George Russell took a brilliant pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix after he saw off rival Max Verstappen to clinch top spot in Montreal.
Russell delivered the goods with the final lap of a thrilling qualifying session to cross the line 0.160 seconds clear of Verstappen.
PREVIEW: Max Verstappen is on his final warning in Canada – but it won’t change a thing
Championship leader Oscar Piastri had to settle for third but it was another bitterly-disappointing one-lap showing from Lando Norris which leaves him seventh on the grid.
Kimi Antonelli finished fourth, one place ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Russell started on pole here last year and came from nowhere to secure first place again. Verstappen, who crashed into Russell at the previous round in Spain, will join him on the front row.
Follow live updates of the Canadian GP with The Independent
F1 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- The Canadian GP starts at 7pm (BST)
- George Russell claims brilliant pole position; Verstappen 2nd; Piastri 3rd
- Click HERE for the top-10 in qualifying
- Russell goads Max Verstappen after Canada pole: ‘I’ve got more points to play with!’
- PREVIEW: Max Verstappen is on his final warning in Canada – but it won’t change a thing
What time does the race start tomorrow?
22:55 , Kieran JacksonIt’s a 7pm (BST) start time for the race tomorrow!
You won’t want to miss it...
Charles Leclerc after qualifying P8:
23:45 , Kieran Jackson“I’m very disappointed, I don’t think yesterday had any impact. I was very at ease with the car, we were strong. Q3 last lap, I was putting everything together until turn 6-7 where I found myself, Isack 150m in front, not impeding, but dirty air you lose so much and I lost the rear.
“I believed in it today, we could have had pole today.
“I’m still very hopeful of having a good race but we are making our Sundays very difficult.”
Lewis Hamilton after qualifying P5:
23:20 , Kieran Jackson“No, not really. We did the best we could with setup. We’ve been working flat out all weekend to get it to go quicker, but the car can’t go that much faster to keep up with the guys up front.
“We have to accept that’s the way it is. There’s a couple more tenths there, the other guys have mediums, not sure why we didn’t consider it, we were told the soft was the better one so that’s what we went with.
On race, can you enjoy it? “I hope so! Whether the issue can come back... hopefully not. I really love this track, every track I’m going to is the first time driving the Ferrari, this is very very tricky.
“P5, hopefully I can fight from there. Just try and still chase that podium, so that’s what I’m going for tomorrow.”
Lando Norris, after qualifying a disappointing 7th:
23:12“Not ideal. Too many mistakes, yeah. I had good confidence, car felt good today, I just made too many mistakes.
“I don’t feel any difference, it’s something for us to go quicker.
On racepace: “It’s not been as good as Max, we’ve clearly not had our advantage around our track, you need very good ride. I think our pace is good enough, just too far back again.”
Oscar Piastri in P3:
22:23 , Kieran Jackson“After how practice went, I’m pretty happy with the turnaround. We went with the soft, wanted to keep things consistent, I’m pretty happy with third, I’ll definitely take it here!”
George Russell after claiming pole:
22:17 , Kieran Jackson“Today was awesome to get the pole. That last lap was one of the most exhilarating laps of my lap, every corner I was going one-tenth quicker. This lap’s mighty! P1 was a real surprise, so chuffed with it.
On turn one with Max on Sunday: “I’ve got a few more points on my licence to play with! Let’s see, let’s see!”
TOP-10 IN QUALIFYING
22:15 , Kieran Jackson1. George Russell
2. Max Verstappen
3. Oscar Piastri
4. Kimi Antonelli
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Fernando Alonso
7. Lando Norris
8. Charles Leclerc
9. Isack Hadjar
10. Alex Albon
Max Verstappen in P2:
22:15 , Kieran Jackson“I felt quite good all weekend, car was in a good window, this track is cool. You need to be efficient on the straights, overall I’m very happy with qualifying.
“I’d always pick P1, we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. Hopefully we can have a solid race.”
George Russell claims pole position!
22:10 , Kieran JacksonRussell out of nowhere is on pole for the second year running in Canada!
“Come on, talk to me! What a f***** lap! Yes!”
Russell with a 1:10:899, gets it done by a few tenths!
Verstappen pipped by his arch rival! Piastri in third, with Antonelli in fourth! Norris only P7!
5-10: Hamilton, Alonso, Norris, Leclerc, Hadjar, Albon
Do or die in Q3!
22:06Here we go then!
3:00 to go in Q3 as they all leave the pits..
George Russell goes P3!
22:03Impressive from Russell! P3!
Antonelli P4 too.
Norris only fifth-fastest with his first lap.
1-10: Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Antonelli, Norris, Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton, Hadjar, Albon
They’ll all have another go though...
5:00 to go in Q3!
Max Verstappen on provisional pole!
22:01 , Kieran JacksonStunning from the Dutchman!
A 1:11:248, less than a tenth quicker than Oscar Piastri!
Charles Leclerc in third, four-tenths further back, with Alonso in 4th and Hamilton in 5th.
Russell going around now for his first lap! 7:00 to go in Q3...
Lando Norris screws his lap up!
22:00 , Kieran JacksonNightmare for Lando!
He went into the last chicane too hot and had to go straight on!
Engineer: “Lando let’s reset and remember our braking references.”
Q3 underway!
21:56Lewis Hamilton the first car out of the pit-lane for the top-10 shootout - can the Ferrari driver land his first pole here, perhaps?!
10 drivers involved: Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Albon, Alonso
Yuki Tsunoda out in Q2!
21:50 , Kieran JacksonTsunoda only P11 - and he’ll start last due to that 10-place grid drop.
Bottom-five and out in Q2 (11-15): Tsunoda, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Ocon
Q3 coming right up!
Tsunoda now in bottom-five!
