Russell is 'ready to go to battle' against Verstappen in Canada
F1 News
George Russell will start on pole position for Sunday's Grand Prix in Canada. The British driver set the same lap time as Max Verstappen during Sunday's qualifying, but will take the front position on the grid.
'Eyes set on victory'
Speaking at Sunday's drivers parade, Russell shared his outlook for the race: "It's been a long time coming for us and a lot of hard work to try and make it happen, so happy and proud of a team to achieve that result. Yesterday, it was so close, but we've got our eyes set on victory this afternoon and we're waiting for the rain to come down and see how that affects things," he shared.
The weekend has been affected with the rain, especially on Friday when a heavy hail storm fell before FP1. The weather is predicted to take a turn during Sunday's race too. "It is a great track to drive around, it always offers good racing," the Mercedes driver said. "I think the biggest challenge for everyone is predicting the weather. The weather's quite nice, now it looks dry, I think it's going to rain shortly. It'll probably dry up again and then there will be some more rain after."
Russell will be looking to convert his pole position to a win, which would be the first for both him and Mercedes since 2022. Nevertheless, the driver has confidence in his car to do just that, and take on Max Verstappen who starts in second: "I feel really comfortable. I feel confident and ready to go to battle was our choice."