This is how the starting grid of the 2024 Canadian GP looks

Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix brought great drama and shock exits as the Circuit Gille Villeneuve proved a tough track to master. Mercedes’ George Russell takes pole position, followed by Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

There was a high chance of rain for much of Saturday in Montreal, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over the qualifying sessions. The first big-name victim of the tricky condition was Red Bull’s Sergio Peres, who was edged out during the first round of qualifying.

The Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz also struggled and find themselves starting on the sixth row of the grid for Sunday’s race. Esteban Ocon will start towards the back of the pack after being knocked out in the first round of qualifying and carrying a penalty due to a collision with Pierre Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Can Mercedes continue strong form in Montreal?

The last few years have been a rollercoaster for Mercedes as the team’s engineers battle with new restrictions to keep the car competitive. After an eight-year spell of dominance a raft of new rules, introduced in 2022, brought that success to a halt and left its drivers unable to compete.

However the team have improved the cars greatly since the Miami Grand Prix and now look to have the fastest on the track.

“It’s sort of come from nowhere,” Russell admitted, when asked about the remarkable turnaround in fortunes. “But maybe not a surprise with the upgrades we’ve been bringing.”

“Last year, we had a lot of oversteer and we’ve sort of been just trying to find the halfway house between what we had last year and what we had this year,” he continued. “And it feels like we’re sort of dialling in that sweet spot right now. So it feels like something we’ve been saying for a long time, in all honesty. But you know, just really a sense of relief to actually see it translate into a pole position.”