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George Russell has suggested that there is no need to panic over his 20-point deficit to team mate Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship, with the Briton feeling confident in his abilities ahead of a weekend where Mercedes will bring their first significant upgrade of the season. A third consecutive victory for Antonelli last time out in Miami saw the Italian stretch his advantage further at the top, while Russell faced a tougher outing and finished Sunday’s race in fourth. However, the 28-year-old is keen to return to action at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, an event that he triumphed in last year. Reflecting on the season so far, Russell commented during Thursday’s media day in Montreal:
“We’re at the end of May, we’ve done four races and it's felt very disjointed so far this year, so I'm just looking forward to going racing and more races back-to-back, getting into a bit of a groove. Miami was obviously a very tough weekend for me, but a huge amount learned from that and I feel great coming into this weekend".
Pushed on what the key learnings were from the Miami weekend, Russell explained:
"I think for a lot of us, we're all so focused on the energy management that all of the issues from the past of dealing with the tyres, dealing with the set-up, just fundamentals of racing, have been put on the back burner. We missed some key things [in Miami] because we were focused elsewhere, and that was a good little reminder. As I said, as painful as it was, it was a very much needed weekend because I think it's going to prove very beneficial for the rest of the year".
While many of Mercedes’ rivals appeared to make progress in Miami after bringing upgrades, the Silver Arrows will have updates of their own this time out - leaving Russell to hope that they too can experience an improvement.
"I'm hoping it's going to be as competitive as what we saw [from] the upgrades McLaren and Ferrari brought in Miami - they obviously took a decent step forward. Our numbers look pretty promising, but we know it may not correlate that way in reality. There are no signs telling us it won't be competitive but, as I said, until we drive it on track, there's always going to be a few unknowns".
Despite falling 20 points behind Antonelli in the standings following the opening four rounds of the campaign, Russell has insisted that this will not make a difference to how he approaches the weekend ahead.
"It's just another race for me. It's just another race, and it's not even on my mind, the championship. I know what I'm capable of. I know the speed I've got. Obviously, Miami was a bad weekend. It was a tough weekend for me there last year, and I went to Montreal and had a great weekend. It doesn't mean this year is going to be the same, but I just need to focus on myself, go through my processes, as I did in Melbourne, as I did in China, and control what I can control. There's really no need to panic at all. As we said, we're four races down, 18 at least to go. I actually look back on my F2 season, which was obviously the last time I fought for a championship. I was P6 after four races in F2 and about 35 points down. At this point, it means nothing".
And in terms of which of his qualities as a driver could give him an edge in the championship fight, Russell responded:
"To be honest, I'm just looking at myself as my main competitor, and that's what I have done over the last seven years in my whole Formula 1 career. I know that if I tick all of my boxes, I know I can beat anybody. That was the case last year when I was team mates with Kimi and the year before when I was team mates with Lewis. So I'm not looking at my edge over anybody else - I'm looking at how do I get the most out of myself, with my engineers, out of the car set-up, out of the tyres. I know if I tick all of those boxes, I can win, so that's my goal".
Kimi Antonelli admits that trying to sustain his strong run of form at the Canadian Grand Prix and beyond is a big unknown even for myself, as the Italian eyes a maiden Formula 1 title. The 19-year-old enters this weekend in the lead of the Drivers' standings by 20 points from Mercedes team mate George Russell, having claimed a hat-trick of pole positions and Grands Prix victories so far this campaign. The impressive results have come despite Antonelli only being in his second season of F1, and ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend he was asked whether he could continue his stunning run of form throughout the remainder of the season.
"That's the question mark, even for myself. hink the year of experience last season is playing a massive role and also going through the difficult moments last year helped me, made me a lot stronger. I feel more in control of the situation, more aware of what's good and not good for me. Just trying to focus on the right things but so far it's going pretty well and obviously the goal this weekend is to pick up where we left off in Miami and just continue this good streak. Obviously you never know, I think it's not impossible to maintain this form for the whole year”.
Mercedes enter this weekend with their first substantial upgrade package of the season, at a venue where Russell claimed victory and Antonelli stood on an F1 podium for the first time last season.
"It's a place that has a special meaning to me because it's where I got my first podium. This weekend we will definitely try to make even better memories, try to finish on the highest step of the podium but we know it's going to be difficult. George has always been very strong here, it's not going to be straightforward but we're also bringing upgrades which hopefully they will work well. We've tried on the simulator and so far they seem positive".
Another new modification this weekend includes a different clutch paddle on Antonelli's W17, with the teenager having suffered bad starts at the majority of races so far this season.
"We made a minor change and hopefully this will help me to be more consistent with the starts and allow myself not to lose any positions off the line".
Lewis Hamilton believes that his work on the simulator at Ferrari’s Maranello base does not always translate accurately to on-track performance, resulting in the Briton changing his approach when preparing for the Canadian Grand Prix. Since his strongest result of the season in China, where he secured his first Grand Prix podium with the Scuderia, Hamilton has repeatedly missed out on a spot in the top five and admitted that he felt he was in no man’s land last time out in Miami. The run of frustrating performances left him looking for ways to alter his race preparation and he settled on avoiding the simulator ahead of his return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the venue that saw his first Grand Prix victory back in 2007. Asked why he moved away from simulator work, Hamilton responded:
"With simulations, I feel that the goalposts are always moving. Last year I used it every week and more often than not, I felt that you do all the work on the sim and you find a set-up that you’re comfortable with, you get to the track and everything’s opposite so you’re undoing the things you’ve learned. Some of the ways you approach the corners, you have to shift and adjust. The set-up that you felt was good on the simulator is not the same as the track sometimes. Sometimes it is, so it’s kind of hit and miss. I just decided for this one, I was going to sit it out and focus more on the data. There was just a lot of deep diving on through-corner balance, mechanical balance, corner approaches, brake balance, optimising the brakes - which has been a problem for me for some time. That’s led to really good integration with my engineers".
Both he and his team mate Charles Leclerc have openly shared their dissatisfaction with some of Ferrari’s recent results. Like many of their rivals, they introduced upgrades in Miami in an attempt to close the gap to frontrunners Mercedes, but a lack of pace for Hamilton and a spin, and subsequent penalty, for Leclerc left the team keen to look ahead to Canada. The Briton was full of praise for his colleagues at Ferrari despite their latest struggles, explaining that his move away from the simulator is not a reflection of the work from those behind the scenes.
"The sim is amazing, it’s an amazing space to work in. It’s the best sim I’ve ever seen and the best group of people – there’s a large team of people I get to work with there, so a day at the sim is actually pretty incredible. It is a very powerful tool and something that as a team, we continue to evolve. I think since I’ve been there, I’ve had a lot of input in some of its evolution and they’ve been really responsive and made loads of changes. It’s not a tool that I’m saying I’m never going to use again. I think it’s something that, for sure, we’ll continue to utilise, particularly on power deployment. What I’ve done for the last six months is you’d go in after the weekend and you’d work on correlation, but then you go to the next track and it’s slightly off sometimes, so we’ll see how the weekend goes. China, for example, I didn’t do the sim and that was my best weekend".
Max Verstappen is hopeful that Red Bull can continue to close the gap to the top three teams after a great step forward last time out in Miami, with the Dutchman stating that the squad are very motivated and very excited for the upcoming races. After a tricky start to the season for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, the team appeared more competitive amid the addition of upgrades to the RB22 at the Miami International Autodrome, a weekend that also saw improvements from McLaren and Ferrari. Looking ahead to what might be possible during Round 5 in Canada, Verstappen remained open-minded but voiced his hope that Red Bull can again be close to the battle at the front of the field.
"Let's wait and see. I think Miami overall for us was a great step forward but, again, it's going to be a bit of a development race every single weekend depending on what other teams bring. Here is a completely different layout. There will still be some surprises and things to get on top of, but I hope to again be close to that top three".
With a quick succession of races coming up across the next few weeks, Verstappen was quizzed on how decisive these will be for the championship.
"I think for us it's more about just focusing on improvement, trying to be in that fight in the front with the top three teams. I think Miami we were close, we were kind of in that fight a little bit, and now we try to close that gap further. I don't know how much that will happen but, at the same time, I hope that we can do that. The team is very motivated and very excited for the coming races".
Verstappen arrives into Montreal off the back of making his debut in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, in which he and his team mates had been leading before a driveshaft problem on their car - with three hours and 20 minutes still on the clock - put them out of contention.
"Honestly, it was great. I had a really fun week. The drivers were really welcoming, the fans were great, the organisers as well were super friendly and really open-minded. I have to say, it's a real cool event to be part of and I think also for the fans, they see so many different kind of cars, the community as well. Just very positive feelings, and the track itself is just so cool to race and also the changing conditions that we had. For me, of course a shame about the end result, but the whole experience was really great".
Oscar Piastri believes that if McLaren are competitive in this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix then that's a really good sign for the rest of the year, as the reigning Teams' Champions have brought further upgrades to try and catch Mercedes. McLaren enjoyed their most competitive race of the season last time out in Miami, with reigning Drivers' Champion Lando Norris claiming victory in the Sprint Race. The Briton and team mate Piastri then completed the podium in Sunday's Grand Prix behind race winner and championship leader, Kimi Antonelli. The team brought a substantial upgrade package to the race in Florida and have brought further modifications to Montreal this weekend, a venue where Norris and Piastri collided last season on one of McLaren's weaker circuits.
"We know we've got a reasonable step again here, which is nice, but it's not been the easiest circuit for us the last couple of years and it's been a very strong one for Mercedes. So it's going to be interesting to see how we stack up obviously in very different cars this year compared to last year. I think if we can be competitive this weekend then that's a really good sign for the rest of the year".
Like in Miami, McLaren have once again opted to bring upgrades during a Sprint weekend, with drivers and teams limited to a single practice session before embarking on Sprint Qualifying. With limited track time to fine-tune new parts, Norris was asked whether it was a risk implementing the new elements in Canada.
"It’s a risk, of course, but we have the parts. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think it was worth it. It’s not like we’re thinking of it now - is it too risky - we’ve thought it for weeks already. I think we have confidence at least that the parts in Miami all worked as expected. We gained probably a lot more lap time, but I think also the Miami track suited us. So I think that’s why we’re a little bit more cautious coming to another track where we want to see how Mercedes perform and also how we perform with the upgrades that we had in Miami, and that we’re going to add to the car".
Mercedes have brought their first substantial upgrade of the season to Montreal, a venue where George Russell claimed victory and team mate Antonelli scored his maiden F1 podium last season. While McLaren's upgrades might not be as substantial, Norris admits that anything to help close the gap is a welcome addition on this year's MCL40.
"Some of them barely change anything. We’re talking tiny things here and there at times, but everything to try and push us in the right direction. The more the merrier and anything that can help us be a little bit quicker, especially when you’re talking about thousandths and hundredths, is a good thing".
Antonelli enters this weekend with a 20-point lead in the title race from Russell and immediately makes the most of Mercedes' substantial upgrade package, the teenager's 1m 13.402s leaving him just over one-tenth clear of Russell, as Hamilton is more than seven-tenths in arrears. With just a single, one-hour session before Sprint Qualifying later on Friday, drivers and teams are keen to learn as much as possible and all 22 cars head out on to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as soon as the lights at the end of the pit lane turn green at 1230 local time. Problems strike Franco Colapinto's Alpine inside the opening five minutes, with the Argentinean stating my throttle is not working over the radio having just made it back to the pit lane, where the team works to rectify an electrical issue on the power unit. Drivers begin exploring the limits of the 2.71-mile circuit from the outset, with Norris sailing into the run-off area at the final chicane, while Verstappen dips a wheel on to the grass at the exit of Turn 7. The Red Bull driver is setting the early pace, though, occupying P1 with a 1m 15.895s on the Pirelli hard tyre approaching the 10-minute mark when a Virtual Safety Car is deployed. Liam Lawson's session ends almost before it even begins as the New Zealander brings his Racing Bulls machine to a halt through Turn 5 with a mechanical issue, with his stricken car recovered under a short red flag and four minutes of additional time added to the session duration. As action resumes, Piastri is another driver to skip the final chicane and Hamilton briefly cuts across the grass through the Turn 8/9 chicane as there remains a general lack of grip with the circuit still incredibly dirty. After 20 minutes, Russell heads the order on a 1m 15.760s before being bested by Mercedes team mate Antonelli, the young Italian posting a 1m 15.414s. Piastri becomes the first driver to dip below the 1m 15s mark, the McLaren driver lowering the benchmark to a 1m 14.963s on the hard tyre as a second red flag is deployed after nearly 25 minutes.
Alex Albon's session ends on the exit of Turn 7 after hitting a groundhog, causing significant damage to his Williams with little time for repairs ahead of Sprint Qualifying. The session is extended by a further 15 minutes due to the delay as the majority of drivers continue with the hard tyre once the track goes green. The Mercedes drivers begin trading fastest laps in their own personal battle, with Antonelli lowering the best time down to a 1m 14.392s on the hard. There are further excursions as Norris cuts across the grass at the Turn 3/4 chicane before regaining the track unharmed, as does Verstappen at Turn 8 and Antonelli also goes deep at Turn 1. Russell becomes the first of the leading runners to use the soft tyre with just over 15 minutes remaining, and comfortably goes quickest on a 1m 13.850s as Antonelli follows up with a 1m 13.402s, which finishes as the session-best. Russell runs deep at Turn 1 with his next effort and cuts the track before eventually improving and then suffers a spin, tapping the barrier at Turn 2 before rejoining unharmed. Esteban Ocon suffers a bigger crash, destroying the nose of his Haas when colliding with the barrier head-on after spinning on the exit of Turn 4, with a third red flag deployed to recover the debris. Ocon is also noted for passing a red light at the end of the pit lane as the session resumes for less than one minute. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Verstappen and Norris trail the Mercedes, as the top 10 is completed by Piastri, Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto leads Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Ocon, Albon and the second Williams of Carlos Sainz. The order is completed by Pierre Gasly (Alpine) in P16, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Lawson, Haas' Ollie Bearman, the two Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, as Colapinto finishes last having not set a time.
After Antonelli heads a Mercedes 1-2 in a disrupted sole practice session a few hours earlier, the attentions of the paddock switch to Sprint Qualifying ahead of the third Sprint of the 2026 season. One name that is not participating, however, is Albon, with Williams confirming prior to SQ1 that the damage sustained to the Thai driver’s car from hitting a groundhog in FP1 is too extensive to be repaired in time for the session. Racing Bulls subsequently announce that Lawson will also miss Sprint Qualifying following a hydraulic leak on his machine during first practice, as the team works to prepare the car for Saturday’s Sprint Race. Hamilton is the first to hit the track as the 12-minute SQ1 begins at 1630 local time, with all cars sporting the mandatory medium tyres for the opening segment. The action quickly picks up and it is Antonelli who topps the timesheets once everyone has put a lap on the board, the Mercedes man going quickest on a 1m 14.010s. Just moments later, Hamilton becomes the first to break into the 1m 13s as he dislodges the championship leader at the top on a 1m 13.889s, pushing Antonelli down to second ahead of Norris, Verstappen and Lindblad. At the other end of the scale, the names at risk are Sainz, Perez, Bottas and Colapinto, with Albon and Lawson already out. Russell, meanwhile, aborts his next effort after running over the chicane, while Gasly is noted by the stewards for impeding at Turn 14. The red flags are thrown with just under two minutes left on the clock due to Alonso hitting the barriers at Turn 3. Replays show the Spaniard locking up and running straight on in his Aston Martin, leading to an apology from the driver over the radio. As the pack awaits a resumption time, the good news for Gasly is that the stewards have decided no further investigation is needed for the noted impeding incident. While most of the top 10 - other than Hamilton - opt to remain in the garage ahead of the session getting back underway at 1659 local time, a queue of cars forms in the pit lane as the pressure builds for the names at risk to reach the line in time for a lap.
The majority do not make it before the chequered flag, with the exception of Hamilton, Sainz and Stroll - and with the order remaining unchanged, Perez, Stroll, Gasly and Bottas are eliminated from SQ1, along with Albon and Lawson. Russell is the first out as 10 minutes go on the clock for SQ2, with the medium tyres again mandatory for the second segment of Sprint Qualifying. Norris initially goes quickest before Hamilton again takes over at the top, beating the McLaren driver by three tenths. This is then bettered by the Mercedes duo as Russell becomes the new pacesetter on a 1m 13.466s, just 0.085s ahead of Antonelli. Verstappen, meanwhile, joins the session later than most and remains the only driver without a timed lap on the board entering into the final minutes. As the end of SQ2 nears, Russell is still on top with a 1m 13.026s - while Verstappen has decided to pit, leaving himself potentially at risk in P9. With Colapinto, Ocon and Bearman all failing to improve, this leaves Hulkenberg and Sainz as the ones who can displace the Red Bull driver. Sainz ultimately makes it to P10, dropping Hulkenberg down to P11 and out of the session along with Bortoleto, Colapinto, Ocon, Bearman and Alonso, the latter having not participated following his crash in SQ1. It all boils down to the eight-minute top-10 shootout of SQ3, where the soft tyre is the compound of choice. Hamilton heads out first, with the rest of the field following soon afterwards. The Ferrari pair are joined by the Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull duos, along with Sainz in the Williams and the Racing Bulls of Lindblad. As the first laps come in, Russell ultimately comes out on top on a 1m 13.194s, some two tenths ahead of Hamilton. One name to better their effort is Norris, the Briton jumping up to second behind Russell. The latter also goes even faster to strengthen his grip on pole, setting a lap of 1m 12.965s. As Antonelli’s final run goes on the board, the Italian pushes Norris down, slotting into second on a time 0.068s behind Russell.
