Strong Saturday Nets Pole and P4 in Montreal

The team opted to run two sets of the Soft tyre in FP3, therefore carrying an allocation of three new Softs and two new Mediums into Qualifying; that would prove useful in the final reckoning.

George progressed through to Q3 serenely and had both one new set of Softs and one new Medium to play with.

Kimi meanwhile had a new Soft and a used Medium available the final segment but would still show strongly on the yellow-walled compound that ultimately proved to be the better single lap tyre.

George was the only driver to get into the 1:10s to take pole position with Kimi a few tenths back in P4.

That marks George’s sixth pole position in F1 and back-to-back poles in Canada having started P1 in the 2024 edition.

Focus now turns to tomorrow’s 70 lap Canadian Grand Prix around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

George Russell

That is the only time I’ve ever had goosebumps after a qualifying lap! I went around the first corner and was one tenth up and after that, the car just felt like it was on rails. I felt so confident pushing the limits and we ultimately went six tenths quicker than our first lap in Q3. It was pretty special and something that I will remember for a long time. Crossing the line, I felt that surely it was pole position and I’m very happy that it was!

It's a short run to turn one so hopefully we can put ourselves in a good position and go from there. We will focus on ourselves and hopefully show similar pace as to what we had on the long run in FP2. It is rarely as simple as that though, so we will have to be at our best if we want to fight for victory tomorrow.

Kimi Antonelli

That was a better Qualifying session than recent races and I felt a lot more comfortable on the Soft C6 tyre. It took a little while for me to get into the rhythm and that meant I burnt through both of my new Medium tyres before Q3. Being on the used tyre in that final segment meant I was at a slight disadvantage for my final lap. The grip began to fade away in the final sector and lost quite a bit of time. My lap wasn’t particularly great but, even with that, I ended up P4. That is not a bad starting position and hopefully we can fight at the front.

The other factor for us to consider is the weather. It has been slightly warmer than on Friday today and yet we still performed well. It may be hotter tomorrow and that will have an impact on how the tyres react. Our long run in FP2 looked competitive though and I felt good in the car. Hopefully we can show similar good pace and focus on the cars ahead.

Toto Wolff, CEO & Team Principal

That was a very good Qualifying session for us as a team. George’s lap was superb; you could see the lap time coming throughout and he did well to put it all together. There were no mistakes and, even though it has been a bit warmer today, we were right there at the end to take pole position. That is a promising sign for us, but we need to make sure we build on that and race well tomorrow.

For Kimi, he is slightly disappointed with P4 and that is a sign of just how high his standards are and the progress he has already made in his rookie season. Ultimately, he had to use his second new Medium tyre to get through to Q3 and that left him at a disadvantage for his final lap. Nevertheless, he still produced a solid effort and starting P4 tomorrow gives him every chance of fighting for the podium.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

George put together a great final lap to secure his sixth pole position. It was also a very impressive effort by Kimi to get P4 on the used Medium tyre. We knew it was going to be tight and, at different times during the weekend, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have all looked very quick on a single lap. To come away with pole position and the other car on the second row is a pleasing result therefore.

We had expected the Medium to be the best tyre today; George was quickest on it yesterday in FP2 and it was working equally well today. Unfortunately for Kimi, we'd used both Mediums on the way through to Q3 so he didn't have the benefit of a new set. He was still able to secure a solid grid position for tomorrow thankfully.

We've got a good opportunity to score big points tomorrow, but we're well aware that this can be an unpredictable race. It is also expected to be the hottest day of the weekend so far so we’re under no illusion that we're in for a tough fight. Our pace on Friday looked respectable though and we'll be doing everything we can to convert the good work from today into a great result tomorrow.

FP3 Result

Qualifying Result