14/06/2025 23:35
Max Verstappen praised Red Bull for nailing the "tough" call
surrounding which tyres to run in the fight for pole position in
the Canadian Grand Prix, despite losing to George Russell.
Verstappen had moved into provisional pole with his final Q3 lap at
the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but was beaten by a sensational lap
by Russell. Russell was the only driver to enter the 1m 10s, with
the four-time world champion having managed a low 1m 11. Both
drivers went for the medium compound rather than the C6 soft, a
call which was very difficult to make. The Red Bull driver has
felt good all weekend in Canada, and was pleased by his team's tyre
decision. "Yeah, I think I felt quite good all weekend," said
Verstappen. "The car actually was in a good window. This track is
quite cool. It feels a bit like a big go-kart on the kerbs. "And
then, of course, you have the long straights, heavy braking. You
need to be quite efficient on the straights, which I think we are,
in general. "Yes, overall, I'm very happy with qualifying. I think
the car was, again, working quite well. Then, of course, the tough
choice is the tyres, which one to use, but I think we did the right
thing." Despite missing out on pole, Verstappen has a positive run
into the first corner from second, a favourable position in Canada.
When asked if starting second is actually stronger than pole in
Montreal, Verstappen replied: "I would always pick P1 just to start
a little bit more forward, but it's fine. "We'll see what we can
do tomorrow. I'm already very happy with what we achieved today to
be on the front row, and hopefully tomorrow we can have a solid
race."
