George Russell Claims Pole, Verstappen Matches Q3 Lap Time

In what was a statistical anomaly George Russell claimed pole after setting a 1:12.000 laps time in Q3 which was followed by Max Verstappen setting the exact same lap time. Russell claimed pole position for Sunday’s race because he set the time first. Its a very rare occurrence for two drivers to have matching lap times in qualifying. In addition, Lando Norris was right within striking distance finishing just 0.021s behind Verstappen and Russell. It’s clear that the competition at the top is starting to shake up as the drivers seem to get closer and closer to matching the pace of Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Sergio Perez Out in Q1

Sergio perez had yet another Q1 exit in qualifying. After Perez just inked a 2 year contract extension with Red Bull he will have his work cut out for him to stay in the good graces of the team. To add insult to injury Daniel Ricciardo finished P5 in qualifying which is his best finish in qualifying thus far this season.

He said, “I’m very pleased about today. It’s been a really good weekend, a lot of fun, and one of those ones where everything’s just feeling good. We are less than two-tenths from pole, and even if it’s not today’s case, sometimes this means being on the front row, so it’s nice being competitive and feeling comfortable in the car. In Q3 it was very important to have a fast warm-up lap and this is what I told the team. I did it and then had the right confidence for the push lap.

It was nice to put the lap together, but I’m not surprised, I know when I feel like this, I can do these things. I’m happy that I was able to get it out of myself, but happy and credit to the team, both cars going into Q3 and happy to reward them with a very nice result. I always feel something special coming here to Montréal and I’ve got good memories: exactly ten years ago I got my first win here and my life changed. Also, the team feels there’s some good energy this weekend, so happy to convert that into some good driving. Tomorrow, we start in a good spot inside the top 5, with some good front-running guys around me, so I’ll get the best out of myself during the race.”

Ferrari Left Wondering What Happened in Canada

After Ferrari found a brief stroke of recent success, in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying the Ferraris failed to come alive. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to make the cut for Q3. Team principal Fred Vasseur said, “Everyone in the team is rather frustrated at the way today’s qualifying went. Today, since FP3, we were lacking something a little bit everywhere, even if yesterday it seemed we were going pretty well and the pace was there over a long run in both wet and dry conditions.

I think everyone was struggling a bit with tires, to the point that even Russell’s pole position was obtained on a scrubbed set, but we struggled more than others and we were unable to put everything together to switch on the tires at the right moment. We will now analyze everything  very carefully but we must keep our spirits up and remember that the points are given out tomorrow.

As for the race, we will have to wait and see what the weather has in store because it’s the big unknown. I remember that last year here we also started from far back and we managed to move up the order.” 

Full Qualifying Results for the Canadian Grand Prix