George Russell secured Mercedes’ first pole position of the 2024 season ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix, with both drivers setting identical lap times of one minute and 12 seconds. Russell’s pole position was particularly significant as he banked his time first and therefore will start the race in first place. Lewis Hamilton could only manage seventh place in the second Mercedes, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured the second row for McLaren. Ferrari had a disappointing qualifying session, failing to get either car into the top 10 with Charles Leclerc in 11th and Carlos Sainz in 12th. Sergio Perez of Red Bull was knocked out in the first session for the second consecutive race.
Russell’s pole position was the result of a series of upgrades that have been put on the Mercedes car over the past four races, culminating in a new front wing introduced in Monaco. Russell expressed his excitement at securing pole position and noted that the car has been feeling amazing since the recent upgrades. Verstappen, who was happy with his second-place qualification, acknowledged that the whole weekend had been tricky for Red Bull. Mercedes, interestingly, lost pace in the final qualifying session, with Russell being 0.258 seconds faster in the second part of qualifying.
Norris and Piastri were very close to securing pole position themselves, with Norris just 0.021 seconds off the pace in a tightly contested session. At Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified Yuki Tsunoda, who was announced to be staying with the team for the 2025 season. Fernando Alonso managed to end a difficult run of qualifying sessions by securing sixth place for Aston Martin, outpacing his teammate Lance Stroll. Hamilton was initially the second fastest behind Russell after the first runs in the top 10 shootout, but neither Mercedes driver improved on their second laps.
The final place in the top 10 was taken by Williams driver Alex Albon. The mood was somber at Ferrari as both drivers failed to qualify in the top 12, despite Leclerc’s victory in Monaco. Russell’s pole position marked a significant moment for Mercedes in the 2024 season, as they had struggled in previous races. Verstappen’s second-place qualification sets the stage for an exciting race between the two drivers. The close margins in the qualifying session indicate a competitive race day ahead, with several drivers from different teams closely challenging each other for position on the grid.
