Canadian Grand Prix 2026: George Russell takes pole for sprint race

George Russell rebounded from a tough run to overtake Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli to take pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Briton, who is 20 points behind the Italian after four races this season, was 0.068 seconds ahead of Antonelli after being fastest in both races in final qualifying.

Lando Norris was in the all-McLaren second row, 0.315 seconds off pole and 0.019 seconds ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri.

Ferrari and Red Bull completed a two-two top eight with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Charles Leclerc and then Max Verstappen ahead of Isack Hadjar.

Russell arrived in Montreal looking to turn around what he admitted was a “turbulent” start, with Antonelli having won three of four races so far and a good start to the weekend.

“It’s a great feeling after a tough Miami, but I never doubted myself,” Russell said. “I always knew what I could do. It’s an incredible track, it has great grip and it feels like you’re driving a real grand prix car.”

Mercedes has a major update to its car for this race and Russell said it made a significant difference.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” he said. “The team has done a great job of taking that forward. I’m happy to have that in the car and to get back to P1. It’s been a while but it’s still a big focus for tomorrow.”

McLaren also brought an upgrade to Montreal, having finished second in several races, but although this kept them within range of Mercedes, it was not enough to offset Mercedes’ influence at a circuit where the world champions often compete.

Hamilton was 0.361 seconds behind the pole position and 0.084 seconds ahead of Leclerc at the track where he shared a record number of victories with Michael Schumacher.

And Verstappen, struggling with the car he said was “bouncing” at the back, was just 0.101 seconds clear of teammate Hadjar.

The British rookie, riding in an upgraded Racing Bulls car, finished ninth ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz.