Over the years Montreal has produced more than its share of classics, and if today's race is anything like the closing moments of yesterday's qualifying session we could be in for a treat.

However, let's not get our hopes up, for we could just as well be in for an afternoon of (DRS) train-spotting.

God knows how many times we have said that a race can be won or lost at the first corner, however today that could equally apply to the title.

While the Papaya pair are likely to continue locking horns until Abu Dhabi, any silliness from Max Verstappen and he's out for a race.

Now, if we were talking about any other driver we might be tempted to think that common sense will prevail, but this is Max, and the situation isn't helped by the fact that the likes of Russell, Piastri and Norris will be happy to take advantage of the Dutchman's perilous penalty point predicament.

There have been plenty of first corner, first lap incidents here over the years, and we're sure that all involved have watched re-runs overnight. We'll leave it to the likes of Sky to build the hyperbole in terms of the potential this afternoon.

The McLarens have been unusually inconsistent this weekend, while Norris' qualifying was another self-inflicted disaster. Adding to the conundrum is the fact that Piastri clearly isn't happy with the suspension update and is sticking with the older version.

Russell did brilliantly to take pole and both he and his teammate have looked strong all weekend, while at Ferrari Hamilton has been the more impressive, his teammate making more than his fair share of mistakes.

Talking of Antonelli, with Verstappen without support and both Piastri and Hamilton's teammate out of position, the Italian could play a vital role in having Russell's back in the opening stages.

That said, we are guaranteed some fun and games as Leclerc - who starts 8th - seeks to work his way up the field, especially as he is joined by Norris.

Alonso is in the mix, the Spaniard clearly at ease with recent updates to his car, while Hadjar and Albon should be good for a few points, possibly Sainz if he can work his way through the field.

The Spaniard failed to make it out of Q1 after being impeded by Hadjar who got a three-place grid drop for his trouble, while Gasly and Lawson both start from the pitlane after changes were made to their cars under parc ferme conditions. Then, of course, there was Tsunoda's 10-place penalty for overtaking under a red flag.

Strategic gambles paid off for both Russell and Verstappen in qualifying, and it is likely that a few more strategic risks will be required today.

Since it first appeared in Imola, we have seen that the difference in performance between the C6 and the C5 is quite small, of the order of a tenth to a tenth and a half, and that the C6 delivers peak performance in a narrower operating window. Here in Montreal, several drivers preferred to rely on the C5 (medium) that they know well, rather than venture into chasing that extra bit of performance the C6 might offer, feeling more comfortable with a compound that gave them more confidence when it comes to tackling a tricky track like this one with its kerbs and walls. The result was a Q3 order with four drivers posting their best timers on the yellow-banded rubber.

The expansion of the 2025 compound range is also having the indirect effect of delivering a greater variety of approaches from the teams and drivers in terms of tyre usage over the weekend and that will be reflected in today's race. Pirelli thinks a two-stop is the most plausible option, favouring the use of the medium and hard. A one-stop is theoretically possible, but unlikely to pay off, especially as overtaking is possible here. The C6 could be a useful choice for the start, for example for those with two new sets of hards available, who are planning a relatively short first stint or for anyone banking on an early appearance from the Safety Car.

The majority of the big guns have two sets of the hard available, however the Mercedes pair don't have any fresh sets. On the other hand, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton have one set of fresh mediums.

Other than strategy, while we can rule out the Weather Gods, the dusty track surface, bumps, over-enthusiasm and sheer frustration are likely to play a part this afternoon.

The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out.

Air temperature is 23 degrees C, while the track temperature is 49 degrees, slightly warmer than the previous two days.

"We are concerned," admits Toto Wolff, "it is more than ten degrees hotter than on Friday when we were strong on the long runs."

All are starting on mediums bar Norris, Leclerc, Ocon, Bortoleto, Sainz, Stroll, Tsunoda, Lawson and Gasly. Fresh rubber for all bar Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Alonso, Albon, Colapinto, Stroll and Lawson.

They head off on the formation lap. All get away.

The grid forms, Russell and Verstappen both have their nose pointed inwards.

They're away. Russell gets a nice start and leads Verstappen into Turn 1, Piastri is almost through on the inside of Antonelli in Turn 1, but the Mercedes has the inside for Turn 2. Just behind, Norris tries to go around the outside of Hamilton, but not only does he lose out to the Ferrari, on the run to Turn 3 he is passed by Alonso.

Albon is battling Colapinto for tenth, however as they approach Turn 8 there is no room for the Williams driver who heads over the grass.

At the end of Lap 1, it's: Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Piastri, Hamilton, Alonso, Norris, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, and Colapinto. Hadjar is eleventh, Sainz sixteenth and Tsunoda seventeenth.

After two laps Antonelli is dropping back while Verstappen posts the fastest lap. Is the Italian playing rear-gunner for his teammate?

Verstappen continues to set a punishing pace, the Dutchman clearly pushing Russell as hard as he can.

"We are going Plan B target lap," Piastri is told.

At the end of Lap 6, Russell is finally able to open the gap to over a second.

Albon and Antonelli are already having lap times deleted for exceeding track limits.

"Front deg is better than FP2," reports Piastri, "rear deg is worse."

"These tyres are not great," adds Leclerc.

As Norris closes on Alonso, Antonelli closes on Verstappen.

"Thoughts on tyres, please Max" "Not good," he replies."

At the hairpin, Norris passes Alonso who offers no resistance, and why should he.

"We are monitoring an issue similar to Barcelona with the power unit," Albon is told.

Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 12, rejoining in ninth on hards.