Best facts and stats from Qualifying in Canada

George Russell secured his first pole position of the season in Montreal, delivering a sensational final lap in Qualifying to edge out Max Verstappen for the P1 grid slot. This achievement marked a clear advantage for Mercedes in Canada, while McLaren's Oscar Piastri qualified P3 and Lando Norris P7. The Q3 session at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve saw the fastest laps set in Montreal since 2019, highlighting the intensity of the competition. This pole position is Russell's sixth career pole and his second consecutive at this venue, an unprecedented feat for him. Max Verstappen will start second, marking his fifth front-row start this season, echoing last year's grid. Oscar Piastri secured third, though he has yet to win from this grid slot. Notably, Lewis Hamilton achieved his highest Grand Prix start for Ferrari, qualifying P5, while Fernando Alonso continued his strong Montreal performance with a P6 start. The qualifying session also saw some intriguing outcomes further down the grid. Charles Leclerc was out-qualified by Hamilton for the first time in consecutive races, while Yuki Tsunoda's P11 qualification was overshadowed by a 10-place grid penalty. The tight competition was evident in Q1, where the entire field was separated by a mere 0.841 seconds.