George Russell fires penalty dig at Max Verstappen after stealing Canada pole

George Russell has aimed a dig at Max Verstappen's penalty points situation after stealing Canadian Grand Prix pole at the death. 

After the first runs in Q3, Russell was third, 0.268s behind Verstappen's benchmark time of a 1:11.248. 

On the second run, on the medium C5 tyres, he posted a 1:10.899, the only driver to break under 71s, with Verstappen 0.160s slower as they share the front-row for the second year. 

It is also the first time Russell has taken pole position at the same circuit, following on from his 2024 pole in the fastest Montreal pole since Sebastian Vettel's 1:10.240 in 2019. 

Reflecting, Russell made light of Verstappen's precarious penalty points situation after the world champion moved to the cusp of a race ban in Barcelona. 

"I mean, that last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life, because on my steering wheel, on the delta, I just saw every corner, I was going a tenth quicker, a tenth quicker," Russell explained.

"I got into the last corner and was six-tenths up and I was like: 'Alright, this is the lap' and P1 was a real surprise."

When questioned about Verstappen's penalty point situation, being on 11 with one more needed for a ban following their Spanish GP collision, Russell dryly noted that "I've got a few more points on my licence to play with" - drawing cheers from the crowd.