George Russell snatches pole from Max Verstappen at Canadian Grand Prix
This was the long-awaited return of Mr Saturday. George Russell coined that nickname early in his career for his qualifying prowess, bettering his team-mates over one lap. Here, his sixth career pole and first of the season, underlined that when given a fast car, the Mercedes driver rarely puts a wheel out of line.
'That last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life,' Russell said. 'Crossing the line and seeing we were P1 was a real surprise but I was so chuffed with it.'
The same cannot be said of his British compatriot Lando Norris, who again made costly mistakes in the most important part of qualifying and was repeatedly told by his McLaren team to focus on his braking points and not over-pushing. He could only manage seventh, despite using a newly designed suspension which it was hoped would help his complaints of 'numbness' in the feeling of his car when pushing it to the limit. He hit the wall on his final lap.
There was an edge to Russell after he climbed out of the cockpit. 'We're mates so it's all good,' he said when it was pointed out he would be sharing the front row with Max Verstappen, who collided with him in Barcelona. 'I've got a few more points on my licence to play with, so yeah, let's see.'
That quip was in reference to Verstappen having 11 of 12 penalty points after that incident in the last race, just one away from a race ban for the next two grands prix, before the first of those points are taken off his licence.
Verstappen was not so keen on that conversation topic, interrupting the FIA press conference host Tom Clarkson. 'I don't need to hear it again. It's really pissing me off,' he said. 'I mean, you speaking about it on Thursday [at media day]… It's such a waste of time. It's very childish. So that's why I also don't want to say too much, because it's really annoying, this world that we live in.'
He insists he will not drive any differently despite the threat of a ban, and the first series of corners could be an exciting watch on Sunday.
Mercedes benefited from the cooler temperatures in Montreal, which bring the car and its tyres to life in a way that warmer conditions, which suit McLaren, do not. Ferrari had looked capable of challenging for pole all weekend, but their pace fell away in Q3, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Charles Leclerc (who felt he was impeded by Isack Hadjar) in eighth.
Hadjar was in fact penalised, but for impeding Carlos Sainz in the first part of qualifying and received a three-place grid drop from ninth to 12th. Yuki Tsunoda, who qualified 11th, will start last after a ten-place penalty for overtaking Oscar Piastri under red-flag conditions in the third practice session. Piastri, the championship leader, qualified in third.
Earlier in the day Derek Warwick, a senior FIA steward, was suspended from his duties at the Canadian Grand Prix after making unauthorised media comments about several drivers.
GETTY
Warwick, 70, is an experienced official who was set to fulfil duties as a driver steward — a former F1 racer who helps the stewards give drivers' perspectives on incidents — but was replaced by Enrique Bernoldi, who is officiating from the Remote Operations Centre in Geneva.
It is understood that Warwick had spoken to gambling website Plejmo, making several controversial comments, including around Max Verstappen's penalty after a collision with George Russell in the Barcelona Grand Prix.
He also suggested that Hamilton may already be thinking of retirement after his struggles at Ferrari, which appear to have caused the seven-times world champion to insist he will remain with the team for the 'long haul' in a press conference on Thursday.
Hamilton said: 'There's zero doubts, so please stop making stuff up.' Warwick's quotes were republished on several other websites. The FIA did not specify the exact comments which had caused the issue.
In a statement the sport's governing body said: 'After discussion, Derek acknowledges that his comments were ill-advised in his role as an FIA steward and has apologised. Derek will resume his duties as a steward in the forthcoming Austrian Grand Prix.'
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