Russell claims sprint pole as Mercedes upgrades shine in Canada

George Russell grabbed sprint pole at the Canadian Grand Prix, beating Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli by 0.068s after Mercedes brought a major upgrade that Russell credited with the strong pace. Norris and Piastri qualified on the second row for McLaren, followed by Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen and Hadjar in the top eight. Russell praised the upgrades and the high-grip Montreal track, while Antonelli described his lap as messy; Hamilton called it the best qualifying in a while and explained he skipped the simulator, and Verstappen struggled with a jumpy rear on a car that wouldn’t settle on the bumpy surface.