George Russell's X-rated message after Canada pole sets up another battle with Max Verstappen
GEORGE RUSSELL secured pole to set up a tasty battle with old foe Max Verstappen — then roared: 'What a f***ing lap!'
It was the first pole for the Mercedes driver this season.
4
4
4
And it reignites the battle with bitter rival Verstappen, who joins the Brit on the front row and will be desperate to get past him from lights out in today's Canadian Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri finished third — but it was a horror show for his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who was down in seventh.
Russell said: 'It was awesome. To get the pole, that last lap was one of the most exhilarating of my life.
'This lap is mighty and to cross the line in P1 was a real surprise — but I was so chuffed with it.'
It was sweet revenge for Russell, who was deliberately driven into by Verstappen in Barcelona last time out.
That earned the Dutchman three points on his licence — and the four-time world champion now needs to be on his best behaviour in Canada this weekend as he is just one penalty point away from suspension.
When asked about Verstappen, Russell added: 'We're mates, it's all good.
'I've got a few more points on my licence to play with!'
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS
4
The row clearly did not put Verstappen off his stride.
The 27-year-old said: 'I felt good all weekend — the car was actually in a good window.
George Russell furiously hits back at Max Verstappen after the F1 world champion's stinging criticism of him
'I'm very happy with qualifying. I'm already very happy with what we achieved to be on the front row.'
Norris was the culprit of a major cock-up in Q3 as he went well wide on his first lap in the final session and failed to record a lap time.
The big error from the McLaren driver meant he had to have two more goes at recording a lap time, having already put their tyres through their paces.
Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli bagged fourth, while Lewis Hamilton made it into fifth ahead of sixth-placed Fernando Alonso.
It came down to the wire and pole position could not be called as Russell fired a warning shot, notching the fastest time in Q2 just ahead of Norris.
Verstappen showed you can write him off at your peril as he flew into provisional pole ahead of Piastri in the final session.
Yet Aussie Piastri said: 'After how practice went, I'm pretty happy with myself at the moment.
I'm already very happy with what we achieved to be on the front row.
George Russell
'I'm pretty happy with third, which is a bit different, but I'll take it here.'
Alex Albon's engine cover bizarrely flew off his Williams six minutes into Q1 and brought a red flag so debris could be cleared from the track.
The cover flew off down the back straight and he nearly lost control into the final chicane due to less downforce.
And there was beef between Carlos Sainz and Isack Hadjar in the first session as the Williams driver was booted out in 17th as he felt the Racing Bulls rookie 'massively impeded him'.
Williams team principal James Vowles said: 'It's frustrating. Disrupted session, but we had a fast car.
'That's just a car that's staying on line and clearly not aware of what's around him.
'Hadjar, I'm sure, will receive a penalty. We will focus on Alex now.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Relentless Chelsea see chance to test evolving squad at Club World Cup
This is the never-ending season but Chelsea show no sign of wanting to slow down. They intend to embrace Fifa's newly revamped Club World Cup – a potential £97m prize pot for the eventual winners is quite the draw in an age of intense financial scrutiny, after all – and have travelled to the US knowing that the tournament gives them an opportunity to find out more about a squad that has evolved in the short space of time since Enzo Maresca's side beat Real Betis in the Uefa Conference League final on 28 May. There has been little time to pause for breath before Chelsea get up and running in Group D by facing the Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC in Atlanta on Monday. Some players have had a 10-day break, others have been away on international duty and there has been no sign of anyone in the recruitment department taking a bit of annual leave. The sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have been busy assessing possible ins and outs. Joe Shields, the co-director recruitment of talent, has made his presence felt in the arrival of Liam Delap from Ipswich and the pursuit of the Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens. The pace is relentless. It speaks volumes that nobody raised an eyebrow at João Félix, who joined from Atlético Madrid for £45m less than a year ego, being left out of Chelsea's 28-man squad last week. The evolution is constant. Chelsea have shown decisiveness in