2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Results: George Russell takes Sprint pole

George Russell claimed pole position for the 2026 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix Sprint, beating Mercedes teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.068 seconds.

The British driver recorded a blistering lap of 1:12.965 in the final segment of sprint qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, securing his second sprint pole of the season and setting up an intriguing intra-team battle for tomorrow’s 100-kilometer race.

Two drivers were already ruled out before the session began, with Alex Albon forced to sit out after his Williams suffered extensive damage when he hit a groundhog during FP1, requiring a new power unit and gearbox.

Liam Lawson also joined the elimination list before qualifying started after his Racing Bulls came to a halt early in practice, necessitating new components and leaving him unable to participate.

SQ1 began with 18 drivers battling for the fourteen spots that would advance to the middle segment, with the bottom six eliminated including the two drivers already absent.

The session was immediately disrupted when Fernando Alonso locked up at Turn 3 with just 1:46 remaining and slammed into the barriers, triggering a red flag.

The Aston Martin veteran had posted a lap fast enough to advance to SQ2, but his car could not be repaired in time, leaving him in 16th as Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas found themselves in the bottom four.

The middle segment, SQ2, lasted ten minutes and saw all cars remain on medium tires as mandated by sprint qualifying rules.

On this compound, Lewis Hamilton proved to be a genuine match for the upgraded Mercedes cars, but George Russell went on to lead the segment with a 1m13.026s lap to put 0.439s on Hamilton.

Max Verstappen was sent out later than ideal by his Red Bull team and saw his first effort deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 4. The four-time world champion could manage only ninth place with his second attempt, leaving him vulnerable to late improvements from drivers behind him.

Carlos Sainz produced a strong late lap to take tenth place, just enough to eliminate Nico Hulkenberg from advancing to SQ3. The Audi driver finished 11th, just ahead of his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, while Franco Colapinto managed an impressive 13th for Alpine, beating the Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman in 14th and 15th, respectively.

SQ3 marked the switch to soft tires, bringing the final ten drivers into the shootout for sprint pole position.

Hamilton was the first to set a time on the soft compound, immediately setting a provisional 1:13.411 benchmark, but Russell bumped him off the top spot after the first round of laps and ultimately set a 1m12.965s to claim Sprint pole.

As the last driver on the road Antonelli responded with the fastest third sector but fell short by just 0.068s, settling for second.

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Full 2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Results