MERCEDES’ George Russell grabbed a dazzling pole position and then enjoyed cracking a joke at rival Max Verstappen’s expense on Saturday after clocking a sensational lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old Briton was delighted with what he described as “one of the most exhilarating laps of my life” and said, when asked about the prospect of starting alongside Red Bull’s four-time champion, that he had “a few more penalty points to play with”.
His light-hearted jibe referred to his verbal rivalry with Verstappen since last season and their recent clash at the Spanish Grand Prix — where the Dutchman rammed into Russell’s car in the closing stages.
Verstappen was handed a timed penalty that dropped him to 10th and also given three points on his drivers’ super-licence, taking him to a total of 11 and within one point of a ban if he commits any further misdemeanors.
Fans in the capacity crowd at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve roared their approval as Russell warmed to his theme after clocking the only sub 1.11 lap of the weekend to date.
“We’re mates, so it’s all good,“ insisted Russell, despite his tense and often strained relationship with Verstappen who, in Barcelona, said “give him some tissues” after their clash.
“But I’ve got a few more points on my license to play with so, yeah, let’s see,“ Russell said.
It may have been good-natured fun, but it was also a reminder to Verstappen that he cannot risk repeating his “red mist” aggression and a possible race ban on Sunday.
Russell captured his first pole this year at the end of a thrilling session.
Russell clocked a best lap in one minute and 10.899 seconds to outpace Verstappen by 0.160 seconds.
“On my steering wheel, you’ve got the delta and I just saw every corner that I was just going one-tenth quicker and I got into the last corner and I was six-tenths off so I knew the lap was mighty,“ Russell said.
“Crossing the line and seeing we were P1 was a real surprise, but I was so chuffed with it. It was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life, an awesome experience in front of this amazing crowd.”
Verstappen, who is third in this year’s drivers’ title race behind the McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, shook hands with Russell to congratulate him, but will harbour hopes of claiming an unprecedented fourth consecutive Canadian win.
Last year, Russell led from pole for 20 laps before pitting to hand the lead to Norris for five laps until he also pitted. Verstappen then took control to win ahead of Norris with Russell coming home third.
“I’m very happy with what we have achieved to be on the front row,“ said Verstappen, having claimed Red Bull’s 200th front row start. “Tomorrow, we can have a solid race. We did the right thing with the tyres.”
‘Childish, annoying’
Asked about starting alongside Russell, the champion refused to comment, showing real irritation about the speculation on penalty points and bans.
“I’m not talking about it anymore,“ he said, having already confirmed he would not change his aggressive style.
“It’s a waste of time to discuss this. It’s so childish and it is really annoying.”
Russell’s sixth career pole confirmed Mercedes’ potential for success at the high-speed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The late-session drama lifted the oft-warring pair clear of championship leader Piastri and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Ferrari ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Norris in the second McLaren and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari.
Impressive rookie Isack Hadjar was ninth for Racing Bulls and Alex Albon 10th for Williams.
Piastri, who leads Norris by 10 points in the title race after nine of this year’s 24 races, was happy to recover form after a difficult practice.
“To be honest, after how practice went, I am pretty happy,“ he said. “We chose to go with softs … We wanted to keep it safe.”
