Russell steals Canadian GP pole in epic three-car battle

The Mercedes driver finished 0.160s ahead of Verstappen, taking the top spot in the dying seconds to claim his sixth career pole position.

“That last lap was one of the most exhilarating laps of my life,” Russell said after the session. “Crossing the line to see we were P1 was a real surprise. I’m quite chuffed with it.”

Verstappen himself looked to have stolen pole in the closing moments, after Piastri put in a stunning final sector to take provisional pole from the Dutchman.

It was a great recovery by Piastri after his dramas in FP3 earlier in the day, with the championship leader saying he was happy with the result.

“To be honest with how practice went, I’m pretty happy with myself to be honest,” Piastri said. “I’m pretty happy with third, which is a bit different here, but I’ll definitely take it.”

The top three were separated by only two tenths, with Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli a further two tenths back in fourth.

Lewis Hamilton outqualified teammate Charles Leclerc for the second consecutive race and will line up fifth on the grid, ahead of the impressive Fernando Alonso in sixth.

Lando Norris will be disappointed with seventh, with the British driver running wide at the final chicane on his first run in Q3 and unable to find the pace to challenge for pole.

Leclerc qualified eighth, ahead of Isack Hadjar, who will drop three places on the grid for Sunday’s race after being found guilty of impeding Carlos Sainz during Q1. Sainz’s teammate, Alexander Albon, qualified tenth but will now start ninth.

Yuki Tsunoda was unable to get out of Q2 for the fourth consecutive race, finishing 11th. However, the Japanese driver will start last on the grid after receiving a 10-place penalty for overtaking Piastri under red flags during FP3 earlier in the day.

Franco Colapinto will move up two spots due to the grid penalties for Hadjar and Tsunoda, after initially qualifying 12th — his best start for Alpine since replacing Jack Doohan — and the first time he has outqualified his teammate, Pierre Gasly.

Spanish Grand Prix hero Nico Hulkenberg joined Colapinto and Tsunoda in being eliminated in Q2, finishing 13th, just ahead of the Haas pair of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon.

Q1 was red-flagged with five minutes remaining after a bizarre incident involving Albon’s Williams.

As he was driving down the back straight approaching the final chicane, a large piece of his FW47’s engine cover shattered, scattering debris across the track.

The Thai driver managed to return to the pits and have his car repaired in time to get back out and avoid early elimination.

His teammate, Sainz, however, wasn’t so lucky. The Spaniard managed only 17th in Q1 after being impeded by Hadjar on his final run.

Also eliminated in Q1 were Gabriel Bortoleto, home favourite Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson, and Gasly.

A frustrated Lawson bemoaned his exit over the radio at the end of the session, marking his worst qualifying result since the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Canadian Grand Prix starts at 2pm local time tomorrow (4am AEST).