This leaves Norris in third ahead of Piastri, the McLarens followed by the Ferrari duo of Hamilton and Leclerc in fifth and sixth respectively. Red Bull’s Verstappen and Hadjar share the fourth row in P7 and P8, while Lindblad places in ninth and Sainz rounds out the top 10. After dominating the season opener in Australia, the Briton found himself being outperformed by Kimi Antonelli, who became the only driver in history to convert his first three pole positions to consecutive victories. The Miami Grand Prix was especially challenging for Russell, but he bounced back to claim pole for the Sprint by 0.068s over Antonelli at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which is also where he secured his first win of last season. Speaking immediately after Sprint Qualifying, Russell says:
"It obviously feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself - I knew what I could do. Miami was obviously a bit unique. This is an amazing circuit here - high-grip, feels like you’re driving a proper Formula 1 car around here which is how it should be. I’m glad today came together".
He was also buoyed by the Silver Arrows’ upgrades package which was originally set to be introduced later in the season, but was rescheduled partly as a response to McLaren and Ferrari’s Miami updates. From a modified front wing to changes in the floor, Mercedes are targeting improved airflow over the car as well as ways to deal with the massive braking zones in Canada. With the team locking out the front row for the Sprint - and maintaining an advantage of around three-tenths back to third-placed Lando Norris - the early performance of these upgrades have encouraged Russell even further.
"It’s definitely feeling great. The team have done such a great job to bring this forward. We obviously saw in Miami McLaren were really close and Ferrari not too far behind. On a track like this, it’s really excelling, so pleased to have it on the car. Pleased to be back in P1 – it’s been a little while but obviously still big focus for tomorrow".
Despite his optimism, he recognised that Mercedes still need to work on one of their greatest weaknesses – race starts. At lights out, he and Antonelli have repeatedly lost positions to their rivals and subsequently had to fight back through the field, but Russell revealed that there is no quick fix to this issue. He explain:
"We’re making progress, we’re making baby steps in this regard so I’m not going to stand here and say we’re going to fly off the line in P1 and P2. I hope that’s going to be the case but history tells us it hasn’t happened very often - or at all - this year. Lando [Norris] was P3 and they’ve been making good starts so let’s see tomorrow. As I said, good first day".
Antonelli shared his excitement at how well the upgrades seem to be performing, but identified a number of errors that he made throughout Sprint Qualifying that jeopardised his chances at adding another pole position to his tally. Addressing his final flying lap, which allowed him to improve to P2, Antonelli says:
"The lap was quite bad, to be fair. The session was not clean at all. I did a mistake in SQ2 and that threw me off a little bit, then I decided to go for Lap 1 on softs without doing prep and the tyres were a bit cold. It was just a messy session but I’m still P2 and very close so the potential is definitely there. We’ll do better tomorrow".
Elaborating on whether the gap back to McLaren is representative of the pecking order, he adds:
"We brought the upgrade and that’s what it was giving to us in terms of performance. Of course we still need to understand the package a little bit more because the balance has changed a little bit, but overall it seems to have given us a little bit of an edge again".
Lando Norris conceded that his P3 in Sprint Qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix was a good surprise, with the McLaren driver praising his team for a positive turnaround following some concerns over their deficit to Mercedes earlier in the day. The British team had looked some way off the pace of the Silver Arrows during Free Practice 1 on Friday as Norris ended the session in P6, 1.397s adrift of Kimi Antonelli at the top of the timesheets, while Oscar Piastri placed just behind his team mate in P7. It was a strong outing for McLaren in Sprint Qualifying a few hours later, however. Although the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Antonelli sealed the front row of the grid, Norris was their closest challenger in third - with a much-reduced gap of three tenths to Russell. Asked after the session if the result was a good one given how things had gone earlier in the day, Norris smiled:
"Very. A very good result, actually - a good surprise. I think after this morning we were a little bit worried, let’s say, about how far off we were and more just the lack of confidence in the car. But we made some tweaks, we changed some things and seemed to make a good improvement. I’m happy with third - it wasn’t the best lap, I could have got more out of it but then when I saw the gap to the guys ahead, not that much. A positive turnaround, and I’m proud of the team that we managed to do such a good job".
Reflecting on how the upgrades brought by McLaren in Montreal have been feeling, Norris suggested that some functioned well while others require more work going forward.
"I think it certainly felt decent - some things were maybe a bit more questionable and we probably need just more time to review things and look back, especially because it’s such a weird track. It’s so low grip, you’re kind of bouncing off the kerbs and stuff, so you’re not getting a true representation of everything and it’s hard to back it up with what we have in the wind tunnel and things like that. We need a bit more time with some bits and we’ll probably reintroduce some of them next weekend or in Barcelona. At the same time, the rest of the car now was clearly working well and I felt confident in SQ3, especially on the soft tires, which is maybe the first time this weekend that I felt that confidence. A good step forward, and we’ll see what we can improve knowing that into tomorrow".
Piastri took fourth place in Sprint Qualifying - only a little under two hundredths away from his team mate - and stated that the car was feeling pretty good following the addition of the updates.
"A bit of a messy day for everybody, I think, but the Mercedes still looks very strong, so I think that’s probably the biggest takeaway from today unfortunately. But we’ll see what we can do, see how we can optimise things a bit better and try our best again tomorrow".
Norris and Piastri will line up ahead of the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. When quizzed on whether it could be a challenge to keep the fast-starting Scuderia cars at bay - and whether this could be a hindrance in trying to get ahead of the Mercedes duo - Piastri voiced confidence in the MCL40’s ability to get off the line.
"I mean, our starts have been better than the Ferraris’ all year, so we’re confident in ours. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Mercedes get theirs competitive as well, but until that time comes we’ll try our best to take advantage of it".
Lewis Hamilton reaped the rewards of changing his approach for the Canadian Grand Prix as he enjoyed his strongest session of the season in Sprint Qualifying, eventually taking P5 on the grid. Ahead of the weekend, the Ferrari driver revealed that he had chosen not to use the simulator back at the team’s base in his preparations, instead focusing on analysing data from previous races to find the best set-up.
The adjustment seemed to work as Hamilton consistently delivered fast laps throughout Sprint Qualifying, leaving him more than satisfied with his performance despite falling behind Mercedes and McLaren in the final moments of the session.
"It’s probably the best Qualifying session we’ve had for some time. Great work with the engineers on the set-up changes - the car felt really fantastic from FP1. We made subtle changes going into Quali. SQ1 and SQ2 were looking good and then I don’t know why the others are able to turn up a little bit more, I don’t know. I’m just happy to be there in the fight. I was having so much fun out there. Also, the fact that I didn’t do the sim and this is the best I’ve felt all year so I think that’s the way forward for me".
This marks the first time Hamilton has outqualified his team mate Charles Leclerc since Round 2 in China, which the Briton has previously labelled as his best weekend of the season so far. Asked whether the hard work behind the scenes helped him feel more comfortable in the car, he replies:
"Yeah, we worked really hard sifting through the data in the last couple of weeks. I found that so much more beneficial in terms of one, I was able to just focus on training and not be distracted, and then the second part is just really going through with a fine comb with ride stability, through corner balances and mechanical balance. I chose a set-up that we’ve never used before and it’s transformed the car for me, so I hope that bodes well for the rest of the weekend".
While Ferrari chose to optimise the upgrades they debuted in Miami rather than joining many of their rivals in bringing more to Canada, Leclerc faced more major problems with his confidence under braking during Friday’s sessions. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the second row for McLaren in the upcoming Sprint, leaving the Ferrari pair to settle for P5 and P6, which Leclerc admitted did not come as a surprise to him.
"Honestly on my side, I kind of expected it - I haven’t been at ease with the car. I’m really struggling with the brakes on my side of the garage for some reason so we need to look into it, try to find something for tomorrow, otherwise it’s going to be a very long weekend because on the brakes, I get into the corners hoping that I don’t end up going straight. That’s the main issue at the moment. Other than that, the car feels actually quite okay. Lewis has been incredibly quick this weekend but on my side, I just need to work on the feelings with the brakes and hopefully we can turn the situation around tomorrow. I think we have quite a good idea of what’s going on. Whether we have a fix for tomorrow is another story. We’ll try and deal with it in the best possible way and see".
Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar both complained about the ride of the Red Bull RB22 in Sprint Qualifying ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, with the former stating:
"My feet were flying off the pedals".
The pair were left on the fourth row of the grid for Saturday's 23-lap Sprint, with Verstappen more than half a second adrift of polesitter, George Russell. Verstappen admitted that the feeling in the car "was not very good" and that Red Bull seemed to be some way still adrift of Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari in Montreal.
"I mean I'm not surprised. My feeling in the car was not very good, I was struggling a lot with the ride of the car all over the bumps. Couldn't put my foot down. My feet were even flying off the pedals. Just made it very difficult to be consistent and that's something that we need to investigate. It was not great. Of course, we are stuck with that for the Sprint but some other things to understand and hopefully that will then be a bit better for Qualifying".
