Key events22m agoPreambleShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureBefore we get going properly, here are the full qualifying times:1 George Russell (GB) Mercedes 1min 12.965sec 2 Kimi Antonelli (It) Mercedes 1:13.0333 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 1:13.2804 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:13.2995 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Ferrari 1:13.3266 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:13.4107 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull 1:13.5048 Isack Hadjar (Fr) Red Bull 1:13.6059 Arvid Lindblad (GB) Racing Bulls 1:13.73710 Carlos Sainz Jr (Sp) Williams 1:14.53611 Nico Hülkenberg (Ger) Audi 1:14.59512 Gabriel Bortoleto (Br) Audi 1:14.62713 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine 1:14.70214 Esteban Ocon (Fr) Haas 1:14.92815 Oliver Bearman (GB) Haas 1:15.30516 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Aston Martin 1:15.76017 Sergio Pérez (Mex) Cadillac 1:16.00218 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:16.35419 Pierre Gasly (Fr) Alpine 1:16.64220 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Cadillac 1:16.86621 Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams
22 Liam Lawson (NZ) Racing BBearman, Gasly, Bottas and Albon will start from the pitlane. Bearman had modifications outside parc fermé; Gasly had suspension work done; Bottas had setup and suspension changes; and Albon had setup changes.PreambleIt is safe to say the Canadian Grand Prix weekend is not working out the way it was supposed to for plenty of the participants – as Robbie Burns almost wrote, the best-laid plans of marmots and men in Montreal often go awry.First, there have been more red flags than on Hannibal Lecter’s dating profile. In free practice, Liam Lawson lost power steering and parked up by a chicane – picking up a €30,000 part-suspended fine for Racing Bulls as the FIA ruled they had failed to ensure his clutch disengagement system button was working. Then it was Alex Albon, whose Williams was involved in a collision with one of the aforementioned marmots, following in the messy tyre tracks of Lewis Hamilton last year. Finally, Esteban Ocon spun his Haas into a wall and needed a new nose. Neither Lawson nor Albon made it to the start line for sprint qualifying.Once actual competitive driving got going, it was Fernando Alonso’s turn to crash out. The Spaniard was pushing the Aston Martin hard to try to make Q2 and indeed just made it in theory, but in practice struck a wall after setting his time, ending his participation and making it a messy thé-time on the Île Notre Dame, with a long delay.While Racing Bulls, Williams and Aston Martin struggle to get ready for the sprint race, for the organisers, the bigger clouds are, er, big clouds: while all is set fair for today, it will be absolutely tipping it down all tomorrow. The odds on there being more red flags are surely short.One thing you can all but rely on in 2026: Mercedes will be at the front. And one man for whom Canada is going to plan so far is George Russell. The Briton, stung by his teammate Kimi Antonelli’s run of wins and now 20 points behind in the standings, just edged out the Italian to take sprint pole. Remember, while other teams brought their first major upgrades to Miami, this is our first sight of Mercedes’s development. As Giles Richards, our F1 correspondent, wrote:
