George Russell will be on pole for the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix after an F1 qualifying lap that he could barely believe, which put him 0.16sec clear of the competition.

The Mercedes driver is set to start alongside Max Verstappen who he has repeatedly clashed with in precious races. The Red Bull driver consigned championship leader Oscar Piastri to third, ahead of Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.

Scroll down or click to see how the grid will look when it lines up for the tenth grand prix of the season, which starts at 7pm in the UK (2pm local time in Montreal).

Russell described his pole run, using the medium tyre, as “possibly the most exhilarating lap of my life”, but there was intense disappointment behind him, with Lando Norris only managing the seventh-fastest time, ahead of Charles Leclerc who abandoned his final flying lap when his car slid, the infuriated Ferrari driver blaming the dirty air from Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bull ahead.

Fernando Alonso qualified sixth, finding time by completing multiple flying laps on the same medium tyre.

Williams made the headlines in the first Q1 stage of qualifying when the engine cover of Alex Albon’s car blew apart on the run to the final chicane, scattering debris across the track.

There was a red flag to clear the wreckage, which gave Williams enough time to replace the cover. Albon made it through to Q2 but his furious team-mate Sainz was eliminated in the bottom five after being blocked by Isack Hadjar, who looks likely to receive a grid penalty as a result.

Also exiting in Q1 was Lance Stroll who will start 17th in his home race, ahead of a disappointed Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly.

Joining them in Q2 was Yuki Tsunoda, 11th fastest and eliminated from the top ten shootout. He will start last after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking under a red flag in the third free practice session. It means Franco Colapinto will start 11th. After a troubled start to his Alpine career, the 22-year-old was even apologetic at not making it into Q3.

Below is the full starting grid as it stands unless any further penalties are applied ahead of the race.

2025 Canadian Grand Prix starting grid

1	George Russell Mercedes 1min 10.899sec Q3		2	Max Verstappen Red Bull 1min 11.059sec Q3
3	Oscar Piastri McLaren 1min 11.120sec Q3		4	Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1min 11.391sec Q3
5	Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1min 11.526sec Q3		6	Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1min 11.586sec Q3
7	Lando Norris McLaren 1min 11.625sec Q3		8	Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1min 11.682sec Q3
9	Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1min 11.867sec Q3		10	Alex Albon Red Bull 1min 11.907sec Q3
11	Franco Colapinto Alpine 1min 12.142sec Q2		12	Nico Hülkenberg Sauber 1min 12.183sec Q2
13	Oliver Bearman Haas 1min 12.340sec Q2		14	Esteban Ocon Haas 1min 12.634sec Q2
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber 1min 12.385sec Q1		16	Carlos Sainz Williams 1min 12.398sec Q1
17	Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1min 12.517sec Q1		18	Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1min 12.525sec Q1
19	Pierre Gasly Alpine 1min 12.667sec Q1		20	Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1min 12.102sec Q2 (ten-place grid penalty)