Why will George Russell start in pole position in the Canadian GP if he had the same time as Verstappen?

The 2024 Canadian GP appears set to be affected by thunderstorms and heavy rain but Mercedes F1 fans will be hoping that adverse weather will not impact on George Russell’s attempt to secure top billing on the podium.

Russell put Mercedes on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix by the smallest of margins on Saturday after setting exactly the same time as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Triple Formula One world champion Verstappen missed out on pole because he set his time of one minute 12.000 seconds after his British rival in a drama-filled qualifying session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Mercedes signalled they were going to be a threat for pole earlier on Saturday when Lewis Hamilton, a seven-times winner in Canada, posted the top time in final practice with Russell close behind in third.

Mercedes looking to maintain strong form in Canada

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.”