Mercedes driver George Russell secured pole position for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix sprint race on Friday, May 22, 2026, outpacing his championship-leading teammate Kimi Antonelli by 0.068 seconds.
Russell set a lap time of 1m12.965s on Pirelli soft tyres at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, locking out the front row for the Silver Arrows.
Top-10 Shoot-Out Results
McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished third and fourth, trailing Mercedes by approximately three-tenths of a second.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc claimed fifth and sixth spots respectively.
Red Bull Racing struggled for grip on the bumpy track surface, with Max Verstappen finishing seventh and Isack Hadjar taking eighth.
The medium-tyred SQ2 segment was led by Russell with a time of 1m13.026s, ahead of Hamilton, Antonelli, and Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz advanced late to eliminate Audi's Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Franco Colapinto was eliminated in 13th place, followed by Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, who went off track on his final flyer.
Fernando Alonso crashed his Aston Martin into the Turn 3 barriers during SQ1, triggering a red flag with 1m46s left on the clock.
The chaotic rush contributed to Pierre Gasly failing to start his final lap, leaving Sergio Perez 17th, Lance Stroll 18th, Gasly 19th, and Valtteri Bottas 20th.
Alex Albon missed the session after hitting a groundhog in free practice, causing heavy damage that required a gearbox and power unit change.
Liam Lawson was sidelined due to a hydraulic leak.
Russell's Reaction
Russell expressed satisfaction with the car upgrades, which included a modified front wing and floor changes to optimize airflow and manage heavy braking zones in Canada.
"It obviously feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself – I knew what I could do," he said.
The British driver acknowledged that while the upgrades provided an edge over McLaren, Mercedes must still address their ongoing struggles with race starts.
"We're making progress, we're making baby steps in this regard so I'm not going to stand here and say we're going to fly off the line in P1 and P2," Russell added.
He noted that history favors their competitors at the start, making execution during the race crucial.
Meanwhile, Antonelli secured second place despite making several driving errors during the session, which left his tyres cold ahead of his final soft-tyre attempt.
"The lap was quite bad, to be fair. The session was not clean at all," said Antonelli.
The Italian teenager explained that a mistake in SQ2 disrupted his rhythm, leading to a compromised preparation loop for his final flying lap.
Antonelli affirmed that the updated aerodynamic package has restored Mercedes' competitive advantage, even though the team is still learning how the modifications impact car balance.
