Marko outlines why Russell's pole wont'affect Verstappen at all despite P2 in qualifying

After a thrilling conclusion to the qualifying for the Grand Prix of Canada, Russell managed to outperform the Dutchman and claim pole position, the first of this season for him and Mercedes (not considering Kimi Antonelli's sprint pole in Miami).

Verstappen will start from second place, but according to Helmut Marko, that will not represent much of an issue as the target is clear.

"We're very satisfied," he stresses on ServusTV. "If we are looking at the long runs, Mercedes seemed significantly worse off in terms of tire wear."

According to the Austrian, Verstappen could easily replicate what he did last year—when he also started second, once again behind his fiercest rival: "Last year, he also started from second place and that worked out well''.

Elaborating more on the tire choices for the race, Marko added: "It was quite exciting, so we kept both tires to see what would work."