsunoda, albeit this time ahead of the Japanese driver. Lance Stroll, competing on home soil, qualified ninth, with Williams’ Alex Albon rounding out the top 10.

As Q2 began with a few raindrops, conditions remained dry, but all drivers tried to set early times due to rain concerns. Verstappen got stuck behind in the pitlane access lane, requiring him to yield to the last car in line before entering.

Once the session started, cars rushed to set lap times. Albon encountered difficulties during his tire change, losing time on his right rear. Russell spun at Turn 4 but saved the car from hitting the wall.

Fine margins made every driver vulnerable, and Charles Leclerc, staying in the garage at the end, missed Q3 by just 0.032 seconds, failing in Montreal for the second consecutive year. Carlos Sainz improved but not enough, finishing 0.069 seconds short. It was the first time since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix that neither Ferrari made it to Q3, marking a major upset.

Logan Sargeant comfortably progressed from Q1, narrowly missing out on Q3 by just 0.008 seconds compared to Sainz. Kevin Magnussen, who only did one lap in Q2, qualified 14th, while Pierre Gasly was 15th.

Sergio Perez missed Q2 by 0.037 seconds, and Valtteri Bottas was less than 0.08 seconds shy of Gasly’s 15th place, ending up 17th. Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, and Zhou Guanyu, who had a troubled weekend, followed in 18th, 19th, and 20th respectively.

Zhou, having missed most of the final practice due to a crash, was first out in Q1, attempting to find rhythm with limited track time. The Chinese rookie’s fastest lap was a 1:14.292, securing a last-row start. Ocon, penalized from Monaco, dropped to the back of the grid.