2024 F1 Canadian GP: Russell snatches pole position in qualifiers after close fight with Verstappen

George Russell will take the pole position at the final race of the 2024 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix here in Montreal. The Mercedes driver recorded the fastest lap time of 1m 12.000s in the qualifiers at the initial runs of Q3. 

After weather gods played havoc on Friday leading to limited running in the practice sessions, drivers found mostly dry conditions on Saturday for the qualifiers at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve with only a brief shower in the run-up to the session. However, the residue moisture on the track made it challenging for many drivers, especially those running on soft tyres.

2024 F1 Canadian GP Qualifiers: Russell, Verstappen at the top

Russell was given a tough fight by reigning champion Max Verstappen, as the Spaniard recorded the exact same fastest lap time, but Russell took the crowns of P1 on account of achieving the feat earlier than Verstappen. Lando Norris took third place with only 0.021s separating the McLaren driver from the top two. His team mate Oscar Piastri will share the second row in fourth ahead of an impressive Daniel Ricciardo in fifth for Honda Red Bull. 

F1 stalwarts Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton took sixth and seventh places, respectively, despite the latter leading the charge at the onset of Q1. Yuki Tsunoda— who was retained by Honda Red Bull for the 2025 season just ahead of qualifiers— claimed P8, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Williams Mercedes’ Alex Albon rounded off the rest of the top 10.

2024 F1 Canadian GP Qualifiers: Ferrari’s tough outing

It was a tough day for Ferrari as both the drivers— Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz— failed to make it past Q2. The Scuderia pair will line up in P11 and P12 respectively at the final race on Sunday, just two weeks after sharing the podium in Monaco. Both drivers bore the brunt of running on soft tyres as the rain started to return as Q2 began.

The soft tyres failed to provide as much grip required on the wet track leading to slow laps for both Leclerc and Sainz. Leclerc was especially critical of his team’s choice and didn’t mince his words one bit. When asked by F1 TV what went wrong, Leclerc replied: “Just slow, slow all day. Similar issues also to this morning, I had like a sensor issue, which was very annoying. The management of the session as well wasn’t the best, I think.”