Russell pleased to be “back in P1” after Canada Sprint Qualifying

The Mercedes driver beat team mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.068s in Sprint Qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where Russell also won the last year's Canadian Grand Prix. It marked an important response after Antonelli had outperformed him in recent races.

“It obviously feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself. I knew what I could do,” Russell said after the session, as quoted by F1's official website.

“Miami was obviously a bit unique. This is an amazing circuit here, high-grip, feels like you’re driving a proper Formula 1 car around here which is how it should be. I’m glad today came together,” he added.

Mercedes introduced an upgraded package in Canada earlier than originally planned, including changes to the front wing and floor. The updates appeared to work immediately, with the team locking out the front row for the Sprint and finishing around three tenths ahead of Lando Norris in third place.

“It’s definitely feeling great. The team have done such a great job to bring this forward," Russell said about the upgrades.

“We obviously saw in Miami McLaren were really close and Ferrari not too far behind. On a track like this, it’s really excelling, so pleased to have it on the car. Pleased to be back in P1, it’s been a little while but obviously still big focus for tomorrow.”

Despite the strong result, Russell also admitted Mercedes still need to improve their starts, which have been one of the team’s weaknesses this season.