Just a couple of weeks after the Miami Grand Prix, F1 returns to action with a second consecutive Sprint weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which is hosting the high-pressure format for the first time. Track evolution is immense at this venue and only one practice session is on offer during Friday’s running, giving drivers and teams a short period of time to find their rhythm and identify the success of their latest upgrades - with the exception of Ferrari and Aston Martin, every outfit has introduced a range of updated components for this round. Heading into the Sprint, it is confirmed that Bearman, Gasly, Bottas and Albon will all start from the pit lane due to their teams making changes under parc ferme conditions, with all four originally set to line up on the back half of the grid. There is further frustration for Aston Martin as home hero Stroll is wheeled back to the garage with a front suspension issue. He is set to be one of three drivers starting on soft tyres alongside Cadillac’s Perez and Bottas, with Lindblad opting for hard tyres in P9 and everyone else using the yellow-walled mediums. As they get into position for lights out, all eyes are on the Silver Arrows pair who have repeatedly lost out on opening laps this season, but it is a different story this time around as they hold position to escape up the road from Norris, with Russell maintaining the lead. Just behind, Hamilton continues his strong momentum from Friday’s running to displace Piastri for P4. Things don't look easy for Russell as his team mate - the current championship leader - keeps constant pressure on him in the early stages, remaining less than a second behind as they jointly open up an advantage over Norris. There are some changes to the midfield order as Hulkenberg, who started from P11, runs over the grass and loses four positions. Meanwhile, Stroll is noted for a start infringement after Aston Martin rushes to make the beginning of the Sprint. Drama begins to unfold rapidly at the front of the field towards the end of Lap 5 as Antonelli’s motivation to snatch the lead comes to fruition - he tries to pass Russell, and it looks like they touched as the Italian ends up cutting the corner at Turn 2 before running off the road again shortly after, labelling his team mate’s defence very naughty. While Antonelli calls for a penalty, believing that he is forced off track, Norris squeezes through to take P2, forcing Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff to instruct over the radio:
"Concentrate on the driving please, and not on the radio moaning".
The chaos surrounding the lead momentarily quiets down, but it isn’t over for Antonelli – he drops away from the top two and focuses on defending against a determined Hamilton, who has excelled at this circuit in the past. Elsewhere, Hadjar initially returns to the pits to retire after reporting an engine problem, but emerges back on track within a couple of laps and uses the remaining session to gather data for the rest of the weekend. Although the threat of Antonelli has temporarily fallen away, Russell is far from safety as he leads the field. Keen to repeat his victory from the Miami Sprint, Norris is mere tenths behind the Mercedes driver and by Lap 15, Antonelli closes in to get himself back in the fight. Russell’s defence is complicated after Albon pits, causing traffic that the frontrunners will have to pass. The Williams driver obeys the blue flags but nevertheless irritates his compatriot, who finds himself just a few tenths clear of Norris. As the battle at the front remains as intense as ever, Hamilton ensures that the Wall of Champions lives up to its name as he hits it whilst defending P4 from the second McLaren of Piastri, who makes his way past on the following lap. Almost simultaneously, Antonelli runs wide again to bring a sudden end to his fight for more points as he settles for third place behind Russell and Norris, with Piastri almost 8 seconds adrift in fourth. Hamilton loses another position to his Ferrari team mate late on and winds up sixth ahead of Verstappen and Lindblad, who claim the final point available in the Sprint. They are followed by Colapinto, Sainz and Lawson, the latter delivering a good performance after missing out on Friday’s Sprint Qualifying. Bortoleto and Ocon are next up for Audi and Haas, leading Perez and Hulkenberg as the last drivers to finish on the same lap as the victor. Meanwhile, it is another day of learning for Aston Martin as Stroll takes P16 while Alonso ultimately retires. Those who started from the pit lane struggle to gain any significant positions - Bottas leads in 17th from Bearman, Albon and Gasly, while Hadjar crosses the line even further behind after struggling with engine problems. After making a good start from pole position, Russell held the lead as the 100 km dash got underway in Montreal - but soon faced a challenge from Antonelli, leading to the pair making contact.
Antonelli later cut across the grass following another attempt to overtake Russell, resulting in the Italian sharing some angry messages over the team radio as he lost a position in the process to McLaren’s Lando Norris. Despite going on to face pressure from Norris in the fight for the lead, Russell held onto his position to take victory and subsequently take two points out of his team mate’s advantage in the Drivers’ Championship. Asked afterwards about how he absorbed that pressure through the Sprint Race - as well as being quizzed on the battle with Antonelli - the 28-year-old responds:
"It was a cool race. I was just talking with Lando, it was definitely very difficult to get a gap around here. It felt quite easy to follow, the slipstream was quite powerful with the overtake mode and then it was a good battle with Kimi. Glad we're both standing here after the race".
The win marks Russell’s return to the top step following a streak of victories for Antonelli across the last three rounds, but the Mercedes driver insisted that he was never worried about the situation.
"I was never really concerned, to be honest. I know Miami is a bit of a bogey track for me and of course there's been this huge break in the calendar. Lots of people with a lot of things to say, but ultimately I just wanted to get back racing and it feels like the season is restarting now with six races in eight weeks. I’m just looking forward to getting into that groove. It’s great to be back in Montreal, and amazing fans as always".
Lando Norris took advantage of an intense intra-team battle between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to secure P2 in the Sprint at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, revealing that he was pretty worried about having to then defend from the Italian driver. After proving McLaren’s potential by winning the Miami Sprint last time out, Norris reaffirmed the success of their upgrades by claiming third place in Sprint Qualifying in Canada, lining up just ahead of team mate Oscar Piastri. The pair were unable to edge past Mercedes at lights out as the leaders refined their approach to the opening lap, and Russell was able to open up a slim advantage of a few seconds over Norris. However, as Antonelli launched a fierce attack for P1, Norris closed in and was able to swoop past the 19-year-old when he ran wide, leaving the top three drivers separated by tiny margins for the remaining laps.
"It was a good race. It was good just to watch them the Mercedes pair go at it for a little while but of course we were there to pick up the pieces when things happened, and they were quick. Kimi caught me back up pretty quickly and then I was pretty worried from behind but also I wanted to try and attack George ahead. Overall, it was fun. It's always a tough track to try and push on and easy to make mistakes but today was a good result for us".
While Norris was unable to gain another position and repeat his Miami achievement, his team mate found a way past Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to reclaim P4 having initially lost the place on the first lap. Piastri ended the Sprint pleased with McLaren’s performance despite missing out on the podium, leaving him determined to pursue a stronger result in Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. The Australian says:
"I think the pace is pretty good, it’s just I was stuck most of the race. I think the wind changed from yesterday - the balance was quite different so it wasn't quite the car I expected to have. We’ll try and see what we need more for this afternoon and tomorrow, but I think the pace was encouraging so if we can have a better Qualifying, we can be in the mix".
Kimi Antonelli admits that he will need to review the incident between himself and team mate George Russell during the Sprint at the Canadian Grand Prix, with the Mercedes driver initially suggesting he was pushed off. The Mercedes duo occupied the front row for the 23-lap Sprint on Saturday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with Russell holding the lead from pole as Antonelli slotted into second. Antonelli, who entered this weekend with a 20-point lead over Russell in the standings after taking a hat-trick of Grands Prix wins, kept close to his team mate in the early stages and made a move into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 6. As Antonelli pulled to the outside line into the left-hand bend, the two cars briefly touched on the exit with Antonelli taking to the grass through the following right-hand turn, reappearing briefly in front of Russell before losing the position. Antonelli made a further attempt into Turn 8 but locked-up and bounced across the grass, losing a further position to Lando Norris' McLaren as he eventually finished third, behind race winner Russell and the reigning World Champion.
"Was a tough battle to be fair. We were all there in terms of pace, was not easy. I tired to make my move and I need to review on that because I was quite well alongside and got pushed off. It is what it is. Then obviously I made a mistake into Turn 8 because I took a big bump and I locked up and then I kind of compromised my race but it was a good battle".
Antonelli made an attempt to pass Norris on the final lap, also on the outside line into Turn 1 before taking to the run-off area and rejoining back in P3. The 19-year-old had further time for reflection before the media pen interviews and stated his focus was already on Qualifying up the front for Sunday's 70-lap race.
"Was a very hard-fought race but I think it was pretty fun to watch for everyone. I think obviously it was a bit frustrating in the moment, but now we reset and focus on Qualifying because it's another big opportunity".
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has given his verdict on the clash between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint, stating you can't expect to have a lion in the car and a puppy outside regarding the Italian teenager. Russell and Antonelli locked out the front row for Saturday's 23-lap Sprint in Montreal, with Russell eventually taking victory as Antonelli dropped to third behind McLaren's Lando Norris. The major talking point came at the start of Lap 6, as Antonelli made a move around the outside of Russell into Turn 1 before the pair made contact and Antonelli cut across the grass at Turn 2. Antonelli, who led the standings by 20 points ahead of the weekend, then locked-up at Turn 8 and bounced across the grass, dropping behind Norris and complaining multiple times over the radio to his team about the Russell incident. The outbursts prompted Wolff to come over the radio himself to tell Antonelli that the incident would be talked about internally post-race.
