2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Full sprint qualifying and Friday practice results

George Russell bounced back from a series of bruising defeats to Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to take Sprint pole at the Canadian Grand Prix. 

With a series of upgrades introduced this weekend, the Mercedes has been the car to beat, with Russell and Antonelli able to turn the screw on the chasing pack when it matters most. 

Although down in fifth place, Lewis Hamilton provided the most consistent threat, with the Ferrari driver in the top order during every session. Before a series of late times landed, the seven-time champion occupied a place on the front row. 

The grid is very much in a Noah's Ark formation, with the Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull pairings all lining up on formation on the front four rows. 

Fernando Alonso caused a chaotic end to SQ1, after crashing his Aston Martin in the closing stages, leaving 1m46s for drivers to get back on the track after barrier repairs were completed. Although no times were improved on, the battling to begin a lap gave a preview of the racing action that is to come. 

Neither Alex Albon nor Liam Lawson took part in the session after repairs from FP1 could not be completed in time.

Antonelli head Practice in Mercedes 1-2

The 2026 Canadian Grand Prix weekend began with a heavily disrupted practice session, headed by Kimi Antonelli. 

Mercedes led the way in FP1 in Montreal, taking full advantage of a major upgrade package to set the fastest times of the session. 

While Antonelli set his best time on the first lap of a soft tyre run, an error for George Russell left him half a second off the pace, and needing to go again to close the gap. 

Ferrari quietly went about its business, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc third and fourth, the former lapping at the scene of his first grand prix victory back in 2007. 

Max Verstappen had numerous complaints about heavy steering and snaps, but was fifth fastest, ahead of the McLaren pair. 

FP1 was severely disrupted by three red flag periods; first for Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls appearing to suffer a hydraulic problem as it stopped on track, next after Alex Albon struck a groundhog with his Williams, causing significant damage to his car, and finally, after Esteban Ocon lost his front wing with a bizarre collision with the wall. 

Franco Colapinto was unable to set a time after suffering a reliability problem in the opening stages, for which his car required an engine change. 

2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Full FP1 results