Russell pips Verstappen and Piastri to Canadian F1 GP pole as Norris struggles
George Russell put his Mercedes on pole position in Canada for the second year in a row, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen alongside on the front row.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren's Formula One championship leader qualified third, with the Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli in fourth place.
Lando Norris, Piastri's teammate and closest title rival only 10 points behind the Australian, qualified seventh at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
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Times
an hour ago
- Times
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.'
Reuters
4 hours ago
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Panthers top Oilers to move one win away from second straight Cup
June 15 - Brad Marchand scored twice for the Florida Panthers, who moved a win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions with a 5-2 win in Game 5 against the host Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Eetu Luostarinen had a goal and an assist and Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves for the Panthers, who can clinch the trophy at home in Sunrise, Fla., on Tuesday. Connor McDavid and Corey Perry scored for the Oilers. Calvin Pickard made 14 saves. Marchand gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 9:12 of the first period. He got to a loose puck off a center-ice face-off, went around Mattias Ekholm inside the Edmonton zone and skated to the left hash mark before roofing a snapshot. Sam Bennett made it 2-0 at 18:06 when he collected the rebound of a Matthew Tkachuk shot that was blocked and fired it quickly past Pickard. The Oilers had their chances to cut the deficit in the second period with a pair of power plays early in the frame but couldn't convert. Marchand extended it to 3-0 at 5:12 of the third period. The veteran retrieved a pass from Luostarinen in the neutral zone, carried it inside the Oilers' zone and jumped around defenseman Jake Walman above the left circle before sliding it five-hole on Pickard. McDavid's first of the series cut it to 3-1 at 7:24. He took a feed from Evan Bouchard in the left circle and brought it down to the crease, slipping it by Bobrovsky's right skate to bring life to the crowd. But Reinhart quieted the crowd when he responded for Florida 46 seconds later. Aleksander Barkov collected the puck behind the net and sent a backhand feed to Reinhart, who snapped it from the left circle through two Edmonton defensemen and past Pickard to make it 4-1 at 8:10. With Pickard pulled for the extra attacker, Perry narrowed it to 4-2 when he fired a blast from the blue line through traffic at 16:47. Luostarinen scored an empty-net goal at 18:41 for the 5-2 final. --Field Level Media
Times
5 hours ago
- Times
George Russell: Verstappen tried to show who's boss — he got it wrong
George Russell believes Max Verstappen was attempting to intimidate him during the closing laps of the Barcelona Grand Prix, but did not intend to crash into him. Verstappen initially refused to apologise for appearing to deliberately collide with the Mercedes car near the end of a dramatic conclusion to the race, but he took to social media the following Monday to admit his error. He did not directly apologise or mention Russell in the statement. 'I'm not looking for an apology,' Russell, 27, said on Thursday from the Mercedes motorhome in Montreal before the Canadian Grand Prix. 'I don't think he needs to apologise to me. From my side, his actions cost him and they benefited me. So I should be almost thanking him, but it's good to see that he took accountability, which I was a bit surprised [about].