21:47 , Kieran JacksonDo-or-die for Tsunoda, now P11!
2:00 to go in Q2...
Charles Leclerc goes P1!
21:44 , Kieran JacksonLeclerc goes top with a 1:11:626, 0.012 secs faster than Verstappen!
Tight at the top!
Current bottom-five (11-15): Bearman, Colapinto, Hadjar, Ocon, Hulkenberg
Tsunoda in danger in P10. 4:00 to go in Q2!
Max Verstappen goes P1!
21:38 , Kieran JacksonAnd a statement time from the Dutchman - a 1:11:638 on medium tyres!
Many laps still to be completed.... 11:00 to go in Q2...
Q2 underway!
21:37Second stage of quali now - 15 minutes where again we will lose the slowest five drivers...
Carlos Sainz out in Q1!
21:28 , Kieran JacksonSainz was P20 until his run - and finishes P17.
Bit of a shock for the Spaniard! But it looks like he was impeded in the second sector by Hadjar! Oh dear...
Bottom-five (16-20) and out in Q1: Bortoleto, Sainz, Stroll, Lawson, Gasly
Five different teams in the bottom-five!
Top-3: Norris, Piastri, Hamilton
Green flag!
21:23 , Kieran JacksonBack in action then.
5:30 to go in Q1
Bottom-five (16-20): Sainz, Gasly, Albon, Bearman, Hulkenberg
VIDEO: Albon's car
21:19 , Kieran JacksonDebris now cleared, big queue at the end of the pit-lane...
RED FLAG 🚩
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 14, 2025
The engine cover flies off Albon's car! pic.twitter.com/P76rTBJS9U
RED FLAG!
21:14A bizarre incident involving Alex Albon!
Driving down the back straight, his engine cover has randomly just flown off!
Lots of debris on track - his whole engine is showing!
RED FLAG with 5:30 left.
Fernando Alonso goes top!
21:12 , Kieran JacksonAlonso loves it around here and he goes quickest on mediums for Aston!
Verstappen 2nd, Piastri 3rd, Hamilton 4th, Russell 5th.
More importantly, the bottom-five (16-20): Gasly, Albon, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Bearman
6:00 to go in Q1...
Yuki Tsunoda has a 10-place grid penalty!
21:11 , Kieran JacksonNews from the stewards!
Tsunoda passed Piastri in red flag conditions in FP3 - and the Red Bull driver has been severely punished!
Nightmare for the Japanese driver!
Oscar Piastri P1 early on!
21:08 , Kieran JacksonPiastri makes a mockery of the form-book after the first set of runs - he’s P1!
Stroll in second, Russell in third.
Around 2/3 of the pack have set a lap... still a fair few to go.
10:00 to go in Q1...
Ollie Bearman and Lewis Hamilton lock up!
21:06 , Kieran JacksonThe rookie and the maestro both screw-up at turn 1, forced to go off-track, and they’ll have to abort those push laps!
Q1 underway!
21:01Big queue at the end of the pit-lane as we get going with qualifying!
18 minutes this first session where we will lose the slowest five drivers from the rest of qualifying...
Weather!
20:58 , Kieran JacksonA windy but sunny afternoon in Montreal - no sign of any rain, which has been a regular feature in races of the past in Canada.
Temperature slightly dropping as we get towards 4pm local time...
Qualifying!
20:54 , Kieran JacksonSo, who you got then?!
Lando Norris is perhaps the favourite in what has been the quickest car so far this season, with Oscar Piastri struggling so far this weekend.
Next in line? Perhaps Mercedes. Ferrari had a strong FP3, so they’re in contention. And you can never rule out Max Verstappen!
Should be a fascinating session in Montreal!
Nico Rosberg on Fred Vasseur's future:
20:53 , Kieran Jackson“We need to give him more time, he is a great leader, he was my F2 boss.
“It just takes time and it’s not that easy to turn a whole culture around. It’s tough for him, Italian press, ‘Vasseur out’, it’s really horrible.”
Martin Brundle on qualifying:
20:46 , Kieran Jackson“It’s looking very exciting and fast. Drivers are right on the edge, they’re pushing.”
FP3 REPORT:
20:41 , Kieran JacksonLando Norris landed a major boost ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix by finishing fastest in final practice.
The British driver bemoaned McLaren’s worst day of the season so far here at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Friday after he trailed George Russell.
Full report below:
Lando Norris quickest in final practice ahead of ‘wide open’ Canadian GP qualifying
Nico Rosberg on qualifying:
20:37“Qualifying is going to be thrilling,” Rosberg tells Sky Sports F1.
“Lando is really on form, it’s a drivers track, Lando doesn’t necessarily have the very best car but he’s driving brilliantly. Leclerc is right there, Ferrari are there.
“It’s wide open.”
F1 constructor standings heading into Canada:
19:52 , Kieran Jackson1. McLaren - 362 points
2. Ferrari - 165 points
3. Mercedes - 159 points
4. Red Bull - 144 points
5. Williams - 54 points
6. Racing Bulls - 28 points
7. Haas - 26 points
8. Sauber - 16 points
9. Aston Martin - 16 points
10. Alpine - 11 points
Ferrari criticism ‘disrespectful’ and harming team’s chances – Fred Vasseur
19:30 , Kieran JacksonWhen pressed on his own future, an animated Vasseur, in his third season in charge of the Italian giants, said: “I have to stay calm otherwise I will be reported to the stewards.
“It is not about me, because I can manage this, but it is about the people of the team and to throw their names like this is disrespectful for them and for their family.
“I don’t understand the target? Perhaps it is to give s*** to the team and in this case I don’t see the point. Maybe for them it is to exist? But it is clearly hurting the team.”
