George Russell was not too worried about Max Verstappen knowing he had a fast car in F1 Canadian GP, as Toto Wolff adds on performance and fight.
The medium tyre gamble worked for Mercedes’ Russell in F1 Canadian GP to hand him pole ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. It was crucial result which set up his win on Sunday. The talks going into the grand prix was all about Lap 1 and Turn 1, but the Brit was not pulled too much into it.
The high temperature did created a bit of tension in the minds of Russell, but he was pleased that Mercedes could hang on well, along with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who ended up third. “Yeah, it’s been great to get the win and seeing Kimi up here as well on the podium,” he said. “Really, really pleased for him. And, you know, as a team, we’ve been performing so well this year.
“Up until the last triple header, we’d maximized every single race weekend, whether, you know, that was the P2 in Bahrain or the other podiums we had. But coming into Canada, we knew we did have the potential to fight for pole and for the race win, and, ultimately, it came down to that quali lap. There was obviously not much movement in terms of positions shuffling around but really pleased with the job.
“I was [surprised by pace], to be honest. There wasn’t much tyre overheating even though it was hot. It’s a very smooth tarmac here in Canada. There are quite low speed corners, so the tyres aren’t under much stress. I think we expected a bit more tyre overheating considering the track temperature, but we’re under no illusions that this really suited the strengths of our car the same way as it did last year.
“But for the majority of the circuits, we know it’s a bit of a challenge, and that’s why this is the first weekend both of us are on the podium. But it’s great to see that when we get that chance, we take it,” summed up Russell, who elaborated on the build-up about his tussle with Verstappen, where the Brit wasn’t too focused onto, since he had to watch out for competition from elsewhere too.
“To be honest, for the last couple of weeks, obviously, there’s lots of noise going on, after what happened in Spain as well,” continued Russell. “But from my side, you put it to one side, and you know that if you make a good start, you get into a groove. I knew I had potentially the fastest car, you’ve got to dial into that and put all of the additional noise to one side.
“And, of course, it was a bit challenging at points when you had Charles and Lando on the offset strategy, and they were kind of getting in our way. But as soon as I had clear air, I could comfortably pull the gap out. It wasn’t dead easy, but I felt confident in myself and the car. I was keeping a close eye on how Kimi was getting on, and on the TVs, and seeing Lando and Oscar closing down.
“But, no, it was a good day, and I feel proud of myself, feel proud of the team, especially after this time 12 months ago when it was a victory lost,” summed up Russell, acknowledging the lost win last year against Verstappen and Lando Norris in a dry/wet grand prix.
Team boss Wolff too didn’t bother to think as much of the fight between Russell and Verstappen. “I think we always…these two guys sat in go-karts and racing cars for more than 10 years and have fought each other and have known each other off the track as well,” he said to media. “And I think they are very civilized when they see each other. It’s just on track, it’s a fierce battle.
“Different characters, different personalities. And I don’t think that is particularly different going into the first corner, whether there’s Max’s side or George’s side, you just want to come out of it,” summed up Wolff, who elaborated a bit on their performance pull in hotter conditions, which usually isn’t the case with Mercedes in the past year or so.
Wolff noted about the Imola suspension update that they didn’t use then, but brought it back for Canada which helped along with the track layout. “Well, I thought it’s when I’m wearing a pullover, there’s some kind of correlation with our performances, because that means it’s cold,” he said. “And 50 degrees track temperature, and we’ve been dominant.
“We’ve had some things changing on the car, we have a new rear suspension. I’m really happy how the team has managed that, the trackside team, and also back at the factory how these things have been coming onto the car. But I guess you need to look at the track layout. Montreal was always good to us.
“It lacks the typical high-speed corners where we suffer more in the heat. That’s one, and number two is quite a smooth asphalt here, which is less abrasive and therefore less damaging to our car that suffers from rear tyre degradation and overheating,” summed up Wolff.
Here’s moment between the two: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2025-canadian-gp-safety-car-moment-that-saw-red-bull-protest-russells-win.1835039070590207064
Here’s Red Bull on George Russell protest
Here’s how F1 Canadian GP panned out