The feud between George Russell and four-time reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen could continue at the Canadian Grand Prix after the two locked up the front row in Saturday qualifying.
Russell of Mercedes won the pole for the sixth time in his F1 career with a lap of 1 minute, 10.899 seconds to best Verstappen of Red Bull, who was .160 seconds behind.
Russell also won the pole in Montreal last year but finished third as Verstappen won the race.
The two have sparred on-track frequently over the last few seasons and it happened again last weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix, where Verstappen made contact with Russell that shoved Russell off course. The maneuver earned Verstappen three penalty points and put him just one point away from a one-race suspension.
Verstappen ultimately said his actions were inappropriate, an admission that shocked Russell, who believes the champion is a dirty driver. Verstappen in Montreal vowed not to change his aggressive driving style despite staring down a possible race suspension.
“We're mates, it's all good,” Russell joked. “I've got a few more points on my license to play with.”
Russell's comments were clearly playing to the crowd at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where they roared with laughter as he mocked Verstappen's penalty situation. He later said in the post-qualifying news conference that he doesn't expect any problems Sunday.
“We’re both fighting for the win here, and neither of us are really in a championship battle,” he said. “I haven’t had a win this year, so I want to get one on the board. Time will tell.”
Verstappen, for his part, was completely over the entire saga.
“I don’t need to hear it again. It’s really pissing me off,” he said. “I mean, you were speaking about it on Thursday. It’s such a waste of time. It’s very childish. So, that’s why I also don’t want to say too much because it’s really annoying, this world that we live in.”
Russell backed Verstappen up a bit.
“I don’t think any driver goes out looking to crash into somebody and get penalty points on your license. Max is one of the best drivers. There’s no reason for him to race any differently, and I’m not sitting here thinking he’s going to give us more room,” Russell said. "If anything, probably the opposite to try and prove a point.
“So I’ll be keeping an eye, but ultimately, we’re all here to win. You’re not going to do something that’s going to jeopardize yourself from the race. It’s a busy season as well. If you get a race ban, you get a race ban and spend some time at home. It’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world.”
The qualifying results were a bit of a surprise considering the season-long domination of McLaren, including driver championship leader Oscar Piastri. But he qualified third, while teammate Lando Norris was seventh.
The duo has combined to win seven of nine races this season and are 1-2 in the championship standings. Verstappen, who has indicated he believes his hopes for a fifth consecutive title are fading, has won twice.
Piastri said he was satisfied with third.
“After how practice went I'm pretty happy at the moment,” he said. “It was a nice turnaround. I'm pretty happy with third, which is a bit different this year.”
Kimi Antonelli, Russell's teammate at Mercedes, qualified fourth and was followed by Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari and Fernando Alonso in his best qualifying effort of the season for Aston Martin.
After Norris in seventh was Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls, and Alex Albon of Williams.
Albon was involved in a bizarre incident in the first qualifying group when his engine cover inexplicably blew off his Williams and littered the track with debris. It brought out a red flag but didn't prevent him from advancing to the next round.
His teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr., wasn't as fortunate and was eliminated in the first round.
Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, qualified 11th but received a 10-place grid infraction and two penalty points for passing Piastri under the red flag in Saturday's earlier practice session.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
