George Russell is now the only driver who hasn’t been beaten by his teammate in any qualifying session or race so far in the 2019 Formula 1 season.
When Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen failed to advance to the third and final round of qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix as a result of the fact that Rich Energy Haas’ Kevin Magnussen brought out the red flag to end the second round by crashing while Verstappen was outside the top 10 on the speed chart, Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly finally defeated his teammate for the first time in the 2019 Formula 1 season.
Entering the Canadian Grand Prix, the seventh of 21 races on the 2019 Formula 1 schedule, Gasly had not outqualified Verstappen in any race this season, and he had not finished higher than him in any race.
Gasly went on to qualify in fifth place for the 70-lap race around the 14-turn, 2.71-mile (4.361-kilometer) Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course on Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to change this.
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Now ROKiT Williams Racing rookie George Russell is the only driver who has not been outqualified by his teammate nor finished behind his teammate in any race so far this season.
With Williams being by far the slowest team in Formula 1 so far this season, Russell has qualified in 19th place in six of the season’s first seven races and 17th in the other, the Chinese Grand Prix, when two drivers did not participate in the qualifying session. Meanwhile, teammate Robert Kubica has qualified in 20th in six of the season’s first seven races and 18th in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Russell finished one position higher than Kubica in each of the season’s first five races, twice finishing in 15th place, twice finishing in 16th and once finishing in 17th. In these five races, these two drivers only ever finished higher than non-Williams drivers who were forced to retire from the race.
In the other race, the Monaco Grand Prix, Russell finished in 15th place with Kubica in 18th, and they both finally finished ahead of other non-Williams drivers who were not forced to retire from the race.
Will Robert Kubica ever manage to outqualify teammate George Russell throughout the remainder of the 2019 Formula 1 season? Will he ever manage to finish higher than him in a race this season? When, if at all, will he manage to accomplish either of these?