Red Bull driver Max Verstappen had initially set the pace during the opening runs of Q1. Things changed when a thrilling sequence in the closing laps saw Russell topple the three-time defending Canadian GP winner. Russel clocked a lap of one minute 10.899 seconds around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to surpass Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri, the championship leader, settled for third position in the McLaren on the soft tyres. The other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli bagged the fourth position.
Lewis Hamilton was the lead Ferrari in fifth. He was just ahead of Fernando Alonso in sixth for Aston Martin. Meanwhile, McLaren’s Lando Norris finished slightly scruffy Q3 in seventh. Charles Leclerc was driving for Ferrari and finished in eighth place.
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took P9, though the Frenchman will be investigated following the session for an alleged impeding incident with Williams’ Carlos Sainz in Q1. Rounding out the top 10 was Alex Albon, who came back from an unusual incident early in qualifying that saw the engine cover fly off his Williams on the straight.
Yuki Tsunoda was eliminated in P11, meaning that the Red Bull driver will start from the back of the pack on Sunday after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement during the third and final practice session.Franco Colapinto enjoyed his best qualifying performance since returning to the grid by putting his Alpine in 12th, ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in 13th and the Haas duo of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon in 14th and 15th, respectively.Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto missed out on progressing to Q2 by ending the session in P16, while Sainz endured a disappointing outing after exiting in P17 for Williams.
Lance Stroll had a challenging time qualifying in front of his home crowd as the Aston Martin driver was down in 18th. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also had a tough day as the pair found themselves in 19th and 20th places.
