2024 F1 Canadian GP qualifying: Top 5 Conclusions

The 2024 F1 Canadian GP qualifying saw a Mercedes resurgence, with the Brackley-based team securing its first pole position since Hungary last season, and this time around, it was George Russell who achieved it. In a surprising turn of events that saw the German team's resurgence in Canada, we had Lewis Hamilton dominating the free practice sessions.

Coming to the qualifying sessions, Mercedes confirmed the form it showed in practice, and it was George Russell who achieved pole for the team with a time that matched Max Verstappen to the last thousand of a second. The duo will be followed by the McLaren pair on the second row, with Daniel Ricciardo in P5.

In a session that had quite a few surprises, what did we learn? Let's take a look.

2024 F1 Canadian GP Qualifying: Key Takeaways

#1 George Russell gets criminally overlooked

The 2023 F1 season has just pushed George Russell back in the pecking order for quite a few pundits. A lack of a competitive car means the spotlight has gone to Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc for the most part. For George, however, he's not done anything wrong.

He continues to bring the results and is now 8-1 against Lewis in qualifying this season. It's a sign of a driver who can do some brilliant stuff in the right car, and maybe it's time he stops being overlooked.

Coming to Mercedes, whether this is a one-off or a jump to the front is a question nobody has an answer to for now, but at the F1 Canadian GP, the team is a factor for sure.

#2 Ferrari still has a few things to work on

Ferrari would be disappointed, and it should be. This was a qualifying session where things weren't perfect, and that should have hurt the team. The better result was on the table for sure, but the team couldn't achieve it.

It will be a timely reminder for Fred Vasseur that there are still chinks in the armor that need to be taken care of.

#3 Max Verstappen is dragging Red Bull to the front

At this moment, the decision to keep Sergio Perez looks like a blunder. The driver hasn't performed well. The results are not there, and the team is turning into a one-driver operation.

Max Verstappen could have scored a pole for the F1 Canadian GP, but it doesn't change the fact that Red Bull's second driver had a horrible run. The team needs to have a serious conversation within itself because Max can only take this team so far.

#4 McLaren is still there near the front

Amidst all the buzz and the hype, McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri did a brilliant job of securing the second-row start. The best thing one can do when they're not the fastest is to be as close to the front as possible.

McLaren checked that box for the F1 Canadian GP qualifying.

#5 Daniel Ricciardo needs to replicate this form every weekend

Daniel Ricciardo puffing his chest and having a few choice words for Jacques Villeneuve is understandable because of the stuff that was said about him by the Canadian. For the Australian, though, he has to replicate this form every weekend to shut the detractors up. It cannot be the case that he pulls off a miracle one week and then sleeps through the next five. The F1 Canadian GP qualifying was the Daniel Ricciardo of old, we need more of this every weekend.