Verstappen v Russell Part II and Tsunoda fighting through from the back – What To Watch For in the Canadian GP

From a new rivalry getting another round to a far more longstanding one rekindled in the top six and from Franco Colapinto’s chance of points to the championship picture between the McLaren drivers, here are five things to look out for as we go racing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve …

1 Russell v Verstappen Part II

Two weeks ago, George Russell and Max Verstappen were central to the biggest talking point coming out of the Spanish Grand Prix. The pair had a controversial clash in Barcelona that earned Verstappen a time penalty and three penalty points on his licence and now they will line-up alongside each other again.

But this time, it’s on the front row.

Russell knows that Verstappen is at risk of a one-race suspension as he sits on 11 penalty points, with the Mercedes driver joking "I’ve got a few more points on my licence to play with!" after securing pole position in Montreal.

Verstappen, meanwhile, was not in the mood to discuss the situation, saying the topic was “really p****ing me off” when asked about it in the post-Qualifying press conference.

The defending champion said on Thursday he would not change his approach to racing as he trusts in his instincts but Russell clearly believes he can afford to be a little more aggressive against Verstappen this weekend if needed given the penalty points situation. It has all the ingredients of a blockbuster battle.

2 Piastri with a big chance to extend his lead

The driver with the best view of the Russell v Verstappen fight on Sunday afternoon will be Oscar Piastri, with the championship leader lining up in third place. It’s the first time a McLaren has not qualified on the front row for a Grand Prix this season but Piastri is actually in a very strong position when he looks at the bigger picture.

Whatever happens with the front two, Piastri in third has three cars between himself and his closest rival in the title race, with Lando Norris starting from seventh after a disappointing Q3. Norris needs to get past a Mercedes, a Ferrari and an Aston Martin to be able to challenge his teammate – and that’s assuming Piastri himself hasn’t made progress.

Heading into the race, Piastri has a 10-point advantage over Norris in the standings and the starting grid provides him with a good opportunity to open up an even bigger gap.

But the last time Norris wasn’t on the front row was Imola – where he was fourth on the grid and Piastri started from pole – and yet Norris managed to outscore the Australian as he overtook him late on to finish second.

3 Hamilton and Alonso renewing their rivalry

The combined age of the third row of the grid is 83 years old. Some 18 years ago – just one year after Kimi Antonelli was born – Lewis Hamilton took the first of his 105 F1 victories right here in Montreal, in a rookie season when he was paired with double world champion Fernando Alonso. The pair had a fierce rivalry that season – and at times in the following years too – and remain on the grid as the two most experienced drivers the sport has ever seen.

While they have great respect for each other, there remains that little extra edge to the on-track battles between the two, and there could be a big result on offer on Sunday that means there will be no inch given from either side if they are fighting for position in the race.

For Alonso it’s a big opportunity to add to his first points of the season last time out in Barcelona, with the Spaniard having failed to get the results his performances have deserved at times this year.

In Hamilton’s case, a tough start to life at Ferrari could be brightened by a strong return, as he goes in search of his first Sunday podium in red at a track that holds such fond memories for him.

4 Colapinto hunting for his first points

At the other end of the spectrum from Hamilton and Alonso are the rookies but one of them could also be set for a highlight in Canada.

Franco Colapinto’s return to the grid with Alpine has not gone particularly smoothly so far, with the triple header proving tricky as he gets used to a new car that has been inconsistent. But as the Argentine gains experience and confidence, he was able to put himself in with a chance of a spot in Q3 on Saturday.

Although he fell slightly short in qualifying 12th, two grid penalties ahead of him – one for Isack Hadjar and another for Yuki Tsunoda – move Colapinto up to 10th on the grid and in a starting position that would yield a first point for Alpine if he can keep it all the way to the flag.

It won’t be easy for the Argentine to hold on in such a competitive midfield fight but it’s his first big opportunity since taking over the seat from Jack Doohan, and will be more valuable experience in his development either way.

5 Tsunoda fighting through

Tsunoda had been heading into Qualifying looking for a top 10 start but finds himself lining up at the back of the grid on Sunday.

The Japanese driver was handed a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking under red flags in FP3 but on this occasion it was a situation clouded by the car he was passing. Tsunoda approached Piastri – who had caused the red flag by hitting the ‘Wall of Champions’ and damaging his right rear – on the back straight towards the pit lane and opted to overtake, as Piastri was moving slowly on one side of the track.

Tsunoda told the stewards he was worried about debris from Piastri’s car but the stewards felt the Red Bull driver could have slowed and followed from a safe distance. Overtaking under red flags is not permitted, so Tsunoda was penalised.

In the end he just missed out on a spot in Q3 by under 0.1s but that means a back row start and having made up seven places from the pit lane last time out in Spain, Tsunoda will be on the charge again when the lights go out.

Russell, meanwhile, was left thrilled by what he deemed “one of the most exhilarating laps of my life” after taking pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, with the Briton hinting that he’s ready to be aggressive as he prepares to line up alongside Verstappen.

An exciting finale to Q3 at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve saw McLaren’s Piastri go quickest in the final runs before Verstappen went even faster – but Russell was the one to ultimately grab pole as he pumped in a time of 1m 10.899s, putting him 0.160s clear of Verstappen.

With the result marking the second year in a row that Russell will start from P1 on the grid in Montreal, the Mercedes driver could not hide his delight as he reflected back on his session after jumping out of the car.

“Today was awesome in front of this amazing crowd,” smiled Russell. “To be honest that last lap was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life, because on my steering wheel you've got the delta and I just saw every corner I was going one-tenth quicker, one-tenth quicker.

“I got into the last corner and I was six-tenths up and I was like, ‘this lap is mighty’ and crossing the line seeing we were P1 was a real surprise but I was so chuffed with it.”

As was the case in 2024, Russell will be joined on the front row of the grid by Verstappen – a driver that he has shared some recent history with, the pair having been involved in a collision last time out in Spain that resulted in Verstappen receiving a 10-second time penalty.

Asked about having the World Champion alongside him, Russell responded: “We're mates, so it's all good.”