MONTREAL (AP) 鈥� George Russell edged Formula 1 points leader Max Verstappen on a tiebreaker for the pole position Saturday in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Russell and Verstappen had identical laps of 1 minute 12.000 seconds at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with the Mercedes driver getting the top spot Sunday by setting the time first. It鈥檚 the second time F1 qualifying has ended in a tie since the start of three-decimal timing.
Now Russell faces the challenge of keeping Red Bull star Verstappen behind him in the race.
鈥淲hy not? Of course. Let鈥檚 go for it,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淭he car has been feeling amazing. Since we brought some upgrades to Monaco, we鈥檝e sort of really been in that fight now. We鈥檙e going for it tomorrow.鈥�
The 26-year-old Russell claimed his second career pole.
鈥淪uch a buzz. It鈥檚 been a while since we鈥檝e experienced this feeling,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淪o much hard work going on behind the scenes 鈥� we鈥檝e almost felt like all of that hard work hasn鈥檛 been paying off. But I think these last two race weekends has really shown that.鈥�
Verstappen won the pole last year and led every lap of the race amid a historically dominant season. This year, he鈥檚 facing more challengers.
鈥淲hen you look at the whole grid, there are quite a few surprises,鈥� Verstappen said. 鈥淛ust shows that everyone is closing up, and it鈥檚 really details that make the difference. It鈥檚 good for Formula 1.鈥�
McLaren鈥檚 Lando Norris was third at 1:12.02.
Both Ferraris failed to reach the third qualifying session for the first time since 2021.
Charles Leclerc, the Monaco winner two weeks ago, will start 11th, with teammate Carlos Sainz 12th.
鈥淲e are just not fast enough,鈥� Leclerc said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any explanations for now. 鈥淰ery surprising, I did not expect that,"
Seven-time Canadian GP winner Lewis Hamilton qualified seventh for Mercedes. Montreal driver Lance Stroll was ninth for Aston Martin.
鈥淭he Q3 was very difficult, I didn鈥檛 feel good in the car,鈥� Stroll said. 鈥淚n the end we couldn鈥檛 improve enough.鈥�
After a wild, stormy Friday in Montreal, a mix of sun and clouds made for more favorable conditions Saturday. The rain rolled in briefly before qualifying but subsided.
鈥淚t was really challenging, to be honest,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淎ll weekend, every single session and every lap has been changing, the sun comes out, the track temperature warms up, then the clouds come in, it鈥檚 spitting, and it鈥檚 just really, really difficult to find that sweet spot.鈥�
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AP Formula 1:
The Associated Press
