- Russell claims Canada GP Sprint pole with a 1m 12.965s lap, ahead of Antonelli.
- Alonso’s Turn 3 crash reshuffles SQ1, eliminating Perez, Stroll, Gasly and Bottas.
- McLaren and Ferrari close enough to make Saturday’s Sprint an interesting contest.
George Russell claimed Sprint pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday, stopping Kimi Antonelli’s dominant run at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a lap of 1m 12.965s.
Antonelli, who had won three consecutive races and led the championship heading into Montreal, qualified 0.068s behind in second. The result gave Mercedes a front-row lockout, but reversed the order from FP1, where Antonelli had set the pace.
Lando Norris qualified third for McLaren, 0.315s off pole, with Oscar Piastri 0.019s further back in fourth. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc took fifth and sixth for Ferrari. The gaps suggest Saturday’s 23-lap Sprint will be competitive.
Russell had endured a difficult weekend in Miami, where Antonelli pulled away from him with ease. He was pointed about what this result meant to him.
“Obviously feels great after a tough Miami, but I never doubted myself,” Russell told Sky Sports F1. “This is an amazing circuit, high grip, and I’m glad today came together.”
Fernando Alonso crashed his Aston Martin at Turn 3 in SQ1, triggering a red flag with under two minutes remaining. The incident eliminated Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas, who could not complete a lap before the chequered flag fell.
Alonso survived on his earlier time and advanced to SQ2 for the first time in the 2026 season.
As it happened in the Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying
Two drivers did not take part in the session before it began. Williams confirmed that Alexander Albon’s car had sustained too much damage from a groundhog collision in FP1 to be repaired in time.
Racing Bulls then announced that Liam Lawson would also sit out the session due to a hydraulic leak. Both will start Saturday’s Sprint from the back of the grid.
SQ1 started well, with Hamilton the first driver to dip into the 1m 13s on the mandatory medium tyre. Alonso then locked up approaching Turn 3 and hit the barriers, bringing out the red flags. He apologised immediately over team radio.
“I locked up the front, and there is no room to avoid anything here in Canada,” Alonso said afterwards on Sky Sports F1. “We are a little behind with the pace, so we were pushing seven or eight places more than we should have.”
The restart left only 1m 46s on the clock. Most drivers at risk could not complete a timed lap. Perez, Stroll, Gasly and Bottas were eliminated alongside the already-absent Albon and Lawson.
SQ2 was less chaotic. Russell led on a 1m 13.466s, with Antonelli 0.085s behind. Max Verstappen had a lap deleted for track limits and sat anxiously in the drop zone before eventually making it through. A late lap from Carlos Sainz bumped Nico Hulkenberg out of the top 10 and into elimination.
SQ3 settled the order at the front. Hamilton set the early benchmark on soft tyres, before Russell moved ahead with a 1m 13.194s. Russell then improved on his final run to set the 1m 12.965s that nobody could match. Antonelli’s last lap pushed Norris to third and confirmed the Mercedes front-row lockout.
Full Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying results
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m 12.965s |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.068s |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.315s |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.334s |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.361s |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.445s |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.539s |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +0.640s |
| 9 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +0.772s |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +1.571s |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | — |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | — |
| 13 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | — |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | — |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | — |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | — |
| 17 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | — |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | — |
| 19 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | — |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | — |
| 21 | Alex Albon | Williams | DNS |
| 22 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | DNS |
What to make of it all
The front row tells one story. The gaps tell another. Mercedes held a clear advantage in SQ3, but the chasing pack was close enough to make the Sprint a real contest. Norris and Piastri were separated by just 0.019s, and both were within striking distance of the two silver cars.
Ferrari remains in contention as well. Hamilton’s sector times in SQ1 showed genuine pace in the SF-26 when he found confidence in the car. The bigger question is whether that pace holds across a full Sprint distance.
Russell has always pointed to Canada as a circuit that suits him. He now has the pole position to back that up. Whether Antonelli, starting from the second row, closes the gap again on Saturday will define what this weekend ultimately means for the championship.
