23:21
That's all for today!
Thank you for joining our live coverage of Friday's action in Montreal.
We'll be back for the sprint race and main qualifying tomorrow, so be sure to join us again then!
Leclerc in Canada, with Geese
© XPB Images
F1 2026 Canadian Grand Prix Friday practice and sprint qualifying as it happened
Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Canadian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Antonelli leads Mercedes 1-2 in FP1
- Albon misses Sprint Qualifying after groundhog clash in FP1
- Alonso crashes to cause red flag, but makes SQ2
The fifth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Canadian Grand Prix.
While the vast majority of teams brought significant upgrade packages to the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes kept its powder dry, and has brought its first major upgrade to Montreal. With the team having been victorious in all four rounds so far, there is intrigue as to the margin the team will be able to pull with its new parts, especially as the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is usually a strong venue for Mercedes.
McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull will hope to have closed the gap with additional upgrades, although notably smaller, to their own cars.
Max Verstappen has stolen plenty of the limelight, with his exploits at the Nurburgring 24 Hours a key talking point among drivers in the paddock.
Esteban Ocon and Haas have been forced to dismiss suggestions that they could part company imminently, with reports described as b******* by both the driver and team principal Ayao Komatsu having circled during the week, suggesting an argument had taken place between the pair in Miami.
As this is a sprint weekend, there will be just one practice session taking place before sprint qualifying on Friday evening.
Unlike in Miami, where there had been a significant break in the lead-up, the practice session will last just one hour.
2026 Canadian Grand Prix Friday schedule
Sprint qualifying: 9:30pm BST - 10:14pm BST
22 May 2026
22:58
Full Sprint Qualifying Results
2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Full sprint qualifying and Friday practice results
George Russell bounced back from a series of bruising defeats to Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to take Sprint pole at the Canadian Grand Prix. Full results ⬇️
Hamilton in Canada
© XPB Images
22:52
Russell pips Antonelli to Canada sprint pole
George Russell responded with a needed bounce back to claim pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix sprint race.
The Briton has suffered three consecutive defeats to Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli but hit back at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to clinch a pole by a narrow margin of just 0.068 seconds.
It was an important result for Russell to halt the recent impressive momentum of Antonelli, who is 20 points clear in the title race heading into the weekend in Montreal, where Mercedes has introduced its first major upgrade package of the season.
Read our full report here 👇
RUSSELL PIPS ANTONELLI TO CANADA SPRINT POLE AS ALONSO CRASHES OUT
Russell celebrates his sprint pole in Canada
22:35
Top 10 in SQ3
The top 10 as it ended:
- Russell
- Antonelli
- Norris
- Piastri
- Hamilton
- Leclerc
- Verstappen
- Hadjar
- Lindblad
- Sainz
22:34
Piastri relegates Hamilton further to P5. What an end to the action that was!
22:34
A 1m12.965s lowers the bar at the top for Russell. Antonelli goes P2 with a 1m13.033s.
22:33
Lando Norris leaps up to P2!
22:33
Hamilton improves with a 1m13.326s. He remains second, however.
22:32
But hold on. Hamilton is going again and has set a purple sector one!
22:32
As things stand, the top 10 is:
- Russell
- Hamilton
- Antonelli
- Verstappen
- Hadjar
- Piastri
- Leclerc
- Lindblad
- Norris
- Sainz
22:31
A dreadful run for Norris puts him in P9, ahead only of Sainz.
22:31
A 1m13.194s for Russell, puts him ahead of Hamilton! Antonelli can only manage P3.
22:30
A 1m13.411s for Hamilton, as Verstappen goes second and Hadjar third. But the Mercedes pair are coming in hot!
22:29
Here we go. Times are about to land!
22:28
A dreadful first two corners as the car washed out around both curves sees Hamilton quickly bail on the effort, and set off on another preparation tour. Others are following suit with a pair of preparation laps.
22:27
Hamilton will be the first driver to set a time. He is not wasting a moment of time.
22:26
SQ3 begins
Green flags, and we are go for the very brief SQ3 session. All drivers must use soft tyres, and only a single set.
22:25
Place your bets now. Russell, Hamilton, and Antonelli are all capable of taking this. And that's before mentioning the lurking Leclerc, Piastri, and Norris. One mistake could allow any of that trio in.
22:20
SQ2 Top 10
Those set to feature in SQ3 are:
- Russell
- Hamilton
- Antonelli
- Leclerc
- Piastri
- Norris
- Lindblad
- Hadjar
- Verstappen
- Sainz
22:19
Sainz survives another day. Hulkenberg drops to P11 and is out for Audi.
22:19
Verstappen survives. Only Sainz can improve now, with only Hulkenberg in danger now.
22:18
"The car is s***," says Verstappen. He is not happy in the slightest.
22:17
Verstappen is in the pits. This is playing it very cool.
22:17
Hamilton briefly returns to the top, but Russell then delivers a 1m13.026s. It's almost certain we'll drop into the 1m12s with the sort tyres in SQ3.
22:16
Bortoleto, Colapinto, Ocon, Bearman, Hulkenberg, and Alonso are in the drop zone.