"Drivers have emotions, obviously, you are so upset about being pushed off or not having left the space. All of the media wants to come out now with Star Wars and that's going to be headlines everywhere. So having the message once is okay, a second time I can kind of get but if you come a third and fourth time [complaining over the radio] that's not good to have that out there".
Despite the incident and outburst from Antonelli, who believed he had been pushed off by Russell when speaking immediatley after the Sprint, Race Wolff made it clear he does not want to deter Antonelli from fighting.
“I don't want to hold him back at all. I think also that he went for Lando absolutely. So when you analyse it, going into Turn 1 with George, he had the nose ahead but then obviously on the brakes, and we've seen this with Max, where you kind of roll it in a little bit to be ahead. But is that a corner where you would expect somebody to leave the door open? Probably not. Nobody would have done that. The same with Lando, you can see it just doesn't go. So that's the two situations but I want him to continue to be aggressive because you can't expect to have a lion in the car and a puppy outside, that's their character. He will be upset and you need to accommodate that and respect that. So the question is only how do you do this going forward? What are the rules?"
Charles Leclerc has been given a renewed sense of optimism for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix after experiencing very strong race pace in the Sprint, with the Monegasque crossing the line in fifth ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton. Having admitted on Friday that he hadn’t “been at ease with the car” due to struggles with the brakes, Leclerc was running in a solid P6 for much of Saturday’s Sprint before overtaking the other Ferrari of Hamilton in the latter stages to move up one position. Quizzed after the event on whether it had been disappointing to not be able to make more progress, Leclerc answer:
"I obviously wish, but unfortunately… Yesterday was a very difficult day on my side. I’ve had some things that were a bit out of place on the brakes in general, and on a track like this where all the braking points are quite bumpy, brake confidence had cost me quite a bit. And on top of that, Lewis is extremely strong on this track, so I’ve been a bit playing catch-up so far. However, in the race I felt like my race pace was very strong, so [with] this I’m optimistic for tomorrow even though it might rain".
Looking ahead to Qualifying later on Saturday, the 28-year-old admitted that his focus would be on the brake problems that he has been experiencing.
"For Qualifying this afternoon, I’ll just hope to fix the brake confidence I’ve had struggles with this weekend. It was better in the Sprint race - I hope we do another step forward in Qualifying to be at least in the top three, and then we’ll see tomorrow".
Hamilton has looked in good form throughout the weekend so far in Montreal, but suffered a frustrating end to the Sprint when - after running in fourth - he lost two places. The Briton was also investigated after the 100 km dash for allegedly leaving the track and gaining an advantage during a late fight with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, but no further action was taken. Hamilton summarises after the Sprint Race:
"Piastri got alongside me into the last corner and basically overtook me, and through that I lost a position to Charles".
Max Verstappen admitted that any changes Red Bull make to the car ahead of Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix can’t make it worse after he endured an uninspiring Sprint. The Dutchman has struggled to feel settled so far this weekend and found fault with the ride of his car during Friday’s action, explaining that the bouncing was so significant that his feet were flying off the pedals. With parc ferme conditions in place between Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint, Red Bull were unable to implement a fix for Verstappen’s troubles before the 23-lap event. He found himself in no man’s land during the Sprint as the team’s rivals at Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari outpaced them, leaving Verstappen to cross the line 15.935s behind winner George Russell. Asked what he could take away from the session, he replies:
"I didn’t learn a lot to be honest. We knew the problems that we had already after Sprint Qualifying, and then you can’t touch the car so you just want to basically get the Sprint over with and then try to make some changes for Qualifying. I hope we can make it a little bit better. I mean, we can’t make it worse so it can only be better to be honest".
There is action even before the light at the end of the pit lane turns green for the 18-minute Q1 segment at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with Alonso noted for an unsafe release into the fast lane as a rapidly-approaching Colapinto slams on the brakes in avoidance. Out on track, all drivers opt for the soft Pirelli rubber as focus switches from Saturday's earlier Sprint to performance over one lap, with Norris left at the top of the times following the first runs. The reigning World Champion posts a 1m 14.213s with just 0.015s covering himself, McLaren team mate Piastri and Antonelli initially. Despite complaining that the ride has felt worse today than yesterday over the radio, Russell becomes the first man to dip below the 1m 14s barrier with a 1m 13.953s, but it is quickly beaten by both Antonelli and Hadjar as track conditions improve. There are a number of off-track excursions as drivers explore the limits - Hulkenberg running deep at Turn 1, as Audi team mate Bortoleto cuts the grass at Turn 3, while Leclerc misses the final chicane on his first quick lap. The Audis occupy the drop-zone for much of the session, but improvements on their final laps as others falter mean Hulkenberg reaches P14 and Bortoleto makes P16 and the final spot, just 0.070s clear of elimination. Ocon is the first driver to miss the cut, ahead of Albon and Alonso, the Aston Martin driver having to avoid Perez into the final chicane on his final effort that ruins any chance of improvement. The Cadillac driver finishes P20 and has earlier been noted for failing to follow the race director's instructions, which will be investigated post-session. Both Stroll and Bottas also fail to advance after each suffers off-track moments at Turn 3 and Turn 1 respectively with their final efforts. At the top of the order, Antonelli's 1m 13.380s leaves him just over one-tenth clear of Norris, as Piastri, Hadjar, Hamilton and Leclerc complete the top six, with Russell back in P9 and just ahead of Verstappen. With fresh soft Pirelli tyres, times immediately improve in Q2 as Antonelli sets a 1m 13.076s leaving him ahead of Norris, with Hadjar, Hamilton, Piastri and Verstappen, who states:
"I can't get my front tyres in the window".
All jumping ahead of Russell. The Briton is nearly six-tenths behind his Mercedes team mate and heads into the run-off area at Turn 1 during the session before finding a better lap time. Leclerc is also struggling for performance, initially down in P9 and on the edge of dropping out, which is not helped by being stopped at the weigh bridge in the pit lane. Bearman takes to the run-off area at both Turn 8 and the final chicane on flying laps, with Lawson also cutting across the final corners as both fail to trouble the top 10. It takes until the final minute for Antonelli's earlier effort to be beaten, Hadjar the first driver below the 1m 13s barrier with a 1m 12.975s. He finishes 0.066s clear of Hamilton, with Norris, Antonelli, Russell and Piastri joined by Verstappen, Leclerc, Lindblad and Colapinto in the top 10. Hulkenberg once again finishes a Qualifying session in P11, as Lawson, Bortoleto, Gasly, Sainz and Bearman all fail to advance. Russell's pole position looks incredibly unlikely until the final moments of Q3, as the Mercedes driver aborts his opening effort after suffering a snap of oversteer at Turn 6. Having been sent back out earlier than the opposition, Russell posts his first flying lap and embarks on a cool down lap before unleashing the full potential of his Mercedes - his 1m 12.578s leaving him less than one-tenth clear of Antonelli. The Italian has also not troubled the top of the leaderboard with his first initial effort, as Norris proves to be best of the rest once again in the final reckoning. Piastri will join his McLaren team mate on the second row, as Hamilton misses out on the chance to qualify higher after running onto the grass on the exit of Turn 7. Verstappen is P6 despite complaining of the straightline speed in his Red Bull, with team mate Isack Hadjar just fractions slower. Leclerc struggles for performance and manages P8, followed by Lindblad and Colapinto. After aborting his first effort during Q3, Russell found himself out of sync and lingering towards the rear of the top 10 ahead of the final runs. However, a stunning last tour saw the Mercedes driver surge to the top on a 1m 12.578s, putting him just 0.068s clear of team mate Kimi Antonelli. Russell - who had won a thrilling Sprint just hours earlier - explained the difficulties he had faced in Qualifying as he reflected back on the session after jumping out of the car, explaining:
"It’s always challenging coming back from the Sprint race - the car feels very different, you’re obviously into the Qualifying format. We made some changes as a team, we need to review after if that was the right direction. Then obviously that last lap came from nowhere, and it was just a great feeling when it was such a challenging session. To put it all together on that last lap to throw yourself up the leaderboard was epic".
Pushed on the exact nature of the challenges he faced, Russell admitted that the alterations made prior to Qualifying had been influenced by the weather forecast for Sunday’s race, for which there is a possibility of rain.
"We made some changes based on the forecast for tomorrow - it may have hurt us a little bit for now. It just took the car out of sync a little bit. Kimi was definitely more competitive than I in that session, but we weren’t as clear ahead of everybody else like we were yesterday so it was definitely a challenge. But as I said, just managed to redial my driving for that last lap and put it together".
Russell and Antonelli engaged in a tense battle during Saturday’s Sprint in Montreal, with the pair making contact as Antonelli attempted to fight for the lead. In terms of whether there could be a repeat of this come Sunday, Russell says:
"No, we’ve had a good chat since this morning. We’re both racing drivers, we both know what to do, we both respect one another, so we’ll go racing. We hope it’s just battling the two of us, but we saw today how competitive everybody else is. Tomorrow looks to be wet - that’s going to be a whole new challenge as well, so to be honest so it’s not really what we’re thinking right now. We just want to ensure that we can be standing on the top step".
