- oldest first
- newest first
End of workday
Even in Montreal, evening has now fallen, and with that, we draw a line under our Friday ticker. On Saturday, of course, we will be back here with a new edition.
The sprint starts at 6:00 PM CEST, and at 10:00 PM the qualifying for the Grand Prix is scheduled. Sleep well, have a relaxed weekend, and see you then!
Read more Following rumors about the chief engineer: Mekies talks about Verstappen
Photos: F1: Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal) 2026
F1 Academy: P5 for Paatz
Good news from a German perspective also comes from the F1 Academy. The qualifying ended just a few minutes ago, and Mathilda Paatz managed a good fifth place.
The Austrian Emma Felbermayr even finished fourth, and the pole was secured in the end by the Red Bull-supported Alisha Palmowski. The F1 Academy is racing three races in Montreal this weekend.
Hülkenberg: Again an ungrateful eleventh
Once again, the German finished today in P11, narrowly missing SQ3. He told Sky: “Of course, it’s a shame to miss entry into SQ3 by half a tenth. But it wasn’t meant to be.”
“It was actually a clean qualifying. After the first practice this morning, it wasn’t so easy. We had many small problems this morning, but we managed to sort them out in time,” he reports. Therefore, the qualification was actually “quite good.”
Teammate Gabriel Bortoleto reports after P12: “I think we could have gotten a bit more out of our package today. My last lap was quite decent, but not good enough to make it into SQ3.”
Lindblad in Top 10: “Better than expected”
The rookie finished ninth today and thus “Best of the Rest” behind the four top teams. “The pace was better than expected. The team did a great job. We installed this new upgrade, and it seems to work well,” he reports.
He is also satisfied with his own performance. “It’s of course a very difficult track to come to as a newcomer, especially on a sprint weekend. But I think I settled in well,” he emphasizes.
He is only “a bit disappointed” by SQ3, as he believes there was still a bit more possible. “Overall, though, I am satisfied with myself and very grateful to the team,” says the Racing Bulls driver.
Teammate Liam Lawson was unable to participate in the sprint qualifying. However, he has received permission from the FIA to start tomorrow anyway.
Verstappen “not surprised” by P7
Red Bull was only the fourth force today, and Max Verstappen reports: “I am not surprised. My feeling in the car was just not very good. I had big problems with the car’s handling.”
The bumps in the track were so noticeable in the Red Bull that his feet slipped off the pedals. “That made it very difficult for us to drive consistently, and that’s something we need to investigate more closely,” he emphasizes.
For the sprint, they are now nailed to this setup, the Dutchman reminds. But for the subsequent qualifying, they need to find a solution.
Read more Race control in the World Championship battle? Difficult questions for Mercedes
Hamilton: Best qualifying of the year?
The record world champion explains after P5: “That was probably the best qualifying we’ve had in a long time.” The car felt “fantastic” right from the first practice, he reports.
“We only made minor changes before qualifying,” he explains and emphasizes that he is “happy” with the result, even though SQ3 did not go as well as SQ1 and SQ2 before.
At the same time, he sees this as confirmation that it was the right decision not to test in the simulator before the weekend. “So I think this is the right way for me,” says Hamilton.
“I chose a setup that we have never used before, and that completely changed the car for me. So I hope this bodes well for the rest of the weekend.”
Teammate Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, says after P6: “I didn’t feel comfortable with the car at all. For some reason, I have big problems with the brakes on my side of the garage.”
Apart from that, it was “okay,” but the brake problem urgently needs to be solved.
McLaren: With old front wing in second row
Team boss Andrea Stella revealed to Sky that both McLaren drivers used the old front wing in qualifying. Therefore, it is “encouraging” to be so close to Mercedes anyway.
Lando Norris himself explains after P3: “It was actually a very good result. A nice surprise.” Because in practice he previously did not have much confidence in the car.
“We made a few small changes, and that seemed to bring a significant improvement,” reports the world champion, who also makes clear: “It was not the best lap.”
Nevertheless, the car now feels “decent.” After the difficult practice, it was definitely “a good step forward.”
Fine for Racing Bulls
We still have to resolve the investigation against Racing Bulls from FT1. There was a hefty fine; the team must pay 30,000 euros – although 20,000 are suspended. Here is the verdict in full:
“The team’s engineer explained how the CDS system works. It was found that the system in this vehicle serves two functions – the one it is primarily intended for, namely to disengage the clutch when the car is stationary and the engine is not running, as well as another related to the anti-stall system.”
“In this case, a broken connection led to a hydraulic leak, causing the vehicle to stop. When the CDS was subsequently activated by the marshal, it did not disengage the clutch, so the vehicle could not be moved. This is a serious incident.”
“It caused the session to be interrupted with the red flag. If the system had worked as specified in the regulations, the incident could have been quickly handled by deploying the virtual safety car.”
“The stewards acknowledge the concerns of the FIA technical delegate regarding the dual function of the CDS in this vehicle. The technical delegate stated that the team had already been warned in 2025 about the design of the CDS system in their vehicles.”
Read more Formula 1 live ticker: The practice sessions in Spielberg live!