Formula 1 – Canadian Grand Prix race: Start time, leaderboard and lap-by-lap updates as George Russell starts on pole in Montreal

The McLaren driver, who is starting on the second row of the grid, said ‘anything is possible’ in changeable conditions.

‘With weather like this, you never know,’ he told Sky Sports on the starting grid.

On the ESPN broadcast, former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve said he stands by his critical comments about Daniel Ricciardo earlier this weekend.

‘Why’s he still in F1? Why?’ Villeneuve fumed on Sky Sports F1 on Friday.

‘We are hearing the same thing now for the last four or five years. “We have to make the car better for him.” Sorry, it’s been five years of that. No, you are in F1.’

On Sunday morning, Villeneuve conceeded that the Aussie race winner was ‘quick’ in qualifying, but emphazied ‘you’re only as good as your last few results.’

Drivers headed out on exploratory laps, testing the inters and wet tyres to assess grip levels on the track.

It’s looking quite slippery out there with puddles scattered about and plenty of spray coming off the back of the cars.

The Canadian Grand Prix will begin in one hour, and rain is the talk of the paddock in Montreal.

Ben Nagle, who is preparing to head out to the starting grid, tells us the rain has currently eased off, but it’s likely to pick back up after the lights go out.

Expect plenty of drama on the track as tyre talk dominates the afternoon.

We’ve already seen some big shunts in the support races this morning, and a safety car looks likely at some point.

Both Sauber drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, will start from the pit lane today after they made changes to the rear wing specification overnight.

George Russell said he anticipates the ‘biggest challenge’ of the day will be ‘predicting the weather.’

The Mercedes driver told F1 TV he has his ‘eyes set on victory’ after clinching P1 from reigning world champion, Max Verstappen.

However, track conditions in Canada are looking extremely changeable.

His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, also predicted it will be ‘a tricky day today for everyone.’

In case you missed yesterday’s thrilling qualifying session, George Russell is set to start P1 alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

It was a good day for McLaren, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri set to line up next to each other on the second row of the grid.

Both Ferraris failed to advance past Q2, with F1’s most recent race winner Charles Leclerc starting P11 and Carlos Sainz in P12.

Daniel Ricciardo also put in an excellent lap – 10 years after his maiden F1 victory at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He will start P5.

Welcome to Mail Sport’s live blog for the Canadian Grand Prix.

I’m Emily Selleck, my colleagues Ben Nagle and Jonathan McEvoy are trackside in Montreal, and we’re here to bring you lap-by-lap updates throughout the ninth race of the 2024 F1 season.

Lights go out in just over an hour and victory looks up for grabs today with Merecedes’ George Russell on pole and storm clouds brewing overhead.