F1 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying results, starting grid: Russell shocks, penalties shake up the order

Is the soft tire quickest? Not this weekend in Montreal.

George Russell took pole for the second consecutive year in Canada, beating out rival Max Verstappen, both of whom ran mediums on their final flying lap.

Lando Norris will have some work to do after a brutal Q3 session, while Fernando Alonso put in a great final lap.

Q1 Session

Although not part of the session itself, some big news was handed down as the minutes ticked down in relation to a penalty from the final practice session

Yuki Tsunoda, already struggling mightily since coming to Red Bull, got hit with a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking under red flags.

The stewards decided that Tsunoda should not have gone by the damaged, but still moving, car of Oscar Piastri after hitting the wall. They said there was "no justifiable reason" for the overtake.

The session came to a halt with 5:30 left when Alex Albon's engine cover inexplicably came flying off in the final sector of a lap.

Despite the bizarre occurrence, Albon was able to advance. The same could not be said for teammate Carlos Sainz, who was knocked out due to a massive impeding incident with Isack Hadjar.

Lance Stroll put in a lackluster return effort in front of his home fans, while typically strong qualifier Pierre Gasly was slowest.

Q2 Session

There weren't any particularly notable incident during the middle quali session.

Tsunoda's 11th-place effort means that he will start last. Haas were as ways off at the bottom of Q2, while Franco Colapinto found a solid lap to go 12th (and at least one penalty should push him ahead more).

Q3 Session

Lando Norris had to cut the final chicane on his final lap, putting him on the back foot for pole. He was fifth going into the final runs, with Verstappen at the top of the table.

On the final run, Norris couldn't pull anything worth writing home about, so the fight for the top was between Verstappen, Piastri and Russell.

Russell and Verstappen opted for the mediums, which clearly ended up being the fastest tire. Verstappen put himself into the top spot for a moment, but Russell beat him out by over a tenth and a half.

Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying Results/Starting Grid