Formula 1 heads to Montreal next for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend - and the third sprint race of the 2026 season. Kimi Antonelli continued his impressive start to the campaign with his third consecutive victory last time out in Miami. The Italian 19-year-old now has a 20-point lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell, who is eyeing a return to form at a track he won at last year. PREVIEW: How Hamilton can channel winning spirit of Arsenal in MontrealMcLaren took a big step in Miami, with reigning world champion Lando Norris finishing second and teammate Oscar Piastri in third, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified on the front row in an improved car. It was a trickier weekend for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc punished with post-race penalties and Lewis Hamilton only finishing sixth. Hamilton is a seven-time winner around the Montreal street circuit and won his first-ever F1 race here back in 2007. Follow live updates with The Independent at the Canadian Grand PrixSQ1 underwayTime for the first Q session - 12 minutes, all on mediums.Will it be the usual collection of teams in the bottom-six to start? Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 21:33Sprint qualifying coming up Here we go then - the first of four competitve sessions in Montreal this weekend! Can anyone compete with Mercedes? Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were the clear leaders in practice earlier, with the Italian edging it. It feels like a big session for Russell...(Reuters)Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 21:26Top-10 - driver standings Kimi Antonelli has a 20-point lead on George Russell heading into round five: 1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 100 points 2. George Russell (Mercedes) - 80 points 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 59 points 4. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 51 points 5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 51 points 6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 43 points7. Max Verstappen Red Bull) - 26 points 8. Ollie Bearman (Haas) - 17 points 9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 16 points10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 10 points Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 21:20Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 21:15How Lewis Hamilton is seeking to evoke Arsenal’s success with Ferrari in CanadaFor all the celebratory messages of jubilation emanating from the never-ending group of high-profile Arsenal supporters this week – from Sir Keir Starmer and Hugh Lawrie to Piers Morgan and Jess Glynne – Lewis Hamilton’s repost on Instagram was altogether more understated. “COYG,” the 41-year-old said, the common abbreviation for “Come on you Gunners.”An Arsenal fan since he was five, Hamilton’s football fandom hit the realms of public discourse again four years ago, when he was part of a group of investors which, ultimately, failed to buy Chelsea. Many onlookers seemed stunned, not least Hamilton’s fierce rival Max Verstappen. “I am a PSV fan and I would never buy Ajax,” the Dutchman quipped, before adding: “I thought he was an Arsenal fan? And if you are an Arsenal fan going for Chelsea, that is quite interesting.”Alas, it never materialised. Hamilton has also dipped his toes in the world of NFL, joining the Denver Broncos ownership group in 2022 after missing out on the Chelsea gig. And the Briton, seven times a champion of the world but only twice a grand prix race winner in the last four years and counting, would be wise to take a leaf out of as many sports as possible in his search for one final rebirth at the top of Formula 1.Full piece below: Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 21:11Constructor standings ahead of Canadian GP 1. Mercedes - 180 points2. Ferrari - 112 points 3. McLaren - 94 points 4. Red Bull - 30 points 5. Alpine - 21 points6. Haas - 18 points 7. Racing Bulls - 14 points 8. Williams - 5 points 9. Audi - 2 points 10. Cadillac - 0 points 11. Aston Martin - 0 pointsKieran Jackson22 May 2026 21:06Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 21:00Four races in a row? Key details revealed as F1 eyes Bahrain or Saudi ‘reschedule’Formula One is “continuously evaluating” the possibility of reinstating one – if not two – of the Middle Eastern races cancelled last month due to the conflict in the Gulf. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs, scheduled for April, were taken off the 2026 calendar in mid-March, a fortnight after Donald Trump targeted missiles at Iranian military and government sites, provoking retaliatory strikes throughout the region. However, recent noises from the sport’s American owners, Liberty Media, and the sport’s governing body, the FIA, suggest that solutions to rescheduling the cancelled races are on the table. In a conference call with investors last week, during which details of a 53 per cent year-on-year revenue rise were announced, Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang stated that executives were “continuously evaluating the calendar this year”. Chang added: “As Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] mentioned to Bloomberg News last week, it might be possible to reschedule one race toward the end of the season.” He did ensure that any decision would be made in a “timely fashion”. But what are the options on the table? What is at stake? And could the end-of-season races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi also be at risk? Full piece below: Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 20:45James Vowles on Albon's crash in FP1: "It's one of the risks of this circuit. I know that sounds strange," Williams team principal James Vowles told Sky Sports. "Unfortunately there's been a few of these."He [Albon] has hit a marmot [groundhog] and the damage is extensive from that point onwards."He needed this session. You get 60 minutes and that's it, and to lose over half of it is frustrating."Back in the garage he's more worried about his mum, who suspects he's going to have to pay to adopt a family of marmots because that's a consequence of that."Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 20:31Jenson Button explains what Lewis Hamilton must do to secure Ferrari future"Obviously, last year was not the easiest for Lewis. He spent so many years in a team (Mercedes) that he knew really well, and had a lot of support from that team. Then, you go to a different team that is based in Italy, and he doesn’t speak Italian. He doesn’t have that on his side, whereas his team-mate does."The 2009 world champion added: "So, it does take a minute to get used to it, especially at 40 years old when learning is a lot more difficult than it is in your twenties. But it has been really good to see him competitive this year, and fighting with Charles." Button emphasised the importance of current form, as he claimed, "as long as you’re competitive the (external) noise doesn’t really matter. If he is as quick as he thinks he should be, then it is fine, and it doesn’t matter what other people say from the outside. If he is doing a job that he thinks is good enough, then he will have that confidence and want to carry on if he is enjoying it."(AFP)Kieran Jackson22 May 2026 20:15