their hunt for a new striker, moving swiftly to land Delap for the bargain price of £30m, while they have been clinical in other areas. They were right not to sign Jadon Sancho on a permanent basis, even though sending the winger back to Manchester United triggered a £5m penalty. Refusing to pay over the odds for Gittens and the Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan before the registration deadline for the group stages of the Club World Cup was also encouraging, especially as doing so was always going to be seen by more impatient supporters on social media as some kind of major negotiating fail. It is not as if the business has been limited to Delap. Space has been found in the travelling party for other newcomers – the 19‑year‑old goalkeeper Mike Penders, the 20-year-old centre‑back Mamadou Sarr, the 20-year-old midfielder Dário Essugo and the 21-year-old Brazilian prospect Andrey Santos, who developed well during a year on loan at Strasbourg, Chelsea's partner club. Meanwhile there will be eyes on Palmeiras's progress in Group A given that their 18-year-old winger, Estêvão, is joining Chelsea after the tournament and is seen by many observers as a future Ballon d'Or winner. A late call has also been made for Kendry Páez, the Ecuadorian prospect, to travel to the US to train with his new clubmates before joining Strasbourg on loan. This is a chance for Maresca to finesse patterns, improve old on-pitch relationships and develop some new ones. It is not ideal that Chelsea's Premier League campaign will be compromised if they go all the way in the US – the final is less than a month before the start of the domestic season – but there is no point grumbling about fatigue. The reality is that Chelsea, whose endurance will also be tested by participation in the Champions League, are where they want to be. The club's American owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, are hardly going to complain about involvement in a month-long Stateside marketing extravaganza. Can Chelsea go all the way? Formidable opponents await them in the latter stages but they should make it through Group D with something to spare. LAFC offer the familiarity of the former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and the former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud but both are past their best. Chelsea surely just need the right attitude. Further games against Espérance and Flamengo in Philadelphia look inviting enough. Yet the limited nature of the opposition will not stop Maresca from learning more about his players. There is scrutiny on the goalkeeping position following the move for Maignan, which did little to quell the impression that Chelsea will listen to offers for Robert Sánchez and Filip Jörgensen. Djordje Petrovic, meanwhile, is certain to leave after asking to be omitted from the squad. The Serbian goalkeeper impressed on loan at Strasbourg last season and wants regular football. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The competition is fierce. Sánchez retains the support of Ben Roberts, the global head of goalkeeping, and did well at the end of last season but whether Maresca fully trusts him is less clear. Chelsea have options. There is a lot of excitement about Penders, who will probably start as the third choice after Marcus Bettinelli's move to Manchester City. The pressure to perform is clear. There is a battle for supremacy in attack. Delap, who scored 12 goals for Ipswich last season, has taken the No 9 shirt and will try to usurp Nicolas Jackson up front. How will Jackson respond? Talk of Chelsea looking to sign another striker raises questions over the Senegal international's future. There are few untouchables at Stamford Bridge. The list of players who can leave is extensive. There are the expensive castoffs who have been left behind and have no future at the club – players such as Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell and João Félix – and then there are those such as Noni Madueke. The winger was important for Maresca last season but some have misgivings over his development. Estêvão, who plays in Madueke's position, is coming. Geovany Quenda joins from Sporting Lisbon next year. This is the reality at Chelsea. They just keep going; the challenge is to keep up.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
NHL fan's ultimate betrayal at Stanley Cup Final goes viral
