Mercedes were fastest as usual this year in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.
But while George Russell came out on top again, this battle could have gone either way.
Sector times
Russell snatched pole position away from Andrea Kimi Antonelli with his final lap in qualifying, as the track conditions improved at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Remarkably, the gap between the two drivers was exactly the same as it was in qualifying for the sprint race, where they also locked out the front row.
But with a little more polish, Antonelli could have had this one. While Russell pulled together his three best sectors on the same lap, Antonelli left a tenth of a second on the table – the most of anyone in Q3.
| P. | # | Driver | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate lap (deficit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 20.547 (1) | 23.061 (5) | 28.919 (1) | 1’12.527 (+0.119) |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | 20.600 (4) | 22.902 (1) | 29.076 (2) | 1’12.578 |
| 3 | 1 | Lando Norris | 20.619 (6) | 22.927 (3) | 29.103 (4) | 1’12.649 (+0.080) |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | 20.774 (9) | 22.926 (2) | 29.081 (3) | 1’12.781 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | 20.606 (5) | 23.029 (4) | 29.233 (8) | 1’12.868 |
| 6 | 3 | Max Verstappen | 20.580 (3) | 23.155 (7) | 29.172 (7) | 1’12.907 |
| 7 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | 20.549 (2) | 23.218 (8) | 29.148 (5) | 1’12.915 (+0.020) |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | 20.656 (8) | 23.143 (6) | 29.151 (6) | 1’12.950 (+0.026) |
| 9 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | 20.654 (7) | 23.309 (9) | 29.278 (10) | 1’13.241 (+0.039) |
| 10 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | 20.997 (11) | 23.407 (13) | 29.250 (9) | 1’13.654 (+0.043) |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | 21.053 (12) | 23.335 (11) | 29.421 (11) | 1’13.809 (+0.077) |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | 20.886 (10) | 23.528 (15) | 29.445 (12) | 1’13.859 (+0.038) |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 21.166 (14) | 23.333 (10) | 29.457 (13) | 1’13.956 (+0.317) |
| 14 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 21.168 (15) | 23.432 (14) | 29.471 (14) | 1’14.071 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | 21.270 (17) | 23.396 (12) | 29.521 (15) | 1’14.187 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | 21.080 (13) | 23.631 (16) | 29.604 (16) | 1’14.315 (+0.101) |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | 21.253 (16) | 23.795 (18) | 29.702 (17) | 1’14.750 (+0.101) |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | 21.351 (18) | 23.715 (17) | 29.763 (18) | 1’14.829 (+0.016) |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | 21.420 (19) | 23.893 (19) | 29.883 (20) | 1’15.196 |
| 20 | 11 | Sergio Perez | 21.429 (20) | 24.034 (20) | 29.839 (19) | 1’15.302 (+0.127) |
| 21 | 18 | Lance Stroll | 21.774 (21) | 24.196 (22) | 30.225 (21) | 1’16.195 |
| 22 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | 21.847 (22) | 24.184 (21) | 30.241 (22) | 1’16.272 |
Teams’ performance
There were no especially dramatic changes in the pecking order this weekend. Red Bull were unable to replicate the form they showed in Miami, though it remains to be seen how far they may have compromised their set-up to account for the threat of rain in the grand prix.
Montreal has been a strong track for Mercedes in recent years and even with their extensive upgrade this weekend four teams got closer to their 2025 lap times than the championship leaders did. However that does not include Haas, who also brought significant changes to their car this weekend but have struggled to get the best out of it following the single, disrupted practice session.
Field performance
Although the lap times are well over a second slower than last year, they are quicker than F1’s first two events at this track following their last major regulations change in 2022.
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2026 Canadian Grand Prix
- ‘We looked like idiots’ after intermediate tyre gamble, admits Piastri
- Returning to F1 cars is “not very nice” after “pure racing” in GTs – Verstappen
- Stewards summon Russell over alleged “unsafe act” after Canadian GP retirement
- Vote for your 2026 Canadian Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend
- Antonelli wins fourth race in a row after power unit failure ends Russell scrap
Published by
Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine