F1 rivals confident of beating Max Verstappen in Canada: top three qualifying verdict

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Montreal, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Canadian GP Qualifying

Top three qualifying verdict: Rivals confident of beating Verstappen

Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix was full of shocks

Rhys Thomas

Saturday 8 June 2024 23:56

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George Russell believes he can beat Max Verstappen in Sunday's race after taking his second ever pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen and Russell could not be separated, setting identical lap times to the millisecond, but the Brit set his lap first and therefore takes top spot.

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Lando Norris was just hundredths of a second behind in third, and is also excited about his race-day prospects. The dramatic end to Q3 capped a qualifying session full of drama.

Sergio Perez, who has recently signed a new two-year contract at Red Bull, was dumped out in Q1 for the second weekend in a row before both Ferraris made untimely exits in Q2.

Here's what the top three drivers had to say after a chaotic and drama-fuelled qualifying in Montreal.

George Russell

"Amazing. It feels so good," the Brit said of his first pole since his maiden one in Hungary in 2022.

"So much hard work at the factory has gone into this and we said it in Monaco, [that] we hope this is the start of something for our season, and I think it is.

"I've missed this feeling. [I'm] excited for tomorrow. First step done, but now obviously we've got our eyes on that win."

To take that victory, Russell will need to keep Verstappen behind, but the Mercedes driver feels confident that he can.

"Why not? Of course. Let's go for it. The car has been feeling amazing since we brought some upgrades to Monaco, we have really been in that fight now. So we're going for it tomorrow."

Max Verstappen

Verstappen did not have much running in practice and Red Bull changed his engine after a fault in FP2, so was satisfied with the front row.

"It is how it is, right? I think overall we still had a good qualifying. The whole weekend has been still a bit tricky for us, but to be P2, I’d take it.

"Going into qualifying I would have definitely taken that. So that it was that close at the end makes it really exciting for tomorrow as well.

"I felt good in Monaco but it was just not our track, it was not happening for us. This weekend again we didn’t have a great build up to today.

"But I think it will be quite an interesting race with the tyres tomorrow, how they are going to fare. The weather as well – it keeps on coming in and out, the rain. So, hopefully it will be very exciting."

Lando Norris

Norris' best lap was just 0.021 seconds away from pole, and the McLaren driver seemed please with his effort despite missing out.

"First of all, congrats to Mr Russell. He has been quick all weekend, so congrats to him and Mercedes.

"But I'm happy with third. When it's so close you always think 'could I have, like, jumped in the car for that little bit more?' But third is a good job by us. So I'm happy and excited for tomorrow."

Sunday could provide an opportunity for Norris to take his second win of the season, especially if rain comes into play.

On the weather and other challenges at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he said: "That's Montreal, that's why we love it here. It's one of the best places to come to every year.

"A lot of the time you're thinking you are going to crash, but when you put a nice lap in and end up top three it's always a nice feeling."