Verstappen happy to take P2 in close qualifying on ‘tricky’ Canada weekend as he predicts ‘very exciting’ race

Max Verstappen was pleased with his P2 result in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix despite narrowly missing out on pole position after setting the exact same time as George Russell, who took P1 after putting his lap on the board first.

It had not been an entirely straightforward build-up to the session for Verstappen; while mixed weather conditions resulted in limited running for most of the field on Friday, the Dutchman’s mileage was curtailed further by an ERS issue on his Red Bull in FP2.

READ MORE: Russell clinches pole position in Canada with identical time to Verstappen in closely-fought qualifying

Despite getting more track time in FP3, Verstappen complained of issues with his steering. As such, the world champion was relieved to enjoy a positive qualifying session.

When asked after jumping out of the car if the dead heat with Russell had been frustrating, Verstappen responded: “Ah, that’s how it is, right? I think overall we still had a good qualifying. I mean, the whole weekend has been still a bit tricky for us, but to be P2, I take it.

“Going into qualifying, I would have definitely taken that, so that it was that close makes it really exciting for tomorrow as well.”

Verstappen faced a challenging weekend last time out in Monaco ending the event in P6.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the qualifying action in Canada as Russell grabs pole and Ferrari suffer shock double Q2 exit

Reflecting on whether Red Bull were back to their usual form in Montreal, he commented: “I mean I felt good in Monaco but it was just not our track, it was not happening for us.

“This weekend again we didn’t have a great build-up to today. I think it will be quite an interesting race with the tyres tomorrow, how they’re going to fair. The weather as well, it keeps on coming in and out the rain, so hopefully it will be very exciting.”

In terms of his plan of attack come race day at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Verstappen was coy about how he might approach the event.

“I don’t know. We’ll think about it,” the 26-year-old added. “I’m not that stressed about it.”

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Canadian GP as Russell takes pole