F1 news: Daniel Ricciardo issues perfect Villeneuve reply as Lewis Hamilton left gutted

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We will be back first thing tomorow with all the latest fallout from the Canadian Grand Prix!

George Russell said sorry to Mercedes staff despite finishing third in Canada.

After starting on pole but enduring a difficult Grand Prix, he said: "Ugly race on my behalf. Sorry for that. I'm very sorry for that."

READ MORE HERE.

Daniel Ricciardo has hit back at criticism from Jacques Villeneuve with an eighth placed finish in Canada.

But Lewis Hamilton will be dissapointed after being bettered by team-mate George Russell.

Canadian Grand Prix result:1: Max Verstappen.2. Lando Norris3: George Russell4: Lewis Hamilton5: Oscar Piastri6: Fernando Alonso7: Lance Stroll8: Daniel Ricciardo9: Pierre Gasly10: Esteban Ocon

Max Verstappen takes the chequered flag from Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton has gone to third now, behind leader Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Only 12 laps to go and Max Verstappen leads Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri is third.

Charles Leclerc has come into the garage and retired from the Grand Prix.

Lando Norris currently leads from Max Verstappen.

The safety car is out after a number of drivers took pit stops. The current standings.....

1. Max Verstappen2. George Russell3. Lando Norris4, Oscar Piastri5. Lewis Hamilton6. Fernando Alonso7. Yuki Tsunoda8. Lance Stroll

Lando Norris now heads the Candian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen is second, and George Russell third.

George Russell has stayed ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris after the start.

Cars are sliding around though, hold onto your hats...

Charles Leclerc is targeting a podium at the Canadian Grand Prix. The reigning race winner is starting from 11th on the grid following a miserable qualifying session for Ferrari.

It wasn’t an easy day yesterday but today the weather is quite unpredictable, which gives us some opportunities to come back in the front,” he said.

“So we have to use that opportunity in the right way. If it’s dully dry the pace that we have shown until now hasn’t been very strong, but everything is possible.

“If we get on the podium that would be amazing, but realistically the top five is a good target to have on a track like this with the performance with what we’ve had until now. But a podium is my target today.”

Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas will both start the Canadian Grand Prix from the pit lane after changing their rear wing specifications before the race.

The Sauber duo struggled during qualifying after Zhou hit the wall in both FP1 and FP3 on Friday and Saturday, bringing out the red flag on both occasions.

“We were definitely close to Q2, just about hundredths of a second away from making the cut – which obviously leaves us with the feeling we could have achieved something more,” Bottas said, dressing down his qualifying.

“The last push lap was really clean, actually the cleanest I have had this weekend so far, and the balance was decent as well; it didn’t feel like we could squeeze much more out of that.

“In terms of track conditions, they were slippery at first, but it gradually improved. Unfortunately, we are still slightly struggling in terms of single-lap pace – that’s mostly it.”

Carlos Sainz has responded to James Vowles’ comments ahead of qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix, suggesting that he is not yet ready to decide where he will race in 2025.

“I appreciate obviously James' interest and kind words that he has always towards me,” he said. “The same can be said about how I feel towards him and his team.

“But the reality is that I haven't made up my mind yet about where I'm going to go next year because, as I said in the press conference the other day, I'm too focused.

“Right now, my head is too focused on every weekend that we're doing. Weekend in, weekend out, I'm fighting for podiums or wins. So it's very difficult to put your mind in the future when you have such an important weekend coming up all the time.

“I'm going to need some time to sit down with my management, with myself, have a conversation with myself and then decide where I want to go. But right now, there's nothing decided.”

Max Verstappen has called on Red Bull to execute cleaner race weekends after a power unit problem disrupted his final practice session ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

"It was a nice qualifying session, but from our side we've had too many issues this weekend," Verstappen said.

"It shouldn't really happen. We keep a close eye on everything, as we always do, but sometimes you have periods when things don't go well for a while and all these little problems come up.

"We have to try to make sure it doesn't happen anymore. Everyone knows that and you always try to prevent it, but at the moment things are just not going so smoothly.

"Of course, we talk about it in the team and we always try to improve or analyse why certain things happen, but somehow, we can’t really stop it at the moment."

George Russell has admitted that Mercedes’ upgrade package for the Canadian Grand Prix has done more than expected for the team’s pace. The Brit secured pole position following an exceptional qualifying run on Saturday.

“The car has been so quick this weekend,” he said. “The team have done an amazing job bringing all these upgrades to the car and finally this hard work is translating into results.

"We have been zig-zagging for quite a while now and slowly those zig-zags have narrowed down and we have really honed into what we need from this car.

"This last upgrade we brought, it was a small change but it’s bringing more performance than we initially expected. So we’re pursuing that direction now. It’s only been two races and definitely unique circuits, but the performance this weekend has just been unreal."

Fernando Alonso has poked fun at his former team, Ferrari, after their Canadian Grand Prix qualifying nightmare.

The Spaniard will start in P6, while Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are down in P11 and P12 after exiting in Q2.

