Formula 1 live ticker: Russell starts from pole! Verstappen behind
The Canadian Grand Prix promises to be exciting. Mercedes driver George Russell heads into the tenth race of the Formula 1 season with excellent prospects for victory. McLaren disappointed in qualifying. Follow the race live.
Formula 1 leader Oscar Piastri didn't want to hear anything about the end of McLaren's dominance after the mixed qualifying in Montreal. "Our race pace is usually very strong. It certainly won't be a landslide victory for us, but we can fight," said the Australian after finishing third in qualifying. The 24-year-old, driving the traditional racing team's car, was somewhat surprisingly forced to line up behind Mercedes pole-sitter George Russell and world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
Things went even worse for World Championship runner-up Lando Norris. The Briton once again showed nerves at the crucial moment, driving the often superior car of recent months to a mere seventh place. "I had the confidence, the car was good, but I simply made too many mistakes," said the 27-year-old. Norris, too, is convinced that more is possible in the tenth race of the season on Sunday (8:00 p.m./Sky and RTL): "Our car is good, we should come back."
On Friday and Saturday, however, things went unusually poorly for the team, which leads the Constructors' Championship by almost 200 points. "We're having problems this weekend," said Piastri, who leads the overall standings by ten points, just ahead of Norris. Verstappen, in third place, is already 49 points behind. The four-time champion from the Netherlands has won in Canada in each of the past three years. Piastri and Norris have yet to win in Quebec.
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