2026 Canadian GP Qualifying: Russell’s third straight pole in Canada

George Russell completed a sensational Saturday for Mercedes in Montreal by snatching pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with a stunning final lap, denying team-mate Kimi Antonelli at the very end of a fiercely competitive qualifying session.

Fresh from his Sprint victory earlier in the day, Russell once again rose to the occasion under pressure at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, producing a brilliant 1m12.578s on his final attempt in Q3 to secure pole by just 0.068s from Antonelli. The result sealed a second front-row lockout of the weekend for Mercedes and reinforced the team’s growing resurgence in the 2026 F1 World Championship following the introduction of its latest upgrade package.

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The Briton’s pole position effort looked unlikely for much of the final segment. Russell aborted his opening flying lap in Q3 and found himself buried down the order after his first completed run, leaving Antonelli appearing to hold the advantage heading into the decisive final minutes.

2026 Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

2026 Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 May 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:13.953	1:13.079	1:12.578	24
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:13.380	1:13.076	1:12.646	24
3	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:13.503	1:13.049	1:12.729	28
4	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:13.559	1:13.285	1:12.781	29
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:13.767	1:13.041	1:12.868	27
6	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:14.067	1:13.479	1:12.907	23
7	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:13.654	1:12.975	1:12.935	22
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:13.825	1:13.496	1:12.976	29
9	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:13.895	1:13.548	1:13.280	28
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:14.466	1:13.857	1:13.697	27
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:14.562	1:13.886		21
12	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:14.346	1:13.897		22
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:14.775	1:14.071		22
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:14.698	1:14.187		20
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:14.276	1:14.273		21
16	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:14.449	1:14.416		22
17	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:14.845			12
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:14.851			13
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:15.196			11
20	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:15.429			11
21	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:16.195			10
22	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:16.272			10

Russell delivers late Montreal masterclass to secure Canadian Grand Prix pole

But as track conditions continued to improve in classic Montreal fashion, Russell extracted the maximum from his final lap around the low-grip Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to reclaim top spot in dramatic style. The lap capped another statement performance from Mercedes after already dominating Sprint Qualifying and winning Saturday morning’s Sprint race.

Antonelli had looked poised to add another major achievement to his breakout campaign after once again displaying the pace that has carried him to the top of the Drivers’ standings this season. The 19-year-old ultimately fell agonisingly short of pole despite another exceptional performance, but still secured the front row alongside Russell as Mercedes continued to establish itself as the benchmark team in Canada.

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McLaren remained firmly in the fight behind the Silver Arrows, with Lando Norris qualifying third after another strong session for the Woking squad. Norris finished just over one tenth behind Antonelli, while Oscar Piastri completed the second row in fourth as McLaren continued to apply pressure to Mercedes throughout the weekend.

Lewis Hamilton ended qualifying fifth for Ferrari, although the seven-time world champion was left frustrated after making a mistake on his second Q3 run that prevented him from fully challenging the leading group. Hamilton had shown competitive pace throughout the weekend at one of his most successful circuits, but ultimately fell short of the front two rows.

Max Verstappen endured another difficult qualifying session for Red Bull and could manage only sixth place on the grid. The reigning world champion repeatedly complained over team radio about the straight-line speed of his RB22 and was unable to challenge the Mercedes or McLaren drivers over a single lap.

Red Bull at least found encouragement in the performance of rookie Isack Hadjar, who qualified seventh and finished immediately behind Verstappen after another composed display in Montreal. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc could only manage eighth position, while Racing Bulls youngster Arvid Lindblad continued his impressive weekend by progressing to Q3 once again and securing ninth on the grid.

Franco Colapinto completed the top 10 for Alpine in another standout qualifying performance for the Argentine driver, who recovered strongly after technical problems limited his running during Friday practice.

Just outside the top 10, Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on a Q3 appearance for Audi and will line up 11th for Sunday’s 70-lap Grand Prix. The German finished ahead of Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, who continued his recovery from Friday’s hydraulic issue by qualifying 12th despite limited running across the weekend.

Gabriel Bortoleto placed the second Audi in 13th ahead of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, Carlos Sainz for Williams and the Haas of Ollie Bearman, all of whom were eliminated during Q2.

Esteban Ocon led the Q1 exits in 16th after missing out on progression by just 0.070s. The Haas driver was joined in elimination by Alex Albon’s Williams and Fernando Alonso, whose Aston Martin lacked pace throughout qualifying after the Spaniard’s earlier crash in Sprint Qualifying.

At the back, Sergio Perez endured another difficult session for Cadillac and finished slowest overall in 20th. The Mexican was left under investigation after several incidents during qualifying, including allegedly blocking Alonso on the Spaniard’s final flying lap.

Home favourite Lance Stroll qualified only 19th after a difficult weekend for Aston Martin on Canadian soil, while Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas completed the order and will start from the back of the grid for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.