George Russell snatched pole for the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix with a last‑minute lap, edging Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli as the team sealed a front‑row lock‑out in Montreal. Russell’s final Q3 run delivered a 1m12.578s, beating Antonelli by 0.068s after a tense, seesaw qualifying.
It capped a strong Saturday for Russell, who had earlier won the Sprint. The Briton had been on the back foot in the decisive phase after aborting his first flyer, but he regrouped and produced when it counted at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
McLaren filled the second row, with Lando Norris third and Oscar Piastri fourth. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was fifth after a mistake on his second run, stopping the clocks at 1m12.868s.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led team mate Isack Hadjar in sixth and seventh, the multiple champion reporting frustration with the straight‑line speed of his car. The top 10 was rounded out by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Arvid Lindblad for Racing Bulls and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
Just missing Q3 was Nico Hulkenberg, who will start 11th for Audi after falling at the final hurdle. Behind him in the Q2 drop were Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Carlos Sainz (Williams), while Haas’s Ollie Bearman also missed the cut.
Q1 began with drama as Fernando Alonso was noted for an unsafe release into the fast lane, forcing Alpine’s Franco Colapinto to brake hard in avoidance. On track, all runners used soft tyres and Norris set the initial benchmark at 1m14.213s, narrowly ahead of team mate Piastri and Antonelli.
Despite telling his team over the radio that the "ride has felt worse today than yesterday," Russell dipped under 1m14s with a 1m13.953s before being usurped as the track evolved by Antonelli and Red Bull rookie Isack Hadjar. Several drivers flirted with the limits: Hulkenberg ran deep at Turn 1, Bortoleto cut the grass at Turn 3, and Leclerc missed the final chicane on his first push.
The Audis spent much of Q1 in danger but late improvements hauled them through, Bortoleto scraping into the next phase by just 0.070s. Esteban Ocon narrowly missed the Q2 cut, with Alex Albon also out, while Alonso’s final effort was compromised as he had to avoid Sergio Perez into the last chicane.
Perez faces post‑session scrutiny for several incidents, including allegedly blocking Alonso, and was earlier noted for "failing to follow the race director's instructions." Home favourite Lance Stroll and Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas also failed to advance and are set to start from the back on Sunday.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/russell-denies-antonelli-with-late-flier-for-canada-pole). Visit for full coverage.*