And Alonso aimed a dig at Ferrari's celebrations after Leclerc's Monaco Grand Prix triumph last time out.

He said: "We're close to good people, aren't we? Ahead of [Sergio] Perez and the two Ferraris who suddenly came to win the World Championship after Monte Carlo..."

Max Verstappen has demanded improvements from Red Bull after a "messy" first two days of Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

The Dutchman is grateful to come out of a problematic practice and qualifying second on the grid, having recorded the same lap time as pole sitter George Russell.

"In general, I think it wasn't a bad qualifying, probably Q3 was the weakest of the sessions for Mercedes, so being on the exact same lap time is great," Verstappen explained.

"But in hindsight, when you look at their pure pace, I'll take second. Because after Q2, I saw their lap times, I was like: 'There is no way that I can do something like that'.

"Then, of course, there was a little bit of rain in between, like a few spits here and there, but the weekend [has] again a bit messy from our side, just too many little issues."

Jacques Villeneuve has clapped back at Daniel Ricciardo after the RB driver accused him of "talking s**t" ahead of Canadian Grand Prix qualifying.

On Sky Sports F1, Villeneuve brutally questioned Ricciardo's performances on the track this season, telling the Aussie to "go home".

After being told to "suck it", the Canadian pundit praised Ricciardo's qualifying session but doubled down on his stance that he needs more consistency.

He said: "He needs the push, the pressure, and it paid off. It’s working well, the car suits him this weekend and when you have a car that suits you, you drive at your best.

"That was one good qualifying. If he can carry on this weekend like this then do four, five, six more races like that, then he’ll be fine. But like he said, he’s been lacking consistency this year."

Charles Leclerc refused to comply after being shown notes from Ferrari's press officer before his post-qualifying interviews.

Leclerc was angry after the session in Montreal, during which he crashed out with team-mate Carlos Sainz in Q2 after Ferrari were forced to drive with used soft compound tyres.

In a video that emerged on social media, he took a brief glance at notes on a phone before replying: "I will say what I want."

He will hope to be in much better spirits after Sunday's race...

Max Verstappen has avoided a grid penalty after being investigated by stewards post-qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen allegedly breached Article 34.8 of the sporting regulations and the race director's event notes at the start of Q2.

He stopped beside the fast lane before filtering into the group as they exited the pit lane.

However, the Red Bull driver will face no punishment and start the race in P2 alongside George Russell on the front row.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur was looking for positives after a disastrous qualifying session for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Both Ferrari drivers crashed out in Q2 and will start today's race in 11th and 12th.

Leclerc, in particular, cut an angry figure in the aftermath after failing to make the cut with used tyres.

"The pace was ok yesterday on both conditions, wet and dry," Vasseur told Sky Sports F1.

"But we struggled a bit more from this morning to switch on the tyres for Turn One because we are losing more than 50 per cent of the gap in Turn One.

"It's tight. At the end of the day, Perez is 16th, and for one or two-tenths, you can be out.

"Carlos was three-tenths faster than Charles in the last corner [before] he made a mistake. It is like it is, but we have to be pleased with the fact that the fight is so tight.

"For sure when you are 11th and 12th you are not happy."

George Russell hopes that going joint-fastest in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying can be the start of sustained improvement from Mercedes.

"Amazing. It feels so good," Russell told Sky Sports F1 after securing pole position in Montreal.

"So much hard work at the factory has gone into this and we said it in Monaco, we hope this is the start of something for our season, and I think it is.

"I've missed this feeling. Excited for tomorrow. First step done, but now obviously we've got our eyes on that win."

We're in for a treat in the Canadian Grand Prix, with intense battles expected across the field.

Six of the last seven pole-sitters have gone on the win in Montreal, but George Russell faces the ultimate test.

Sergio Perez has lots to do to enter the points, as do Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Jacques Villeneuve didn't hold back with his brutal criticism of Daniel Ricciardo before Canadian GP qualifying.

The Sky Sports F1 pundit suggested Ricciardo should "go home" and questioned why he was still in the sport.

The RB driver responded perfectly by going fifth-fastest in qualifying, the team's best grid position this season.

And afterwards, he couldn't help but land a jab of his own on Villeneuve.

He said: “I heard he’s been talking s**t. But he always does. I think he’s hit his head a few too many times. So I don’t know if he plays ice hockey or something.

“I won’t give him the time of day but all those people can suck it. I want to say more but we’ll leave him behind.”

Lewis Hamilton was going so well in qualifying before ending up in P7 for tonight's race.

He has thanked the Mercedes factory for working on new upgrades to the W15, including the new front wing.

But Hamilton was left baffled by his loss of grip in Q3.

"Everyone's worked so hard to bring upgrades back at the factory. The car was feeling great all weekend, as soon as we got to qualifying that kind of vanished," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

He added: "The grip just disappears from me. FP3 I had plenty of pace, then get to qualifying and the tyres don't work."

Good morning, F1 fans!

Welcome to another day of live coverage on Express Sport ahead of tonight's Canadian Grand Prix.