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George Russell wrested pole position from his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli for the Canadian Grand Prix in a thrilling finale to qualifying in Montreal.
Russell was an underdog for almost the entire session, but produced a stunning lap with the already waved checkered flag to dislodge Antonelli from pole, with just 0.068 seconds separating the Mercedes pair.
Russell roared into the radio after sealing pole, before cutting Antonelli’s lead at the top of the drivers’ championship to 18 points with Saturday’s sprint win, which featured a contentious clash between the Silver Arrows.
“That last lap came out of nowhere,” Russell said. “It was a great feeling when it was such a challenging session and you pull it off on the last lap – to put yourself on the leaderboard is epic.”
Russell heads into Sunday’s race looking to end a run of three consecutive wins that gave Antonelli a surprising lead early in the season, with wet weather forecast only adding to the potential drama at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
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On Skypad, Karun Chandhok analyzes the wheel-to-wheel battle between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, which ended with Antonelli pulling off the track during the Canada Sprint
Antonelli said: “I’m pretty happy. There was still a bit left on the table but Jorge did a great lap and all eyes are on tomorrow. We’ll see what the weather is like but we’ll try and be ready for anything.”
Lando Norris finished third as his team-mate Oscar Piastre ensured McLaren locked out the second row, while Mercedes closed in on their first major upgrade package in a faster-than-expected weekend for the reigning constructors’ champions.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was in contention for second place behind Norris after the first Q3 run, but had to settle for fifth after making a mistake in his last flying lap attempt.
Max Verstappen, frustrated by his Red Bull’s lack of straight-line speed, finished sixth, with teammate Issac Hajjar just behind him in seventh.
Charles Leclerc was eighth in the other Ferrari, while Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto continued their strong positions to round out the top 10.
Russell suffered another setback on a dramatic day
Qualifying began with a heightened sense of urgency just a few hours after the gloves came off for the first time this season among the Mercedes drivers.
Antonelli felt that Russell forced him off the track as the pair battled for the lead in the sprint, and suggested on both team radio and after the race that he would change his approach to racing his teammate if such a move was tolerated.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said Sky Sports F1 With the situation resolved before qualifying and both drivers on the same page with the rules of engagement going forward, there was little doubt that each competitor would be desperate for the next hit.
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Russell and Antonelli weigh in on their Mercedes bust-up during the sprint race
It was Antonelli who started strongly, topping the Q1 timesheets with Russell half a second off the pace in eighth.
The picture was similar in Q2 as Antonelli quickly delivered a strong lap to secure his place in Q3, while Russell once again lacked pace and could not match his team-mate’s efforts to make more runs at the end of the period.
Russell was in big trouble as he made a mistake and canceled his first flying lap in Q3, while Antonelli suddenly found himself fourth behind the McLarens and Hamilton after a poor effort of his own.
The prospect of Mercedes missing out on the Grand Prix pole for the first time this season suddenly seemed very real.
Russell, now out of sync with the rest of the Q3 runners, got back on track early but seemed to be back on track as he moved up to third, dropping more than a quarter of a second on the lap of Norris who led at the time.
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Russell snatches pole from Antonelli in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying
With both Norris and Hamilton failing to improve on their second run, Antonelli looked set to take pole when he was nearly tenth clear of the McLaren in his final attempt.
But then Russell, taking time for another lap to cool his tires after his earlier run, summoned an improvement of more than four tenths out of nowhere to shoot to the top of the timesheets.
Russell said: “We’ve made some changes based on the forecast for tomorrow. It might hurt us a bit for now. It’s put the car out of sync a bit.
“Kimi was more competitive than me and we weren’t as clear as everyone else yesterday, so it was a challenge but I re-dialed my driving and put it together.”
While Russell insisted over the weekend that he was feeling no added pressure from his unexpected championship loss to Antonelli, his animated celebration on the radio told a different story.
Despite the psychological boost offered by Russell’s two wins over Antonelli on Saturday, he has so far earned just two points over the Italian teenager, with the weekend’s main awards still to be handed out on Sunday.
Sky Sports F1’s Canadian GP schedule
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A look at the wildest moments caught on onboard cameras at the Canadian Grand Prix
Sunday 24th May
3.40pm: F1 Academy Race 3
5pm: F2 Feature Race
7.30pm: Canadian GP Build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
9pm: Canadian Grand Prix*
11am: Canadian GP reaction: Checkered flag*
12am: Ted’s Notebook*
*Also on Sky Sports main events
Formula 1 is in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1, Sunday’s race at 9pm. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime
