14/06/2025 23:24
George Russell has aimed a dig at Max Verstappen's penalty points
situation after stealing Canadian Grand Prix pole at the death.
After the first runs in Q3, Russell was third, 0.268s behind
Verstappen's benchmark time of a 1:11.248. On the second run, on
the medium C5 tyres, he posted a 1:10.899, the only driver to break
under 71s, with Verstappen 0.160s slower as they share the
front-row for the second year. It is also the first time Russell
has taken pole position at the same circuit, following on from his
2024 pole in the fastest Montreal pole since Sebastian Vettel's
1:10.240 in 2019. Reflecting, Russell made light of Verstappen's
precarious penalty points situation after the world champion moved
to the cusp of a race ban in Barcelona. "I mean, that last lap was
probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life, because on
my steering wheel, on the delta, I just saw every corner, I was
going a tenth quicker, a tenth quicker," Russell explained. "I got
into the last corner and was six-tenths up and I was like:
'Alright, this is the lap' and P1 was a real surprise." When
questioned about Verstappen's penalty point situation, being on 11
with one more needed for a ban following their Spanish GP
collision, Russell dryly noted that "I've got a few more points on
my licence to play with" - drawing cheers from the crowd.
