Formula 1 LIVE: Piastri starts third for Canadian Grand Prix, behind Russell and Verstappen

Sydney Morning Herald

6 hours ago

3.31am
The Canadian Grand Prix: What you need to know, in a snapshot
The 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is on the man-made Notre Dame Island in the middle of the St Lawrence River.
It only came to host grand prix racing after it had served its original purpose as host of the Expo 67 World's Fair in 1967 and, later, the Montreal Olympics in 1976. It first hosted the Canadian Grand Prix in 1978 when, fittingly, Canadian star Gilles Villeneuve claimed his first win at the track that would end up bearing his name.
Villeneuve, the father of 1997 world champion Jacques, was the runner-up in the 1979 world championship with Ferrari but died in a crash during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. He was just 32.
His track is beloved by drivers up and down the grid, and it's not hard to see why, given how action-packed the fast, low-downforce circuit is. There's a mixture of high-speed straights and very slow and technical corners and chicanes, but it's very free-flowing – and picturesque, too, given its surrounds.
You've probably heard of the most iconic section of the track – turn 14, or 'the Wall of Champions'. It's the name given to the wall alongside the track out of the final turn and leading up to the start-finish line after former world champions Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher made contact with it during the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix race weekend.
Last year's winner: Max Verstappen in his Red Bull
Overtakes completed last year: 83 (by contrast, there were just 17 at last year's Monaco Grand Prix)
Most wins: Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton (both seven)
Lap record: 1m 13.078s, Valtteri Bottas in his Mercedes in 2019
Fun fact: The longest race in F1 history took place in Canada in 2011 – four hours, four minutes and 39 seconds. These days, Formula 1 has a three-hour window (from once a race starts) for the completion of a grand prix.
3.31am
This race couldn't actually be about damage limitation for Oscar, could it?
Championship leader Oscar Piastri stayed hopeful after a qualifying session that had McLaren team principal Andrea Stella talking of damage limitation in this morning's Canadian Grand Prix.
The Australian will start from third on the grid with teammate Lando Norris, 10 points behind in the standings after nine of 24 races, back in seventh.
Mercedes' George Russell took pole position and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, winner in Canada for the past three years, joined him on the front row in a repeat of 2024's qualifying top two at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.
'Our pace on race days is generally where we're strong,' Piastri, winner of five races this season and bidding to become the first Australian to take six in a single campaign, said in a press conference.
'These two next to me were very quick in the race runs yesterday, so it's certainly not going to be a slam dunk win, but I think we're definitely in the fight.'
The scrappy qualifying session, a gift for those talking up bad blood between Russell and Verstappen after a headline clash in Spain between the pair, left McLaren off the pace for once.
It was the first time Mercedes had taken pole this season.
'The picture changes completely for the race – that's what we have to focus on,' Stella told Sky Sports.
'I think in terms of race pace we should be a bit more comfortable, but let's see. This weekend could be one of damage limitation.'
Norris will certainly have a battle on his hands to get onto the podium.
'[I made] a couple of big mistakes, one hitting the wall on the last lap on the exit of turn seven and also the first lap at the final corner – mistakes that cost me,' he said.
'We have not been as quick as usual, and it was maybe not the car to take pole position, but it should have been enough for the top three.
'It is a very easy track to push 1% too much and pay the price, and that's what happened today. A podium will be tough because we don't have the pace we have had of the past few races.'