Russell edges Antonelli to claim Canada pole 'out of nowhere'

George Russell beat Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with the very last lap of the qualifying session.

Russell, who won the sprint race earlier on Saturday, was on the back foot after aborting his first lap.

But a final run on which he did two flying laps enabled him to pip Antonelli by 0.068 seconds and Russell whooped with delight on the radio after realising he had secured pole.

"It is the most exhilarating feeling in the world when it comes at the last minute out of nowhere," he said over the radio.

Antonelli had looked set to beat his team-mate when he eclipsed the time set by McLaren's Lando Norris on the Briton's first run, with Russell's first lap on his final run good enough only for third.

But Russell had planned for two laps and he did the business on his second one.

He said: "There are times when you expect to be on pole and every lap is the quickest, but the times when it comes together at the end are the sweetest.

"The car was out of sync, out of balance [for much of the session]. I knew I needed a big lap and on my preparation lap I saw Kimi on the TV screen going purple [fastest] and I was like, right, I need to bring something big here."

Antonelli said: "It was very difficult to get the tyres in the right window. It was a pity to miss out by such a small amount but George did a great lap."

Norris was also in the fight for pole, and set what before Russell's final run was the fastest middle sector as he tried to grasp top spot back from Antonelli.

But the world champion fell 0.083secs short of the Italian's mark, before Russell raised the bar again.

"It was such a challenging session but to do it on the very last lap was epic," said Russell, explaining that the team had made some changes to the car for qualifying with a view to predicted wet weather on Sunday.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest, ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, separated from his team-mate Charles Leclerc by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.

Hamilton had been second fastest after the first runs, when Russell did not set a time, and said he felt he could have been third but he "didn't get the last lap". He did not say why.

Hamilton faced an investigation on charges of impeding Alpine's Pierre Gasly in the first part of qualifying, but no action was taken by officials after the Frenchman said he did not consider the Briton's driving to have impeded him.

Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad and Alpine's Franco Colapinto completed the top 10.

Russell ended a run of three successive pole positions for team-mate Antonelli by pipping him in Montreal.

The 28-year-old, who himself claimed pole at the opening race of the year in Australia, likened his last-gasp lap to "scoring a goal in football".

"That adrenaline is like nothing else I can imagine," he said. "It's like scoring a goal in football, where you know you're building up to it and then you achieve it and all that adrenaline comes out.

"It didn't feel like the pole was on the cards and while it's not important for a championship or anything, it was just such a great feeling because I did a really great lap.

"It all was hooked up together - I crossed the line, I see my name's going to the top of the leaderboard and I knew that was pole, and that rush of adrenaline within the space of 10 seconds is what we will live for."

Russell clashed with his team-mate during the sprint race earlier on Saturday, with Antonelli saying they "were both lucky not to crash" as a result.

Antonelli also complained about Russell's driving over the team radio - but was told by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to stop "moaning".

However, after qualifying both drivers described the situation as "all good" after discussions had taken place.

"We've had a good chat since this morning," said Russell. "We're both racing drivers, we both know what to do, we both respect one another, so we'll go racing."

Sunday's race will begin at 21:00 BST, with possible rain forecast.