Kimi Antonelli has stated that the situation is now all clear with team mate George Russell following their Sprint clash in Canada after the pair had a chat afterwards, with the Italian explaining that they are still free to race as they prepare to share the front row again on Sunday. A feisty battle unfolded between the Mercedes duo during the 100km dash, during which they made contact before Antonelli subsequently slipped backwards by one position, leading to some aggrieved radio messages from the championship leader. The Silver Arrows drivers went on to again secure first and second on the grid as Qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix played out hours later, with Russell surging to pole position by just 0.068s from Antonelli. Ask after the session if he had found time to speak with Russell and the team about the events of the Sprint during the gap before Qualifying, Antonelli answer:
"Yeah of course, we had a chat with George and Toto [Wolff] and now it’s all clear".
Expanding on this further, the 19-year-old adds:
"We clarified about the race. We recognised our own mistakes, so now obviously we’re free to race but of course we need to race with respect".
All eyes will be on the pair and whether they follow this approach when they line up for Sunday’s race. Qualifying for the Grand Prix proved trickier for Mercedes than Friday’s Sprint Qualifying had, however, leaving Antonelli to wonder what could have been.
"It’s the same gap as yesterday so obviously it’s a pity, but I think overall it was still a decent session. It was very tricky to get tyres in the right window, but we tried our best. That last lap, I finished it and then I was a bit… not too sure. It felt like I wish I had another run’, but it is what it is. George did a great lap, and now I will try to get it back tomorrow".
Lando Norris believes that it’s impossible to know whether he could have delivered more in Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix after he came within 0.151s of securing pole position. Building on the momentum from his double podium finish in Miami, the McLaren driver improved from P3 to P2 in the Canada Sprint by passing Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli during his tense battle with eventual winner George Russell. Norris continued his strong form in Qualifying and was a contender for the top spot throughout, making the most of McLaren’s latest upgrade package, but lost out in the final moments as Russell and Antonelli both improved their lap times. Ask whether there was anything left on the table during the session, he responds:
"It’s always impossible to know. I feel like we did a good job out there today honestly. I’m sure everyone can say around here, it’s a difficult lap, it’s a difficult track to kind of put everything together perfectly, but I think we did another good job. It’s clear that these guys are just that little bit quicker. It’s nice to be closer than we were yesterday. I had fun this morning, of course the weather’s going to be different tomorrow so we’ll wait and see. But we’re in a good place and we’re in a place we need to be".
He will be joined on the second row by his team mate Oscar Piastri, who similarly matched his Sprint Qualifying result as the Woking-based outfit continued to find small improvements in relation to Mercedes. The Australian concluded that the session wasn’t bad for the team, but echoed Norris’ sentiments about still finding themselves not quite on the same level as the Silver Arrows. He says:
"I think it was just a little bit tricky in a few areas, but overall I was pretty happy. We got closer to Mercedes but not quite enough. We tried our best. I think we’re definitely able to put a bit more pressure on but they’ve still got the ultimate pace over us".
Prompted to look ahead to the race and the potential of rain, he add:
"We’ll wait and see. We’ve not really driven these cars properly in the rain so it’s going to be an experience one way or another".
Charles Leclerc admits that the build-up to the Canadian Grand Prix has so far been the worst weekend of my career, with the Ferrari driver set to start Sunday's race from P8. Leclerc has struggled to match team mate Lewis Hamilton in Montreal, starting behind the seven-time World Champion in Saturday's Sprint and only moving ahead to finish P5 after Hamilton lost momentum in the final chicane having been passed by Oscar Piastri. The Monegasque driver's performance dropped even further away during Qualifying, as he struggled to challenge the front runners and finished P8, four tenths behind polesitter, George Russell.
"Honestly, it's one, if not the worst weekend of my career. Since FP1, I haven't had one lap where I could feel the car. I just felt like I was going to put it into the wall in every single corner I do just because the tyres were completely out of the window today. The brakes yesterday that were not in the window as well. There was never, at any time, something that was just clicking and everything was right. But surely Lewis managed to do that throughout Qualifying and I didn't. I'll analyse on what I can do to be better in these kinds of conditions to just switch those tyres on, because it's been really a nightmare so far".
Leclerc currently sits third in the Drivers' Championship standings this season having taken two podiums from four Grands Prix, with his lowest result coming last time out in Miami after he finished P8. Leclerc was at a loss to explain why he was struggling in comparison to Hamilton in Canada, who is enjoying one of his strongest weekends so far in 2026.
"It's strange but it's the situation I find myself in at the moment and I've got to work on that. We'll look into everything. Honestly, for now, I just have a very strange feeling with the car so we'll look into everything. Surely I can do better things, but it just felt very off".
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton feels encouraged with changes made to his engineering team, expressing I really feel like myself ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. The seven-time World Champion is enjoying one of his strongest weekends of the 2026 season so far in Montreal, qualifying P5 for both Saturday's Sprint and Sunday's Grand Prix - out-qualifying team mate Charles Leclerc each time. Having faced some criticism since his move to Ferrari at the start of 2025 due to a lack of results, Hamilton believes he has now established a strong team around him which means he can get the best out of himself.
"Honestly, for me, my engineering team is now just where I need it and we've finally got the car this weekend in a place where I really feel like myself, and I really hope that continues. I don't need to change up my team, we just need to keep on working and do what works for me. I'll prepare the same for the next race and hopefully we'll be a bit better next race".
Hamilton looked strong during Saturday's Qualifying session, but an error on the exit of Turn 7 meant he went over the grass, leaving the Briton P5 but less than three-tenths from pole. But with the threat of rain looming over Sunday's 70-lap race, Hamilton was optimistic that it would present Ferrari with an opportunity to challenge the Mercedes and McLaren drivers ahead.
"I was feeling great up until the last lap. Basically, I did a good prep, I came out of the last corner to start the lap and didn't get the Straight Mode on and by the time I realised into Turn 1, I was down two tenths. I caught some of it back but then had that wide moment. When you're pushing and trying to get everything out it can be on the knife-edge. But the car was feeling good and the team did a really great job, so I hope tomorrow when the weather is better, when it's raining, hopefully we have a good chance".
The FIA's plan to modify the current regulations, announced on May 8th, is fading away. An agreement in principle had been reached between the Federation, FOM, teams, and engine manufacturers, but obstacles that are difficult to overcome emerged in subsequent discussions. Some engine manufacturers complained about the extra costs required to redesign the current power units to ensure a higher fuel flow. Others pointed out how the ADUO mechanism risks proving counterproductive with this decision, while several teams have no intention of modifying their chassis to install larger fuel tanks. In short, the 60:40 split between internal combustion and electric power for 2027 already seems like a mirage, and the parties appear inclined to push it back to 2028. Following the Canadian Grand Prix qualifying session, Max Verstappen took a harsh stance, even though he had stated on Friday morning that he intended to stay in Formula 1 in 2027:
"Unless incredible things happen and they keep their word".
Well, those incredible things seem to be exactly what is about to happen. Max was not at all pleased with the potential hypothesis of delaying the new regulations by a year:
"If things continue like this, next year is looking to be long and difficult, which is something I don't want. Mentally, it is simply unsustainable for me to carry on like this. Seriously, it's impossible".
In short, Verstappen has once again raised the possibility of leaving Formula 1:
"A sabbatical year and then return in 2028? No. There are so many other fun things to do outside of here".
After a busy weekend of track action at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve - which included an entertaining third Sprint of the campaign on Saturday - it is time for Round 5 of the season, the Canadian Grand Prix. All eyes are on the skies as the paddock assembles prior to Sunday’s event, given that the weather forecast predicts a good possibility of rain on race day. While it is spitting during the morning on and off, the showers appear to get heavier again as the start of the race nears, with plenty of umbrellas up as the drivers and teams prepare on the grid in increasingly cold temperatures. Russell is set to start from pole position and hopes to continue his solid form seen earlier in the weekend, having already converted pole into victory for the Sprint. Team mate Antonelli, however, lines up alongside him, meaning that it is very much all to play for after their clash in the 100 km dash. One alteration to the starting order has been made ahead of the race, with Stroll confirmed to start from the pit lane after elements on his power unit are changed under parc ferme conditions. Given the mixed conditions, there are question marks over which tyres the pack opts for - and it is subsequently revealed when the tyre blankets are removed that a mixture of compounds has been selected, with the McLarens, Audis, Cadillacs and the Williams of Sainz going for the intermediates, while Lawson, Lindblad and Colapinto have bolted on the mediums and the rest of the field has gone for the softs. An extra formation lap is confirmed at the start after Lindblad’s car stalls due to a clutch issue on the grid, with the pack going around for a lap while the Racing Bulls machine is cleared before another formation lap follows. This reduces the race distance to 68 laps.