A fair-weather fan in Edmonton shed the jersey of the losing team after a remarkable goal by Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. After the Edmonton Oilers scored a goal in overtime of Game 4 to even the series at 2-2, the series went back to Canada to see who would be one game away from glory. Unfortunately for the home crowd, there was little to celebrate as the goaltending form that has dogged them throughout these Finals reared its ugly head once again. The dagger came with the third goal, a beautiful effort from Marchand that stunned the Rogers Place crowd into silence. Linemate Eetu Luostarinen poked the puck ahead to Marchand, who raced up ice, deked around Oilers defenseman Jake Walman, and then tucked the puck between goaltender Calvin Pickard's legs to go up 3-0. As cameras whipped around the lower bowl, one fan wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey was seen taking it off - only to reveal a Florida Panthers jersey underneath. Brad Marchand's goal was so filthy, this Oilers' fan had to switch teams 😭🤣 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 15, 2025 It was Marchand's second goal of the night and his fifth of the series - making him the first player in history to score five goals in a Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams. Marchand started the season as the captain of the Boston Bruins, only for Boston's under-fire general manager Don Sweeney to move him to the hated Panthers at the deadline in exchange for a conditional second-round pick. While the conditions were met to convert that second-round pick into a first-round pick, it came at the cost of watching Marchand score ten goals and ten assists for 20 points at the age of 36. If Marchand scores again, he'll tie his effort from 2011 - the last time the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. He's also three points behind his playoff career high of 23 - set in 2019 when Boston lost the Stanley Cup Finals in seven games to the St. Louis Blues. Calvin Pickard, Edmonton's goaltender who took starting duties off the struggling Stuart Skinner, allowed four goals on 18 shots for a dismal .778 save percentage - leading to a 5-2 loss. With the series shifting back to Sunrise, the Panthers are just one win away from becoming the first back-to-back champions since the cross-state-rival Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. They'd also be the third team to accomplish this feat since 2000. Some consolation for Oilers fans: Edmonton is 6-1 these playoffs after a loss, including going 2-0 after a loss in these Finals. Game 6 takes place on Tuesday night.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
F1 Canadian Grand Prix: latest updates as Russell leads Verstappen
Latest updates Luke Slater. Tom Cary Senior Sports Correspondent, in Montreal 15 June 2025 7:21pm 7:21PM Lap 13 of 70 - Russell told to pit In he comes, so Kimi Antonelli assumes the lead. Has he led a grand prix before? I am completely sure. Verstappen out in ninth. Russell ahead in seventh. 2.7sec the gap between the pair now, so a slight gain for the Mercedes. 7:20PM Lap 12 of 70 - Verstappen pits from second! Antonelli closes up at the final hairpin... gets DRS and has a look up the inside... but Verstappen dives into the pits. Just as well Antonelli didn't choose to go around the outside. He goes onto the hard tyres. LAP 12/70 Antonelli on the inside of Verstappen into the final chicane... but the Red Bull heads for the pits! 📦 #F1 #CanadianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) June 15, 2025 Albon appears to have a power unit issue, though Williams are monitoring it, they say. 7:18PM Lap 11 of 70 - Norris into sixth Alonso doesn't really fight that one on the pit straight. No point, really. We are about to see a Verstappen/Antonelli fight for second now, though. This could be fun. 7:17PM Lap 10 of 70 - Speaking of Leclerc He is on the radio to his team. 'These tyres are not great,' he says. Antonelli now within DRS range of Verstappen for second. Russell around two seconds ahead of Verstappen. Norris right on the rear wing of Alonso. 'Yeah, not good. Really fragile,' is Verstappen's assessment of his tyres. 7:16PM Lap 9 of 70 - Spreading out at the front Nobody has DRS in the top 10. Then from Hadjar in 11th onwards they all have DRS down to Tsunoda. Not the makings of a good race. Leclerc has become a little detached from Norris ahead, who is now catching Alonso. 7:15PM Lap 8 of 70 - Russell leads Verstappen by 1.5sec Hard to say whether this is intentional from Verstappen. Certainly not good for your tyres if you stick within a second of the man in front for very long. 7:13PM Lap 7 of 70 - ⏱️ Top 10 and gaps RUS VER +1.4 ANT +3.2 PIA +5.0 HAM +6.8 ALO +7.7 NOR +9.4 LEC +12.7 HUL +14.4 COL +15.9 7:11PM Lap 6 of 70 - Russell extends his lead It's over a second now, which will be some relief to the Mercedes man. It means Verstappen will not get DRS down the back straight nor on the pit straight. Norris on the hard tyres not too close to Alonso, but he will come into the race as it goes on. Well, that will be the plan. 7:10PM Lap 5 of 70 - 0.5sec the gap between Verstappen and Russell Russell just not able to break the DRS distance to Verstappen behind. Piastri has been told to go to Plan B, whatever that is. The leaders are now 2.1sec or so ahead of Antonelli, who is in turn 1.7sec ahead of Piastri in fourth.
