Crushing blow for Russell: 'Even with pole he still can't drive like Verstappen'

10:27, 15 Jun

Updated: 11:09, 15 Jun

byNorberto Mujica

The world watched on and thought 'this will be a head-to-head tussle between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri for pole.' Little did anyone count on George Russell appearing out of nowhere to wrestle it off both of them. However, his stunning pole lap in Canada is still not enough to measure him against Max Verstappen, Peter Windsor notes.

Russell still lacks compared to Verstappen

Russell's pole position lap was on the limit, as the driver himself described after securing his first pole position of the year. But for Windsor the way he and Verstappen reach the limit are very much different.

"I think George is, you're always getting that feeling that he's on the absolute edge. Yes, he's he's managing it perfectly, but zero margin.''''Max doesn't leave margin, but because of the way he drives, because all his movements are softer, he by definition has a bigger sweet spot in which to operate.'"

Verstappen too gets close to the walls, but it never suscitates an "Oh" moment, and Windsore believes he knows why. "That is the difference, you will never see or feel with Max that he is driving on the edge. Of course, you see him close to the wall, but it's not a scary thing. It's never a 'WOW', it's always like: 'Oh yes, he has his car in a perfect position'. In this, he resembles Fernando Alonso a bit."

Prior to this race weekend, Verstappen was asked several questions about whether he would adjust his driving style, as he is on the verge of a suspension. The Dutchman indicated he would not do so and reacted furiously yesterday, because he was asked about it again at the press conference.

"That's the difference, and you never really see, you never get the feeling with Max that he's on the edge. Yes, you see him very close to the wall. But it's not a frightening thing, it's not a 'wow,' it's just like, 'oh yeah, he's got the car perfectly positioned.' A bit like Fernando Alonso," the Australian F1 analyst concluded.