The changing conditions spark some conversation at McLaren during the extra lap, Piastri having radioed in to say that the intermediates are a mistake. But that has to wait as the field lines up for the start - and when the lights go out, a lightning launch from Norris sees the Briton run alongside the Mercedes pair before storming into the lead. Russell loses a position to drop back to third behind his team mate, while Hamilton has overtaken Piastri for fourth. That order quickly changes as Piastri dives into the pits at the end of the first lap, swapping to the medium tyres and dropping towards the rear of the pack. There is further action in the McLaren pit box when the second tour concludes, with the Briton also stopping for the medium rubber and falling back to P14. Russell is looking racy as he tries to find a way past his team mate, but the championship leader defends to hold P1. Meanwhile the rest of the intermediate runners have pitted for slicks. A big moment for Norris sees the reigning World Champion run over the grass, with his race engineer admitting that they might be going very long with their strategy. Five laps down, Antonelli continues to lead from Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hadjar, Colapinto, Lawson, Bearman and Alonso. Russell remains hot on the tail of Antonelli and overtakes the sister Mercedes before the last chicane - with Antonelli then locking up and narrowly avoiding contact with Russell in the process as he runs off the track. Having flat-spotted his tyres, the Italian drops back to one second behind. Verstappen, meanwhile, has climbed to third after surging past Hamilton, the latter seemingly struggling as he reports:
"I got no power, man".
Over the radio. Ten laps in, Russell is still one second clear of Antonelli, with Verstappen 3.5 seconds back in third as Hamilton and Leclerc follow. Further back, Norris has moved up to P11 and is looking to find a way past Bearman, while Piastri is running in P13. But up at the front the situation is getting tense, with a lock-up from Russell seeing Antonelli momentarily take the lead before the British driver retakes the position. The yellow flags are waved on Lap 13 after Albon comes to a stop, the Williams driver finding himself out of the race after being hit by Piastri. The McLaren man has been trying to overtake Bearman and locks up, running into Albon as a result. Piastri makes another pit stop for a new front wing, with the collision noted by the stewards. There is worse to come for McLaren when Norris is also forced to pit again to have grass cleared from his car following another wide moment, dropping him down to P14 ahead of Piastri in P16. As Lap 18 ticks down, another lock-up from Russell allows Antonelli to run side-by-side with his team mate - but Russell again holds on, forcing Antonelli to brake and back out. The Italian remains half a second behind, however, meaning that the fight is likely not over yet.
Behind them, Verstappen is still in third but with Hamilton chasing hard behind - also half a second adrift as is the case with the front pair - while Leclerc holds a more distant fifth. An off-track moment for Hamilton sees him drop backwards shortly afterwards. On Lap 22 the scrap at the front takes yet another twist, with Antonelli making a move into the last corner and making it stick to take the lead. But just two tours later - as the duo laps Norris - Antonelli locks up and Russell returns to P1. Antonelli soon tries another overtake but runs wide off the track and rejoins ahead, leading the team to ask him to give the position back.
"Why mate, he pushed me off and I was already ahead?"
Antonelli asks over the radio, yet the Italian does as told and gives the place back to Russell. Amid all of this Piastri has been handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, marking another unhappy event for McLaren on what is proving to be a tough day. The stewards confirm that there will be no further investigation into Antonelli and Russell - but the situation takes a dramatic turn on Lap 30 when Russell slows down with a sudden issue and stops on track, the Briton furiously slamming his fists on the car before jumping out. This makes the Mercedes driver the fourth retiree, with Alonso having been wheeled back into the Aston Martin garage shortly before. A Virtual Safety Car is deployed as Russell’s car is recovered, leading to most of the field diving into the pits - including Antonelli, who bolts on the medium tyres and emerges with a 4.6 second lead over Verstappen. It is confirmed that Russell will be investigated after the race over an incident, seemingly for throwing his head rest out of his car after coming to a halt. Back on track - as Lap 35 ticks down - the rest of the top 10 behind Antonelli and Verstappen is completed by Hamilton, Hadjar, Leclerc, Colapinto, Lawson, Gasly, Norris and Sainz. Leclerc - who has lost a position to Hadjar after Ferrari double-stacked in the pit lane - is left unhappy after having to take avoiding action following some robust defending from the Red Bull driver, leaving the Monegasque to remark:
"That was nearly a huge one".
Hadjar, meanwhile, has been noted for a yellow flag infringement. While no further investigation is deemed necessary over that offence, the Frenchman is then noted for making more than one change in direction. Leclerc eventually finds a way past to move up into P4. McLaren’s difficult day continues as Norris retires from the running, reporting a possible issue with the gearbox - and the list of retirements grows further when Perez limps back to the pits, with something seemingly flying off his car in the process. The Mexican has also recently been noted for ignoring blue flags. It is proving to be a busy afternoon for the stewards, with Hadjar handed a 10-second time penalty for changing direction more than once in his scrap with Leclerc. After a brief Virtual Safety Car phase to allow for some debris to be collected, the race continues with Antonelli 4.3 seconds ahead of Verstappen on Lap 48. Verstappen, however, is potentially going to find himself under pressure from Hamilton, the seven-time World Champion having closed to 2.5 seconds behind his former title rival. Further back, fourth-placed Leclerc asks his race engineer not to speak to him again until the last lap. Another Virtual Safety Car is called on Lap 53, leading Hadjar and Piastri to take the chance to pit and serve their respective 10-second time penalties, bringing them out in fifth and 13th places. When the VSC ends, Antonelli has extended his lead to eight seconds - but Hamilton is now only 1.4s behind Verstappen. As replays show Leclerc just saving a big slide at the final corner, Hamilton edges further towards Verstappen and looks to find a way past the four-time World Champion.
"I need more power".
Was Hamilton’s comment over the team radio. The Ferrari driver finally gets it done on Lap 62, going around the outside of Verstappen into Turn 1 to snatch second place. Meanwhile the other Red Bull of Hadjar has been hit with a stop-and-go penalty for that earlier yellow flag infringement, with the French driver pitting again to serve the punishment, having held enough of a margin to Colapinto behind to keep P5.
Hamilton is not able to rest easy in P2 as the final laps tick down, with Verstappen still all over the back of the Ferrari car. But Antonelli does not have to worry up front, the Italian taking his fourth consecutive victory by 10 seconds as the chequered flag falls. Despite Verstappen remaining only half a second behind, Hamilton holds onto second as the two World Champions seal their positions on the podium in Montreal. Leclerc is some 32 seconds back in fourth ahead of Hadjar, who remains in fifth despite serving two penalties. Colapinto clinches a second points finish in a row in sixth, while Lawson keeps a chasing Gasly at bay to claim seventh. Sainz and Bearman complete the top 10. Mercedes’ George Russell was left in disbelief following his dramatic retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix, stating he felt like somebody doesn’t want me to fight for this championship. The Briton - who had started the race on pole - engaged in an epic battle for the lead with team mate and eventual winner Kimi Antonelli as the pair fought it out for lap after lap, with victory and precious World Championship points on the line. However, that battle came to a sudden and unexpected halt on Lap 30 when Russell - by that point running in P1 - suffered a power unit failure that brought his Silver Arrow to a standstill. With Antonelli going on to win the race, the Briton was left dismayed at his luck and was visibly frustrated when exiting the car. Says Russell, when ask how it felt after the failure of his power unit:
"Disbelief. It feels like somebody doesn't want me to fight or compete for this championship. Three out of the last five races there's just been something really going against us. I’m just a bit lost for words right now".
Prior to Russell’s retirement, fans at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve were gripped by the thrilling tussle for the win between the Mercedes drivers, continuing a battle that was also seen in Saturday’s Sprint Race. However, with Antonelli going on to take his fourth Grand Prix victory on the bounce it leaves Russell 43 points behind his championship rival ahead of the next round in Monaco. Despite the bitter disappointment with the way his Canadian Grand Prix weekend ended, Russell did take heart from his performances, and the battle with his teenage team mate, as well as the way he responded to his doubters.
"Yeah, I loved the battle. I was happy with how I handled it, how I drove and I'm just pleased with the weekend in terms of my own personal performance. There were a lot of doubters maybe after Miami and a lot of chat, but I know what I can do. Pole in the Sprint, win the Sprint, pole in Qualifying, leading the race. Hard battles, I really loved the battle and I wanted to continue for 30 more laps. I would have loved to see how it would have panned out but here we are".
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes that the intense battle between drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell for the lead in the Canadian Grand Prix was just acceptable. The Mercedes duo engaged in a thrilling tussle during the early stages of the 68-lap race in Montreal, as the pair went wheel-to-wheel and traded the lead several times. Their personal battle only came to an end when Russell was forced to retire on Lap 30 due to a power unit problem, with Antonelli left clear to take his fourth Grand Prix win in succession.
"It was just acceptable. I think probably 10% less battling would have made us all happier but it's okay".
