UPDATE 1-Motor racing-Russell snatches Canada GP pole from Mercedes teammate Antonelli

George Russell snatched pole ‌position from ​Formula One championship-leading Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli with a last-gasp lap at the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday. Russell, winner of the day's earlier sprint race from ‌pole, crossed the line 0.068 of a second faster than the Italian right at the end of the session after the 19-year-old had gone quicker than everyone else.

George Russell snatched pole ‌position from ​Formula One championship-leading Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli with a last-gasp lap at the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday.

Russell, winner of the day's earlier sprint race from ‌pole, crossed the line 0.068 of a second faster than the Italian right at the end of the session after the 19-year-old had gone quicker than everyone else. "That is the most exhilarating feeling in the world when it comes last ‌minute out of nowhere," the Briton said on the team radio after a shriek of joy. "We made that a ‌bit tricky..."

McLaren's Lando Norris, the reigning champion, will start in third place on Sunday with Australian teammate Oscar Piastri alongside for what could be a wet race. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth with Red Bull's Max Verstappen sixth.

The pole was a third in a row in Canada ⁠for Russell, ​who converted the position ⁠into victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last year. It had not looked at all like a given minutes earlier when Russell aborted his ⁠first attempt and was still to set a time with six minutes to go.

Russell had not figured in the top three in ​the two previous qualifying phases, with Antonelli -- winner of the last three grands prix and 18 points ⁠clear of Russell in the standings -- top in Q1 and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar fastest in Q2. "That last lap came from nowhere. It was ⁠such ​a great feeling when it was such a challenging session and you pull it all together on that last lap to throw yourselves up the leaderboard is epic," said the Mercedes driver.

"Kimi was more competitive than ⁠I and we weren't as clear ahead of everyone else as yesterday, so it was a challenge but I ⁠redialled my driving and put ⁠it together." Hadjar will start seventh alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth with Alpine's Franco Colapinto, finally finding some form after a breakthrough weekend ‌in Miami, will ‌start 10th.