F1 Qualifying Results: George Russell schools Max Verstappen as Red Bull star to start LAST at Canadian GP

George Russell took a stunning pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix, knocking Max Verstappen off the top spot in the pair's first competitive action since their infamous clash in Barcelona.

The other major story of the session was the struggles of the previously dominant McLarens, with Oscar Piastri set to start third and Lando Norris all the way down in seventh after a mistake-riddled final session.

READ MORE: Ferrari star triggers red flag with crash at Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton's resurgent weekend continued with his joint-best qualifying result of the season, while lower down the field Yuki Tsunoda's Q2 exit combined with his ten-place grid penalty mean that he'll start plumb last on the grid.

Carlos Sainz and home star Lance Stroll were both knocked out in that first period, the first being heavily impeded by Isack Hadjar on his final flying lap, which will almost certainly see the Racing Bulls star demoted three places.

Q1 was red flagged with five and a half minutes remaining when the engine cover of Alex Albon's car blew off down the straight approaching the end of the lap, leaving debris all over the track.

That was one of the more bizarre red flag incidents in recent years, and left Williams mechanics scrambling to fix his car in a successful attempt to get him back out on the track and through to Q2.

F1 Qualifying Results: Canadian Grand Prix 2025

How does F1 Qualifying work?

The qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Sunday's race.

The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.

Then, Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.

F1 HEADLINES: Max Verstappen in heated exchange as F1 star ruled out of Canadian GP session