Mercedes were fastest again in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, continuing their strong form at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
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Although George Russell secured pole position once more, the result could easily have gone the other way.
Sector times
Russell took pole from Andrea Kimi Antonelli with a final lap that benefited from improving track conditions. The margin between the two drivers mirrored the gap seen in sprint qualifying, where they also filled the front row.
Antonelli was extremely close — with slightly cleaner execution he might have claimed the top spot. Russell combined his three best sector times on a single lap; Antonelli left roughly a tenth of a second in one sector, the largest single-sector deficit among Q3 runners.
| P. | # | Driver | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate lap (deficit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 20.547 (1) | 23.061 (5) | 28.919 (1) | 1’12.527 (+0.119) |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | 20.600 (4) | 22.902 (1) | 29.076 (2) | 1’12.578 |
| 3 | 1 | Lando Norris | 20.619 (6) | 22.927 (3) | 29.103 (4) | 1’12.649 (+0.080) |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | 20.774 (9) | 22.926 (2) | 29.081 (3) | 1’12.781 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | 20.606 (5) | 23.029 (4) | 29.233 (8) | 1’12.868 |
| 6 | 3 | Max Verstappen | 20.580 (3) | 23.155 (7) | 29.172 (7) | 1’12.907 |
| 7 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | 20.549 (2) | 23.218 (8) | 29.148 (5) | 1’12.915 (+0.020) |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | 20.656 (8) | 23.143 (6) | 29.151 (6) | 1’12.950 (+0.026) |
| 9 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | 20.654 (7) | 23.309 (9) | 29.278 (10) | 1’13.241 (+0.039) |
| 10 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | 20.997 (11) | 23.407 (13) | 29.250 (9) | 1’13.654 (+0.043) |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | 21.053 (12) | 23.335 (11) | 29.421 (11) | 1’13.809 (+0.077) |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | 20.886 (10) | 23.528 (15) | 29.445 (12) | 1’13.859 (+0.038) |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 21.166 (14) | 23.333 (10) | 29.457 (13) | 1’13.956 (+0.317) |
| 14 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 21.168 (15) | 23.432 (14) | 29.471 (14) | 1’14.071 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | 21.270 (17) | 23.396 (12) | 29.521 (15) | 1’14.187 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | 21.080 (13) | 23.631 (16) | 29.604 (16) | 1’14.315 (+0.101) |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | 21.253 (16) | 23.795 (18) | 29.702 (17) | 1’14.750 (+0.101) |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | 21.351 (18) | 23.715 (17) | 29.763 (18) | 1’14.829 (+0.016) |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | 21.420 (19) | 23.893 (19) | 29.883 (20) | 1’15.196 |
| 20 | 11 | Sergio Perez | 21.429 (20) | 24.034 (20) | 29.839 (19) | 1’15.302 (+0.127) |
| 21 | 18 | Lance Stroll | 21.774 (21) | 24.196 (22) | 30.225 (21) | 1’16.195 |
| 22 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | 21.847 (22) | 24.184 (21) | 30.241 (22) | 1’16.272 |
Teams’ performance
The team order stayed broadly consistent this weekend. Red Bull did not match the pace they showed in Miami; it remains possible that they adjusted their setup to hedge against possible rain in the race.
Montreal has suited Mercedes in recent seasons and, despite major upgrades this weekend, four teams posted improvements closer to 2025 lap times than the championship leaders. Haas, which also introduced significant changes, struggled to extract performance after a disrupted practice session.
Field performance
Overall lap times were more than a second slower than last year’s best, but they were quicker than the first two events held at this circuit since the major regulation change in 2022.
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2026 Canadian Grand Prix
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