George Russell gained pole for Saturday’s dash race on the Canadian Grand Prix, beating teammate and Method One factors chief Kimi Antonelli to safe a one-two for Mercedes on the beginning grid.
Russell, final yr’s race winner in Montreal, posted a quickest lap of 1 minute 12.965 seconds in qualifying Friday for the third dash race of the season, taking place for the primary time in Montreal.
He edged Antonelli by 0.068 as Mercedes — winners of all 4 grands prix this season — launched new upgrades this weekend.
Reigning F1 champion Lando Norris will line up third with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri within the second row.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc sat fifth and sixth, adopted by Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar in seventh and eighth.
F1 launched sprints in 2021. The shortened races cowl roughly 100 kilometres, about one-third the space of a grand prix, for a most of eight factors. For reference, a grand prix victory is value 25.
Antonelli, a 19-year-old Italian, has gained three straight grand prix races to prime the drivers’ championship with 100 factors, 20 forward of second-place Russell.
The day began with a disrupted follow session as Williams’ Alex Albon crashed right into a groundhog on the exit of Flip 7, inflicting important harm to his automobile and forcing him out of dash qualifying.
Positioned on Île Notre-Dame in the midst of the St. Lawrence River, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is well-known for that includes wildlife, particularly groundhogs.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton additionally hit one final yr throughout the grand prix, calling it “devastating.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Could 22, 2026.
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