F1 Canadian GP: George Russell defeats Kimi Antonelli to Canada F1 sprint pole

George Russell has taken a first small step towards regaining momentum in the 2026 Formula 1 championship battle by claiming pole for the Canadian grand Prix sprint.

In a heavily upgraded Mercedes W17, Russell turned the tables on championship leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli to take pole in the top-10 shoot-out, which was marked by contenders going for two flying laps on the same set of tyres.

Russell led after the first round of laps and then found another gear to set a 1m12.965s on Pirelli’s soft tyres. As the last driver on the road Antonelli set the fastest third sector but that wasn’t enough to keep Russell off pole, the Italian teenager conceding just 0.068s in second.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were third and fourth as McLaren, which also brought another round of car upgrades, conceded around three tenths on Mercedes on the first competitive session of the weekend.

The Ferraris were up next with Lewis Hamilton getting the better of team-mate Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen down in seventh as he and eighth-placed team-mate Isack Hadjar appeared to struggle for grip on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s bumps.

Impressive Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad was ninth ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz.

Arvid Lindblad impressed in Canada

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

The medium-tyred SQ2 segment was led by Russell, who set a 1m13.026s lap to put 0.439s on Hamilton, with their respective team-mates Antonelli and Leclerc behind them.

Verstappen survived a poor lap to advance in ninth, while Sainz found time on his final flyer to dump Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg into the dropzone, the German heading team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto.

Franco Colapinto was eliminated in 13th, followed by Haas duo Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, the latter going off the track on his final flyer.

Despite having qualified, Fernando Alonso didn’t take part in the next phase due to a crash in SQ1. Alonso went on straight at Turn 3 after locking the tyres, apologising to his team after burying the front wing of his Aston into the barriers.

That incident derailed the battle for survival because it brought out a red flag with just 1m46 on the clock, which prompted a frantic rush to get another attempt in by cars who were in danger of elimination.

As Hamilton topped the session, points contender Pierre Gasly failed to get across the finish line in time to start a final flyer. It meant Sergio Perez was first out in 17th, followed by the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and 19th-placed Gasly. The second Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas was 20th and last of the drivers to set a laptime.