(Motorsport-Total.com) – George Russell made a comeback with the best time in the sprint qualifying at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal (follow all units here in the Formula 1 live ticker!). In the top-10 final, Russell prevailed on soft tires by 0.068 seconds against his Mercedes teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
“That feels great,” said Russell. “But I never had any self-doubt. I’m just happy that it came together this time. It’s been a while since I was in first place.”
The other places behind Mercedes went to Lando Norris ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri as well as Lewis Hamilton ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen ahead of Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar.
Audi drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto failed in eleventh and twelfth place already in the second segment of the sprint qualifying. Alexander Albon and Liam Lawson did not drive at all after incidents in free practice.
The most important points in brief
Result: Sprint Qualifying in Montreal
Starting grid: Sprint in Montreal
Photos: 2026 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal
Championship standings drivers
Championship standings constructors
What happened in SQ1?
Mercedes driver George Russell set the first reference time with 1:14.772 minutes on medium tires. Kimi Antonelli, the actual favorite, aborted his first attempt already in the first sector because he was held up by Haas driver Oliver Bearman.
The championship leader started a new attempt, and the second flying lap was successful: Antonelli pushed himself to the top with 1:14.010 minutes – now almost half a second ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
With 1:13.922 minutes, Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari took the lead next, then suddenly red flags were shown: Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin had slid straight into the barriers in the first chicane after locking up and damaged the front part. “Sorry,” Alonso radioed. He apparently got out uninjured.
1:46 minutes remained in SQ1. The race control released the session again after a longer interruption. Therefore, it became turbulent at the exit of the pit lane: drivers fought for positions to get into the best possible starting position for the final lap. But only Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, and Hamilton managed to cross the line in time – without improving.
Due to incidents in free practice, Alexander Albon (Williams) and Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) did not participate in the sprint qualifying. Therefore, only four instead of six drivers were eliminated in the first segment.
After SQ1, the following drivers were eliminated: Sergio Perez (Cadillac), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), and Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
What happened in SQ2?
George Russell again managed better than Kimi Antonelli in the first attempt and drove to first place with 1:13.466 minutes by 0.085 seconds. Max Verstappen started the segment delayed and additionally completed two warm-up laps but remained ninth, just under one and a half tenths behind his Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar.
Russell achieved 1:13.026 minutes in the second attempt and distanced the competition significantly. Lewis Hamilton came closest as the best pursuer at 0.439 seconds and pushed ahead of Antonelli, who did not make another attempt.
Both Audi drivers improved at the last moment, but Williams driver Carlos Sainz caught Nico Hülkenberg in the fight for tenth place: Hülkenberg missed advancing by 0.048 seconds. He was – once again – eleventh ahead of teammate Gabriel Bortoleto.
Fernando Alonso was qualified for SQ2 but did not participate in the second session due to his accident in SQ1.
After SQ2, the following drivers were eliminated: Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Oliver Bearman (Haas)
What happened in SQ3?
With soft tires, some drivers took a second warm-up lap before starting their attempt. Then Lewis Hamilton set the pace with 1:13.411 minutes. He broke the Mercedes drivers: George Russell took the lead with 1:13.194 minutes, but Kimi Antonelli failed to beat Hamilton and remained only ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
Some drivers did not get through error-free: Charles Leclerc slid off in the final curve and had to correct, Lando Norris briefly lost the car exiting the second corner. Norris improved in the next attempt and moved up to second place, but immediately lost it again to Antonelli.
Russell set a new best time at the end with 1:12.965 minutes and stayed 0.068 seconds ahead of Antonelli.
What’s next in Montreal
On Saturday, the 22 Formula 1 drivers will go into the sprint at 6 p.m. From 10 p.m., they will face the qualification for the Canadian Grand Prix. Kevin Scheuren and Christian Nimmervoll will discuss the most important topics afterwards from 2 a.m. in the livestream on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de.
The Canadian Grand Prix will conclude the event in Montreal on Sunday at 10 p.m. From 3 a.m., Kevin Scheuren and Christian Nimmervoll will analyze the race action in the livestream on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de.
