Mercedes’ George Russell takes pole for F1 sprint race at Canadian Grand Prix
George Russell took the pole Friday for the sprint race Saturday at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Mercedes teammate and Formula 1 points leader Kimi Antonelli second on the starting grid. Russell, set to defend his Montreal title Sunday, had a fast lap of 1 minute, 12.965 seconds in qualifying for the first sprint race in Montreal.
MONTREAL (AP) — George Russell took the pole Friday for the sprint race Saturday at the Canadian Grand Prix , with Mercedes teammate and Formula 1 points leader Kimi Antonelli second on the starting grid. Russell, set to defend his Montreal title Sunday, had a fast lap of 1 minute, 12. 965 seconds in qualifying for the first sprint race in Montreal.
The 28-year-old English driver is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix . “I never doubted myself. I knew what I can do,” Russell said.
“Miami was obviously a bit unique. This is an amazing circuit here, high grip, feels like you’re driving a proper Formula 1 car around here, which is how it should be and I’m glad today it came together. ” F1 introduced sprints in 2021.
The shortened races cover roughly 60 miles (100 kilometers), about a third of the distance of a Grand Prix event, for a maximum of eight points. A Grand Prix victory is worth 25. Russell edged Antonelli by 0.