George Russell took his second consecutive F1 pole position at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and will start the 2025 Canadian GP from the front of the field. The Briton praised Mercedes’ “on rails” car that took him over a tenth-and-a-half clear of Max Verstappen in second.
Russell had topped FP2 earlier in the weekend and looked strong throughout the practice sessions. But with qualifying taking place under the highest temperatures of the weekend, Mercedes’ edge over its rivals seemed to be fading away in Q1 and Q2.
“The most exhilarating lap” of his life
But, as he put it, an “exhilarating” lap in Q3 put him well clear of his rivals, as he was the only driver to break into the 1m10s barrier with a 1:10.899, over 0.15s clear of his nearest competitors. That makes it the second largest pole margin of the season, and a stark contrast to last season, when Russell secured pole at the F1 Canadian GP with an identical time to Verstappen, winning the tie because he set his time first.
“Honestly, it was probably the most exhilarating lap I’ve ever done in my life,” he reflected afterwards. “Because around this circuit you’ve got to be so committed – it’s not easy, it’s quite bumpy, [and] it’s so easy to make a mistake.
“I think I found almost seven tenths on that last lap. Every corner I was going a tenth faster, a tenth faster, and it was just like the car was on rails.
“I just felt in such a rhythm, and crossing the line, when you do a lap like that, to get pole position afterwards as well was just insane.
“I had goosebumps in that moment, [and] I don’t think I’ve ever had goosebumps after a pole position or a good result. That one meant a lot to me.”
Pole position on the cards with “whatever tyre”, despite medium run
Unusually, Russell’s pole position lap came on a set of the medium (C5) tyre compound – which was the soft at last year’s F1 Canadian GP – as it provided better grip throughout the lap compared to the new-for-2025 C6 tyre.
Speaking about the decision to run on the mediums, the Mercedes F1 driver explained how he was able to find “extra confidence” running the yellow-walled tyres, but emphasized that such was gap to the next soft tyre runner – three tenths back to Oscar Piastri in P3 – it probably wasn’t the biggest factor in his run for pole at the Canadian GP, as he could’ve achieved it on “whatever tyre”:
“I think [the medium] was definitely the faster tyre today,” he said. “We’ve seen it a few times before.
“Qualifying was a tricky session. The people who were at the front—it was always variable. In Q1, I was further down the order. Then Q2, I had a good lap. First run in Q3, I was a bit off the pace—three or four tenths off—and it felt like a good lap as well, but the Medium really gave me that bit of extra confidence.
“But I think the gap still to Oscar [Piastri] on the soft was still almost three tenths. So, I’m not saying I’d have been able to do just as good a lap on the soft, but the medium’s definitely not three tenths better than the soft.
“So I think whatever tyre we had on for that lap, it would have been the one.”
Temperatures will be key to race day performance
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Russell believes the weather will play a big factor in determining the outcome, as the Mercedes car works best when in cooler conditions, which might not be case given the two-hour earlier start for the grand prix compared to qualifying:
“We had good race pace on Friday, but it depends on the temperature,” he explained. “In practice, it was five degrees cooler than it was today, and the car was easily in its sweet spot.
“Now, it can easily go the other way tomorrow in the race. If the sun comes out—it’s a 2:00PM race, it was a 4:00PM qualifying today—that makes quite a bit of difference.
“So, it’s not going to be an easy race. And, you know, of course, [I’ve] got some really quick guys around me.
“We don’t know if it’s going to be a one-stop or a two-stop, so it won’t be straightforward.”
“No reason” for Verstappen to race differently because of penalty points
The Briton will share the front row with Max Verstappen, just a fortnight after the pair had a controversial coming together at the Spanish GP, which the Dutchman was deemed wholly responsible for and received three penalty points, leaving him on the brink of accruing the 12 points necessary for a one-race ban.
And though Russell is well aware of what that could mean – given his cheeky comment in parc fermé about having “more penalty points to play with”– he’s certain that the reigning world champion will not do anything to “jeopardise” his race and expects the same approach from him:
“Obviously, we’re both fighting for the win here, and neither of us are really in a championship battle,” he noted. “I haven’t had a win this year, so I want to get one on the board. Time will tell.
“I don’t think any driver goes out looking to crash into somebody and get penalty points on your licence.
“Max [Verstappen] is one of the best drivers. There’s no reason for him to race any differently, and I’m not sitting here thinking he’s going to give us more room.
“If anything, probably the opposite to try and prove a point. So I’ll be keeping an eye, but ultimately, we’re all here to win. You’re not going to do something that’s going to jeopardise yourself from the race.
“It’s a busy season as well. If you get a race ban, you get a race ban and spend some time at home. It’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world.”
