F1 Canadian GP Qualifying: Mercedes Front Row Lockout for Russell and Antonelli
Following a fiery Sprint race that saw the Mercedes duo bang wheels in a bitter fight for victory, the tension carried straight into qualifying at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.
Q1: Home heartbreak for Stroll and Aston Martin
The opening 18 minutes of qualifying proved chaotic from the moment the green light illuminated at the end of the pit lane. Franco Colapinto was forced to brake hard to avoid Fernando Alonso in the fast lane while local hero Lance Stroll was noted by the stewards for an unsafe release involving a damaged wheel rim.
Pit lane shenanigans underway! 👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 23, 2026
Alonso and Colapinto get rather too close for comfort, and the Aston Martin driver is now under investigation for an unsafe release 😮💨#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/kRDiixV1CX
Stroll was already enduring a miserable Saturday after a front suspension issue hampered his Sprint race and his fortunes did not improve in Q1. The Canadian failed to escape the drop zone to the dismay of the home crowd, joining his Aston Martin team mate Alonso in an early exit.
Elsewhere Alex Albon‘s nightmare weekend continued following his heavy Friday crash. The Williams driver aborted his final run to exit early alongside Haas driver Esteban Ocon and the Cadillac pairing of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
Eliminated in Q1:
- 17th – Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- 18th – Alex Albon (Williams)
- 19th – Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 20th – Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
- 21st – Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 22nd – Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
Q2: Rookies shine as Hadjar sets the pace
The second qualifying segment provided plenty of shocks as the track temperature fluctuated under the overcast Montreal sky. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar threw down the gauntlet by setting a blistering 1m 13.623s to top the Q2 timing sheets ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
While the established stars fought for supremacy, the standout story of the session belonged to the rookies. Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Williams’ Colapinto both delivered exceptional laps under immense pressure to drag their cars into Q3. Colapinto’s achievement was particularly notable given he missed almost all of Friday’s practice with a power unit issue.
At the other end of the spectrum several midfield runners faltered in the tricky conditions. Carlos Sainz could not extract enough pace from his Williams to advance while Pierre Gasly and Ollie Bearman also fell short.
Eliminated in Q2:
- 11th – Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
- 12th – Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- 13th – Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
- 14th – Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- 15th – Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- 16th – Ollie Bearman (Haas)
Q3: Russell leaves it late to break Antonelli’s heart
The final 13-minute shootout was a breathless affair. Norris looked to have perfectly timed his run to provisional pole by setting a benchmark of 1m 12.729s on his first flying lap. In contrast, George Russell initially struggled with a lack of rear grip and aborted his first attempt to return to the pits for adjustments.
This is the small but costly moment which cost Russell his first Q3 lap! 👀🤏#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/JkyGLW2lwW
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 23, 2026
With the clock ticking down Kimi Antonelli surged past Norris with a 1m 12.646s to provisionally take the top spot for Mercedes. However, Russell emerged for one final flying effort. Hooking up a spectacular purple middle sector, the British driver crossed the line with a 1m 12.578s to break his teenage team mate’s heart.
In a staggering case of history repeating itself, Russell pipped Antonelli by exactly 0.068s, the identical margin that separated the pair in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying.
Norris was forced to settle for third alongside McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri in fourth. Hadjar delivered another stellar lap to grab fifth ahead of Max Verstappen to cap off a thrilling grid-setting session.
