Max Verstappen fires accusation at George Russell as fuming Red Bull ace swears over radio

Max Verstappen raged at George Russell during Canadian Grand Prix qualifying, accusing the Mercedes driver of impeding him on purpose in Montreal. Tensions were high in a qualifying session for the ages at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and Verstappen couldn't help but produce a foul-mouthed rant over the Red Bull radio.

Russell will start Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix on pole position - the second of his F1 career - after recording the exact same time as the Dutchman in Q3.

The Brit will start ahead of Verstappen on the front row because he registered his joint-quickest lap earlier, and both were all smiles after the conclusion of an incredible session.

However, the latter was far from happy in Q2 when he thought Russell purposely got in the way during a flying lap.

Verstappen came up behind Russell, who was driving much slower, before a turn and onto a straight before overtaking him.

"**** ****, man. Just move out of the way! I bet he did that on purpose," a seething Verstappen shouted down the Red Bull team radio while driving past the Mercedes man.

The 26-year-old ended Q2 in seventh while Russell went fastest, but nothing could separate both drivers in Q3 in an extraordinary conclusion.

It's just the second time that pole position has been decided in such a manner since F1 timing went to three decimal places, following the infamous three-way tie at the Jerez 1997 title decider.

Lewis Hamilton was flying alongside his Silver Arrows partner earlier in qualifying but could only manage P7 with a disappointing final lap.

Lando Norris will start Sunday's race in P3, with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri joining him on the second row.

It was an impressive qualifying session for RB, with Daniel Ricciardo sitting in P5 and Yuki Tsunoda in P8.

Aston Martin also had both drivers in Q3, with Fernando Alonso in P7 and Lance Stroll in P9. Williams' Alex Albon makes up the top 10.

On the other end of the spectrum, it was a disastrous session for Ferrari. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz suffered eliminations in Q2.

Sergio Perez endured an even worse day, crashing out in Q1 for the second successive race days after signing a new contract at Red Bull.

But Russell's second career pole is the headline of the day. Six of the last seven pole sitters have gone on to win the Canadian Grand Prix.

He will have to produce one of the drives of his career to fend off Verstappen, though, with plenty of race pace close on his trail.