Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying: George Russell on pole as Mercedes lock out front row
F1 NewsFriday, 22 May 2026 at 23:34
George Russell delivered a solid performance in Sprint Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix taking pole as teammate Kimi Antonelli was second fastest with Mercedes dominating.
Russell was on it throughout Spring Qualifying having the measure of teammate and Formula 1 Championship leader, Antonelli who was not quite as sharp.
And while Lewis Hamilton showed some pace from the start, he couldn't deliver a proper lap when it counted in SQ3 and was outpaced by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri who were third and fourth respectively.
McLaren did not appear to be in contention first but emerged in the final SQ3 laps which meant Hamilton was only good for fifth.
Charles Leclerc in the sister Ferrari never appeared as a threat and ended the session in sixth.
The same applied for Max Verstappen who started off strongly in SQ1 but then faded as Sprint Qualifying progressed and was ultimately seventh fastest and 0.539s off the pace.
Isack Hadjar was eighth fastest in the other RB22 ahead of Arvid Lindblad who was a superb ninth for Racing Bulls as Carlos Sainz dragged his Williams into tenth on the grid, albeit over 1.5s off the pace.
It was a disappointing session for Fernando Alonso who managed to get his hapless Aston Martin into SQ2 but then locked up and crashed while pushing for more which meant he couldn't take part any further. He starts from 16th.
SQ1: Alonso crashes
The session started in clear conditions with track temperatures at 42 degrees as air temperature at 20 degrees.
And even before the action started, two drivers were eliminated as Williams announced Alex Albon will not take part after the team couldn't fix his car on time following his crash in practice trying to avoid a groundhog.
Liam Lawson will not also take part following a hydraulic issue meant he missed practice as his car also wasn't ready in time for Sprint Qualifying.
🟢 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026
SQ1 starts here and Lewis Hamilton leads the field out onto the track!#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/HkqCTCzqhq
Hamilton was the first driver exiting the garage and was followed out on track by Leclerc as the field set out on Medium tyres as per the rules of Sprint Qualifying.
Hamilton posted the first time as Leclerc behind him aborted his first lap and the went again and went faster than his teammate.
Then Russell came and took the top spot as Norris went second while Verstappen came along to take the top spot. Piastri followed slotting in third as Antonelli then came along and went fastest.
🟢🟢🟣 for Max Verstappen with a 1:14.476! 😮💨💨
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026
The times are set to keep tumbling here... 👀#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/6ZWYmoyN4k
The track kept ramping up as more laps were done with drivers going for more attempts to deliver better lap times which meant the order was shuffled several times.
Russell tried again but made and error on his second attempt while Hamilton improved.
Antonelli had a moment with a Haas out on track and wasn't impressed.
"He blocked me man" 😮
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026
A nerve-wracking moment for Kimi Antonelli pre-Red Flag in SQ1 👀#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/Xaw3WY98Jb
With less than two minutes on the clock, the Red Flag came out as Alonso was in the barriers after locking up in Turn 3 and went straight.
The Spaniard was 14th fastest at that point with a chance to get into SQ2. Too bad.
Into the barriers for Fernando! 😳
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026
Here is the moment that ended Alonso's SQ1 prematurely 👇#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/1vOoRXYDKK
It took time for the Red Flag to end as the marshals were working on fixing the barrier where Alonso crashed.
After that, drivers returned to the track for one more lap and in the end, Hamilton led the way with a 1:13.889, 0.121s ahead of Antonelli in second as Max Verstappen was third.
Rest of the top 16 were: Norris - Lindblad - Hadjar - Piastri - Russell - Leclerc - Franco Colapinto - Sainz - Nico Hulkenberg - Esteban Ocon - Alonso - Gabriel Bortoleto - Oliver Bearman.
Sergio Perez was the first to drop out, missing the cut by less than two tenths which was an improvement for Cadillac. He was 17th fastest.
Lance Stroll was 18th ahead of Pierre Gasly in 19th with Valtteri Bottas in 20th. Albon was 21st and Lawson 22nd.
SQ2: Verstappen struggles to make the top ten
The remaining drivers set out for another round to try and make it into the top ten aside from Alonso who made it but will not take part due to his crash.
Russell was at the head of the queue with Antonelli behind him as other drivers lined up behind them.
🟢 GREEN FOR SQ2 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026
The second part of Sprint Quali is upon us, and Russell leads us out! 😎#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/DtWCH47ERu
Norris started a timed lap first and went fastest as Lindblad and Hamilton followed. Lindblad went second fastest but Hamilton went to the top.
Then Russell came going fastest with Antonelli following and was second fastest as Leclerc started his lap and went fifth fastest as Piastri went fourth.
Verstappen took his time before heading out on track and went only ninth on his first attempt as other drivers kept pushing for better times.
The Dutchman was not happy with the rear of the car jumping around.
In the end, and with SQ2 over, Russell led the way with a lap time of 1:13.026, 0.439s clear of Hamilton in second as Antonelli was third fastest.
The rest of the top ten were: Leclerc - Piastri - Norris - Lindblad - Hadjar - Verstappen - Sainz.
As for those who didn't make SQ3, Hulkenberg was the first in 11th as Bortoleto was 12th while Colapinto was 13th.
Ocon was 14th for Haas followed by Bearman in 15th as Alonso was 16th.
SQ3: Mercedes dominant
With the Soft Pirellis now allowed, the remaining ten driver made their way out on track for the final round of Sprint Qualifying.
Hadjar went fastest first but Hamilton then followed and took the top spot but the Frenchman went again but remained in second as Verstappen came along and took second from his teammate.
The Norris went fourth fastest but lost that to Lindblad as Russell went to the top with Piastri going fifth as Leclerc went sixth fastest. Antonelli went third fastest on his first attempt.
Russell is laying down a serious benchmark here! 🟣
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2026
It's a 1:13.194 for the Mercedes driver 👏#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/mLA6ox5dfB
But then they went again, and in the end it was Russell who managed to keep pole as Antonelli came close but not close enough and was second fastest.
Norris was third fastest in the McLaren ahead of Piastri who was fourth in the sister car with Hamilton and Leclerc in fifth and sixth respectively.
Verstappen was seventh fastest ahead of Hadjar in eighth as Lindblad was ninth and Sainz was tenth.
Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Provisional Classification
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