Max Verstappen will start the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday from the second starting position. The Dutchman held pole position in the final phase of qualifying in Montreal, until George Russell with the Mercedes went under his time.
Russell ultimately clocked a 1.10.899, driven on the medium tires. These were also on Verstappen’s Red Bull, who conceded just under two tenths to the Brit. World Cup leader Oscar Piastri finished a somewhat disappointing third in the McLaren. The Australian did drive on the soft tires in the last part of qualifying.
Mercedes performed well, which was further underlined by the fourth starting position for Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Lando Norris disappointed with a seventh time. The normally so dominant McLaren is having a difficult time at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Norris also had his fastest time taken away due to track limits. It is the first time in 2025 that none of the cars from the British team will start from the front row.
Charles Leclerc did not get past the eighth time after a mistake in his last attempt. The Ferrari driver is having a messy weekend. On Friday he already lost a lot of time after a crash. Lewis Hamilton fared slightly better: the seven-time champion starts fifth and shares the third row with his old rival Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin.
Isack Hadjar drove himself back into the top ten. Yet it is unlikely that the Frenchman will also be allowed to leave from his ninth place. He was quite in the way of Carlos Sainz in the Williams in the first part of qualifying. Sainz therefore starts as seventeenth. His teammate Alexander Albon completed the top ten – despite losing his engine cover earlier in qualifying.