By Will Heys
George Russell snatched pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, continuing Mercedes’ dominant form in 2026.
The Brit’s final lap of 1:12.578 was enough to outqualify teammate Antonelli by just 0.068 seconds, securing another front-row lockout for the Silver Arrows.
Russell said the lap “just sort of came from nowhere” after what he described as a “challenging session”.
Lando Norris qualified third for McLaren ahead of Oscar Piastri, with Lewis Hamilton fifth, repeating the top five from sprint qualifying.
Norris was satisfied with the papaya’s progress but said: “these guys were just a little bit quicker.”
McLaren’s latest upgrades brought pace, but both drivers were dissatisfied with their new front wing reverting to the old spec following practice.
With rain forecast for Sunday, several teams opted for high-downforce wet setups sacrificing qualifying performance in preparation for a potentially chaotic race.
Red Bull had a frantic build-up to qualifying after both cars were still being worked on less than 10 minutes before Q1 began.
Cadillac showed encouraging pace during the sprint, but both cars exited early.
Aston Martin’s difficult run continues as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were also eliminated in Q1.
Q2 belonged to Hadjar, who became the first driver to break into the 1:12s in the session.
Franco Colapinto also starred by dragging the Alpine into Q3 again, crucially outqualifying teammate Pierre Gasly, whose session was later compromised due to damage to his floor after a collision with a marmot.
Once again, Nico Hülkenberg agonisingly missed out on Q3 in P11 for Audi.
The final shootout initially appeared to favour McLaren, with Norris briefly topping the timesheets while Russell abandoned his opening run after complaining of no grip through Sector 1.
But as the track evolved, Mercedes came alive once again.
Antonelli looked set for a fourth career pole, only for Russell to maintain his remarkable qualifying record in Montreal.
Antonelli said: “There was still a little bit left on the table, but George did a great lap.”
Expected rain and lingering tensions within Mercedes could mean Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix is shaping up to be a classic.
Russell said: “We both respect one another. So we’ll go racing.”
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