George Russell stormed to pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix to set up a blockbuster front row with Red Bull's Max Verstappen for Sunday's race. 

Russell left it until the very last moment to beat Verstappen by 0.160 seconds to grab the fastest time just moments after the Dutchman had taken it away from Oscar Piastri. 

Championship leader Piastri will start the race in third, but his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris struggled, only managing seventh place in what was a hit to his world title hopes. 

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli took fourth ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, his best qualifying result since moving to the Scuderia, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso claiming sixth.

Charles Leclerc, Isack Hadjar and Alex Albon, who lost his engine cover in the first qualifying session, rounded out the top 10, but the day belonged to Mercedes and Russell. 

GEORGE TAKES POLE IN CANADA!!! pic.twitter.com/oA2COWEu8f

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 14, 2025

The result saw Russell claim the sixth pole of his career while also starting at the front of the grid for the second consecutive year at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. 

And, with Verstappen in second, it set up a battle into the first corner between the two drivers just one race after their controversial incident at the Spanish Grand Prix. 

Verstappen was penalised 10 seconds and given three points on his super licence after colliding with Russell late in the race and is one point away from a race ban. 

Russell jokingly referenced this in his post-qualifying interview, saying: "We're mates, so it's all good. I have a few more points on my licence to play with, so let's see."

"Today was awesome," Russell said shortly after clinching Mercedes' first pole position of the season. 

"That last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life because on my steering wheel you have the delta, and I was seeing every corner I was one tenth quicker. 

"I got into the last corner, and I was six tenths up, so I was like 'this lap is mighty'. Crossing the line and seeing we were P1 was a real surprise, but I was so chuffed with it."

Piastri, who headed into the weekend 10 points clear in the drivers' championship ahead of Norris, insisted he was happy with third place after struggling in the final practice. 

In the third practice session where Norris topped the timesheets, Piastri hit Montreal's wall of champions, but he was confident of his chances on Sunday. 

"To be honest, after how practice went I'm pretty happy with myself at the moment, it was a nice turnaround," Piastri said. 

"There's always the question, do you want a medium [tyre] or do you want a soft [tyre] for Q3.

"We went with the soft because we were having a lot of problems, and we just wanted to keep things consistent.

"I'm pretty happy with third, which is a bit different this year, but I will definitely take it here."

Appreciating the whole team's effort #McLaren | #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/YZlnQvYPzu

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 14, 2025

Qualifying top 10

1. George Russell (Mercedes) 

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

7. Lando Norris (McLaren)

8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

9. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

10. Alex Albon (Williams)