The latest on-track battle came after Russell and Antonelli also fought for the win in Saturday's Sprint, with Antonelli unhappy about a Turn 1 move that left him on the grass. On Saturday, Wolff had stated that I don't want to hold him back regarding Antonelli's fighting spirit, but confirmed post-race on Sunday that the latest flashpoint would be discussed ahead of the next race in Monaco.
"I think first we need to calm things down. Also make sure George is in a good head space, or a better head space, and then discuss it with them. We always want to be transparent".
Antonelli's victory means he now holds a 43-point lead in the Drivers' standings after just five Grands Prix weekends, with Wolff stating that Sunday's result was bittersweet.
"Obviously a win is a win and that is great. Kimi deserves it, but bittersweet for the team. Obviously you had George who was leading the race and we let him down with failure. That is always difficult to cope, we'd rather see them racing like we did for the whole race and then figuring out on track who deserves to win".
Kimi Antonelli admits that his victory in the Canadian Grand Prix was not really the way I wanted, after Mercedes team mate George Russell retired following an epic tussle between the pair. The Mercedes duo engaged in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel tussle in the early stages of the 68-lap race in Montreal, with both drivers leading at various points, as well as suffering lock-ups and running wide. The decisive moment came on Lap 30 as Russell retired from the lead at Turn 8 after suffering a power unit failure, leaving the way clear for Antonelli to claim his fourth Grand Prix win in succession.
“Not really the way I wanted to win if I have to be honest because it was a tough fight with George. It was very intense but I think it would have been cool to see how it would have ended up because we were going at each other. We were pushing and I think we both did a lot of mistakes. I think on my side I did a mistake that was a little bit in a crucial moment when I went back in front and started to pull away. "That was a mistake that if I could have avoided would have been better. For sure was a tough battle, was intense, and of course I felt sorry for him but we'll take the win and move forward".
Russell's retirement has had huge ramifications in the title battle, with Antonelli now holding a 43-point lead after just five race weekends. Despite enjoying such a healthy lead in the points, Antonelli was wary of the threat Russell still poses, as well as the looming threat of McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull as they look to close on Mercedes. Says Antonelli when ask how he will keep this momentum going:
"Keep doing what I'm doing. Of course, we're going to keep raising that bar because George was extremely quick this weekend. We were really neck-and-neck so I just need to keep levelling up and of course, the Ferrari, Red Bull and McLarens, they are definitely coming back so we're going to keep pushing. Next one Monaco, which could be a tricky one, but we'll try to be ready for everything and I'll do my best".
Lewis Hamilton has celebrated his P2 finish at the Canadian Grand Prix as his happiest day at Ferrari so far, with the seven-time World Champion left feeling very light after securing his best finish in his time with the squad. After displaying good pace earlier in the weekend, Hamilton faced some disappointment in Saturday’s Sprint where he slipped back to a final result of P6. Things went much more in the Briton’s favour come Sunday, however, as he made gains from P5 on the grid to eventually find himself battling against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for second place. Hamilton ultimately won the fight and could not hide his joy at securing P2, a result that comes after some ups and downs since his time with the Scuderia began in 2025.
"Oh man, it’s the happiest day of my days at Ferrari so far. It feels great to be able to put the Ferrari on the podium, and to get my first second place with the team as well in the main race, and this is my second podium as well. I’m just elated and so proud of the team for working so hard. I finally have the engineering team that I’ve been working towards. I think our car is great, the guys did a fantastic job over the winter to get the car where it is, and I think I understand it a lot better and much more comfortable with it. Whilst we’re not exactly where we want to be, to get a result like this capitalises on… we’ve got great reliability. This is awesome, and a big thanks to the team".
Pushed on how personally satisfying the result is for him, Hamilton respond:
"Honestly it’s the best feeling. I feel very light right now. I feel great in my body - physically I’m very, very strong, and clearly mentally in a good place and I arrived this weekend with mega energy, and I want to take this forwards".
Lando Norris conceded that his retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix put himself and the team out of our misery but vowed to take the positives following a challenging day for McLaren, which unravelled after both Norris and Oscar Piastri started the race on the intermediate tyres. With rain having been forecast on Sunday in Montreal, conditions were mixed as the start time neared - and McLaren were amongst a group who opted to bolt on the intermediates to begin with, a decision that quickly proved to be the wrong one. Norris had made a lightning start to take the lead ahead of the Mercedes cars, but was forced to pit within a couple of laps to switch to slick tyres. This dropped him down the order, and his recovery drive was also hindered when he had to pit for a second time over reliability concerns. Just as he was again starting to make ground, the Briton had to retire after reporting a possible gearbox issue, marking the end of a tricky outing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Reflecting back on the events of Sunday, Norris explained of that early tyre choice:
"It was just, if the rain shifted one per cent more, I think that would’ve suited me nicely. It didn’t, and it went maybe one per cent the other way and it’s tough to know these kind of things. Obviously it was not a bad decision for Lap 1, like it worked out in a way, but at the same time… Well it was a wrong decision, so we have to accept that and learn what we can use with the information we had to make a better decision next time. But I also pushed for it myself quite a bit, so we take it on the chin and we tried to maximise the race after that, but we had some problems and we had a failure in the end which put us out so, yeah, put us out of our misery in a way".
Despite the difficulties of the day, Norris was left feeling optimistic about McLaren’s performance after the weekend, particularly in light of the fact that he was able to take the fight to the Mercedes cars early on. Positive, Norris says when ask to share his thoughts on how the weekend had panned out overall.
"It’s hard to just look at positives now, but I was positive. The car was performing well. It still felt like a horrible car to drive at times, today mainly in these cold conditions, but I’m sure it’s probably similar for everyone. We still have to take the positives and there were plenty of them - we were in a fight with the Mercedes. We were the one giving them a good battle - no one else could, so we have to take those good things away with us, learn what we can improve for next time, and there’s plenty of those things so I’m still excited for the future".
Max Verstappen believes Red Bull can do better despite the Dutchman taking his first podium of the season during the Canadian Grand Prix, calling his third-place finish a great result. The four-time World Champion enjoyed his best Grands Prix of the season so far, running second for much of the 68-lap race in Montreal before losing the position to Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari in the closing laps. Verstappen's charge to the podium was helped by the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri starting on the intermediate tyre for rain that never materialised, while George Russell's Mercedes retired due to a power unit issue. Says Verstappen when ask if he was satisfied with his first podium of the campaign:
"I would say a little bit of a surprise but at the same time you have to look at it. The two McLaren cars made a mess of the strategy starting on the inters, so that helps, and then of course, George's car gave up, so that also helps to be on the podium. But for us, it's still a great result. We're battling with the Ferrari, not too far off the Mercedes, it's just on the second stint on the medium we were just lacking a bit of grip. It was just not really working for us so that's something that we need to understand but nevertheless, on the podium is positive".
Despite being helped by the misfortune of others, Verstappen and Red Bull looked more competitive in the race having sorted out car issues from Qualifying that left Verstappen only P6.
"I think now the last two weekends we have been a lot closer. Before we were fighting with the midfield, now we're fighting close to the front so in that sense we made some really positive steps forward, but I also know we can do better and that's what we'll focus on".
Charles Leclerc concluded that the Canadian Grand Prix was undoubtedly the most difficult weekend of his career so far, the Ferrari driver struggling to extract performance out of his SF-26 even with a top-four finish. While his team mate Lewis Hamilton appeared to be the most comfortable he’s felt at the Scuderia, Leclerc was unable to match his pace and reported issues with his brakes on Friday, which affected his confidence in committing to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s extreme braking zones. A result of fifth in the Sprint seemed to boost his optimism for the rest of the weekend before he ended Qualifying eighth, four tenths adrift of polesitter George Russell. Tyre management then became his greatest problem in the 68-lap Grand Prix, leaving him to focus on bringing the car home safely in P4 after benefitting from incidents further ahead.
"It was a horrible, horrible weekend. I had already said it was probably the most difficult weekend so far of my Formula 1 career. I’ve finished the race now and I can definitely say it’s the most difficult weekend of my Formula 1 career so far. Never could put the tyres in the right window, but it has nothing to do with the car of course - Lewis has done an incredible job and congratulations to him. On my side I’ve just been struggling. I had no feeling with the car. The only positive of a weekend like this is I’ve got Lewis in the same car and I can look at what he did this weekend and try to get answers on why I was just struggling so much. The last 15-20 laps of the race are not very representative because I kind of just wanted to bring the car home. Before that, I was just still too slow and it’s not good enough".
Hamilton enjoyed a much smoother weekend as he claimed his best Grand Prix result with Ferrari in P2, edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the position as the team continued to learn how to maximise the upgrades they introduced in Miami. Ask whether he found his team mate’s strong weekend encouraging or frustrating, Leclerc respond:
"I think both. At least I know it’s in the car that we can do better but honestly, looking at Lewis’ race and weekend, I don’t think there is any more to extract from this car. I think he’s done an exceptional job today. On my side there’s plenty more to exploit, at least to get to Lewis' level on a day like this. I will look into the data. I’ve obviously gone through difficult races where you analyse and you understand a lot out of those races so that’s what I’ll try and do".