George Russell feels goosebumps after taking pole for Canadian Grand Prix

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For the second straight year, George Russell of Mercedes will start on the pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday (2 p.m., CTV, TSN, RDS).

The British driver won the pole for the sixth time in his career with a lap around Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve Saturday timed at one minute, 10.899 seconds, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by .160 seconds. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who leads the driver standings with 186 points, will start from the third position. McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who is second in the driver standings with 176 points, will start from the seventh position.

While Russell started from the pole position last year, it was Verstappen who won the Canadian Grand Prix for the third straight year. Norris finished second and Russell was third.

There was rain on and off throughout the 70-lap race last year, but the forecast for Sunday calls for sunshine and 24C.

“The one thing I know in Montreal, you can’t discount the weather or things happening on the track,” Russell said after Saturday’s qualifying performance. “It’s a street track. You have to fight until the last lap of the race. Last year was a poor race for me, and I felt it could have run differently. So I’ll be doing my best to make up for last year’s losses. But it’s totally different this year.”

Russell said his final lap in qualifying, which earned him the pole position, was probably the most exhilarating one of his life.

“Around the circuit you got to be so committed,” he said. “It’s not easy. It’s quite bumpy and so easy to make a mistake.

“It was just like the car was on rails and it just felt like such a rhythm and crossing the line when you do a lap like that to get pole position afterwards as well was just insane,” he added. “I had goosebumps in that moment … I don’t think I’ve ever had goosebumps after a pole position or a good result, and I think that one meant a lot to me.”

Russell will be looking for his fourth career F1 victory after winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in 2022, followed by victories last year in Austria and Las Vegas.

Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty at the last race, the Spanish Grand Prix, after slamming into Russell in the closing laps of the race that was won by Piastri. Russell finished fourth and Verstappen was 10th. Verstappen was also given three penalty points, putting him just one point away from a one-race suspension.

Lewis Hamilton, looking to win the Canadian Grand Prix for the eighth time in his first year since switching from Mercedes to Ferrari, will start fifth on the grid Sunday. Hamilton and Michael Schumacher share the record with seven Canadian Grand Prix wins each.

Qualifying did not go well Saturday for Montreal native Lance Stroll, who was eliminated after the first session and will start 18th out of 20 cars on the grid.