George Russell, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, won pole in the Canadian Grand Prix qualifying, much to Lewis’s disappointment.
George Russell’s second career pole position ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix was quickly confirmed by Lewis Hamilton, who congratulated his teammate from Mercedes. After qualifying in Montreal, Hamilton looked frustrated despite his strong pace; he only managed to secure P7 on the grid.
The seven-time world champion appeared ready to move up to the front of the pack with Russell following some impressive laps earlier in the session.
At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he was three rows behind his Silver Arrows partner despite his best lap in Q3 being less than three tenths off the pole.
Russell’s best Q3 time of 1:12.000 was equaled by Max Verstappen, but since Russell recorded his time later in the session, the Red Bull driver would start the race ahead of Verstappen on Sunday.
Hamilton also made sure to congratulate his British teammate on a strong qualifying session, even though he was disappointed.
“Let me start by congratulating George on a job well done. After the practice, a visibly disappointed Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 that “it’s really great for the team.”
“This will be a huge boost for everyone back at the factory, as everyone has obviously worked so hard to bring upgrades back.”
“All weekend long, the car felt fantastic, but as soon as we entered qualifying, that kind of disappeared for me. For me, the grip just vanishes.
“I had a lot of pace in me during P3 [practice 3], but when I get to qualifying, the tires aren’t working.” The car had not undergone any changes.
Since the beginning of the season, Russell has now outqualified Hamilton in eight of the nine race weekends, solidifying his position as Mercedes’ top driver.
Twelve points more than Hamilton, who is set to depart Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of 2024, he leads the Drivers’ Championship standings with 54 points.
There was hope that Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s dominance was waning after an exciting qualifying session in Montreal, which set the stage for an exciting rest of the season.
Lando Norris trailed Russell and Verstappen by a mere 0.021 seconds. Daniel Ricciardo of RB and Oscar Piastri of McLaren, both of whom finished less than two tenths behind, were also not far behind.
Hamilton lost out to Fernando Alonso in P6 (0.228), but the Grand Prix should be exciting and unpredictable due to the close competition among the top seven qualifiers.
Russell just needs to keep up with the current world champion on the front row, and Hamilton will try to keep up his pace and regain some grip on the track on Sunday.
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