Max Verstappen praises 'tough' Red Bull call in George Russell pole defeat

Max Verstappen praised Red Bull for nailing the "tough" call surrounding which tyres to run in the fight for pole position in the Canadian Grand Prix, despite losing to George Russell.

Verstappen had moved into provisional pole with his final Q3 lap at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but was beaten by a sensational lap by Russell.

Russell was the only driver to enter the 1m 10s, with the four-time world champion having managed a low 1m 11. Both drivers went for the medium compound rather than the C6 soft, a call which was very difficult to make. 

The Red Bull driver has felt good all weekend in Canada, and was pleased by his team's tyre decision.

"Yeah, I think I felt quite good all weekend," said Verstappen. "The car actually was in a good window. This track is quite cool. It feels a bit like a big go-kart on the kerbs. 

"And then, of course, you have the long straights, heavy braking. You need to be quite efficient on the straights, which I think we are, in general. 

"Yes, overall, I'm very happy with qualifying. I think the car was, again, working quite well. Then, of course, the tough choice is the tyres, which one to use, but I think we did the right thing."

Despite missing out on pole, Verstappen has a positive run into the first corner from second, a favourable position in Canada.

When asked if starting second is actually stronger than pole in Montreal, Verstappen replied: "I would always pick P1 just to start a little bit more forward, but it's fine. 

"We'll see what we can do tomorrow. I'm already very happy with what we achieved today to be on the front row, and hopefully tomorrow we can have a solid race."