Russell snatches pole as Mercedes lock out Montreal front row
George Russell claimed pole position for the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a lap of 1:12.578.
Russell beat his Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 0.068 seconds; Antonelli set a 1:12.646 to place second (RaceFans).
Mercedes locked out the front row with George Russell first and Andrea Kimi Antonelli second; the published grid was provisional and subject to FIA confirmation and any penalties.
Lando Norris qualified third and Oscar Piastri qualified fourth for McLaren, forming the second row.
Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth for Ferrari; Max Verstappen qualified sixth; Isack Hadjar qualified seventh; Charles Leclerc qualified eighth; Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth; Franco Colapinto qualified tenth.
The full 22-car starting grid was published after qualifying but remained provisional pending post-session checks and formal ratification by the FIA.
George Russell won the 23-lap Sprint in 28:50.951; Lando Norris finished second, 1.272 seconds behind Russell, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished third, 1.843 seconds behind Russell; Oscar Piastri finished fourth (F1i).
Russell also took Sprint Qualifying pole with a best time of 1:12.965, beating Antonelli by 0.068 seconds (Total Motorsport, AP); note: F1i reported a conflicting Sprint qualifying best of 1:14.772.
Mercedes unveiled a major eight-part upgrade package for the W17 at the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, and Mercedes dominated early running during the weekend.
Friday’s single practice session (FP1) was heavily disrupted by red flags; Alex Albon struck a groundhog, damaging his Williams and ruling him out of sprint qualifying, and the FIA added 15 minutes to FP1 after the interruption.
Rain was forecast for Sunday’s Grand Prix in Montreal and Sky Sports reported the event faced its first wet race of the 2026 season.
Max Verstappen warned that rain could create “chaos.”
The FIA was reported to be considering banning Straight Line Mode and Boost Mode in wet conditions; Boost Mode delivers an extra 350 kW out of corners (Sky Sports).
George Russell said setup changes made to cope with rain had initially taken the car out of sync, that he managed to “redial” his driving to pull the lap together, and hailed the pole lap as “epic” and said it “came from nowhere” (Crash.net).
Mercedes confirmed it had discussed rules of engagement between its drivers after the Sprint following contact between Russell and Antonelli in the Sprint.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli arrived at Montreal leading the championship; Source A (Crash.net) reported an 18-point lead over George Russell while Sources B (Associated Press, MotorsportWeek) reported a 20-point lead (sources disagree on the exact margin).
Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto qualified 13th.
