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George Russell beat Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to take pole position on the penultimate lap of qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Russell, who had won the sprint race earlier on Saturday, was on the back foot after aborting his first lap.
But a final run in which he did two flying laps enabled him to pip Antonelli by 0.068s and Russell beamed into the radio when he realized he had secured pole.
“It’s the most exhilarating feeling in the world when it comes out of nowhere at the last minute,” he said on the radio.
Antonelli looked set to beat his team-mate when he eclipsed the time set by McLaren’s Lando Norris on the first run in Britain, with Russell’s first lap on his final run only good enough for third.
But Russell planned two laps and he traded in his second.
Norris was also in contention for pole, and what set off Russell’s final run was the fastest middle sector as he tried to wrest the top spot from Antonelli.
But the world champion fell 0.083 seconds off the Italian mark, before Russell again barred.
“It was a challenging session but to do it on the very last lap was epic,” said Russell, adding that the team had made some changes to the car in qualifying for the wet weather forecast on Sunday.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest, ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, separating his team-mate Charles Leclerc from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isaac Hajjar.
Hamilton faces an investigation for allegedly impeding Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the first part of qualifying.
Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto completed the top 10.
More to follow.
