Mercedes' George Russell takes pole for second straight year at Canadian GP

Mercedes driver George Russell stormed to pole position for the second consecutive year Saturday in qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Russell clocked a blistering lap of one minute 10.899 seconds around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, finishing 0.160 ahead of three-time defending Canadian GP winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

Formula One leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren (1:11.120) rounded out the top three on a sunny, 22 C afternoon in Montreal.

Piastri leads teammate Lando Norris by 10 points in the drivers' standings. Norris qualified a disappointing seventh.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was fourth, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso will start sixth. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, Racing Bull's Isack Hadjar and Williams' Alex Albon filled out the top 10.

Russell claimed his first pole this season — and sixth of his career. He and Verstappen both set identical laps last year to qualify at the front of the grid, but Russell got the edge by setting his lap first.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll — the lone Canadian on the 20-driver grid — was eliminated in the first round and is expected to start 17th. Stroll returned to racing this weekend after undergoing a minor wrist procedure and missing the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month.

Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda will start last after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for red flag infringement during the final free practice session earlier Saturday.

Star swimmer Summer McIntosh, fresh off breaking three world records in one week at the Canadian swimming trials, watched the qualifying session from the back of Red Bull's garage while decked in the team's merchandise.

Russell finished third in last year's race behind Verstappen and Norris. The pole