Canadian GP: George Russell snatches pole from Kimi Antonelli as battle between Mercedes drivers intensifies
George Russell produces stunning lap at end of Q3 to dislodge Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli from pole; Russell had struggled throughout session; watch the Canadian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 & Main Event at 9pm on Sunday, with build-up from 7.30pm
Saturday 23 May 2026 23:08, UK
George Russell snatched pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix from his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in a thrilling finale to qualifying in Montreal.
Russell appeared out of sorts for almost the entirety of the session, but produced a stunning lap with the chequered flag already waving to dislodge Antonelli from pole, with just 0.068s separating the Mercedes pair.
Russell roared with delight over the radio after sealing pole, having earlier on Saturday reduced Antonelli's lead over him at the top of the Drivers' Championship to 18 points by winning the Sprint, which featured a contentious collision between the Silver Arrows.
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"That last lap came from nowhere," Russell said. "It was such a great feeling when it was such a challenging session and you pull it all together on that last lap - to throw yourself up the leaderboard is epic."
Russell goes into Sunday's race seeking to end the run of three successive victories that had given Antonelli a surprise early-season lead, with the forecast of wet weather only adding to the potential drama at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Antonelli said: "I am pretty happy. There was still a little bit left on the table but George did a great lap and all eyes on tomorrow. We will see what the weather is like but we will try and be ready for anything."
Lando Norris claimed third as his team-mate Oscar Piastri ensured McLaren locked out the second row, with the reigning constructors' champions closer to the pace than most had anticipated on a weekend where Mercedes have introduced their first major upgrade package of the season.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton appeared to be in the battle for pole having been second to Norris after the first Q3 runs, but had to settle for fifth after making a mistake on his final flying lap attempt.
Max Verstappen, frustrated by a lack of straight-line speed in his Red Bull, was sixth, with his team-mate Isack Hadjar marginally behind him in seventh.
Charles Leclerc was eighth in the other Ferrari, while Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad and Alpine's Franco Colapinto continued their strong from to round out the top 10.
Russell strikes another blow on dramatic day
Qualifying began with a heightened sense of importance coming just hours after the gloves had come off for the first time in this season's battle between the Mercedes drivers.
Antonelli had been left aggrieved when he felt Russell forced him off track as the pair battled for the lead in the Sprint, and suggested both over team radio and after the race that he would be changing his approach to racing his team-mate accordingly moving forward if such a move was to be tolerated.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1 ahead of qualifying that the situation had been resolved and both drivers were on the same page regarding the rules of engagement moving forward, but there was little doubt each contender would be desperate to land the next blow.
It was Antonelli who started stronger, topping the timesheet in Q1 with Russell half a second off the pace in eighth.
The picture was similar in Q2 as Antonelli quickly delivered a strong lap to secure his place in Q3, while Russell once more lacked pace and couldn't even match his team-mate's effort on a further run at the end of the period.
Russell appeared to be in major trouble as he made an error and aborted his first flying lap in Q3, while Antonelli suddenly found himself behind the McLarens and Hamilton in fourth after completing a scrappy effort of his own.
The prospect of Mercedes missing out on a grand prix pole for the first time this season suddenly seemed very realistic.
Russell, now out of sync with the rest of the Q3 runners, returned to track early but seemed to have little hope of pole when he slotted into third, more than a quarter of a second down on the Norris lap which led at the time.
As both Norris and Hamilton failed to improve with their second runs, Antonelli appeared to have taken pole when he went almost a tenth clear of the McLaren with his final effort.
But then Russell, with time for another lap having cooled his tyres after his previous run, summoned an improvement of more than four tenths from nowhere to shoot to the top of the timesheet.
Russell said: "We made some changes based on the forecast for tomorrow. It may have hurt us a bit for now. It put the car out of sync a little bit.
"Kimi was more competitive than I and we weren't as clear ahead of everyone else as yesterday, so it was a challenge but I redialled my driving and put it together."
While Russell has insisted throughout the weekend that he is not feeling any extra pressure as a result of his unexpected championship deficit to Antonelli, his animated celebrations over the radio told a different story.
Despite the psychological boost offered by Russell's two triumphs over Antonelli on Saturday, he has so far only gained two points on the Italian teenager, with the weekend's main rewards still to be handed out on Sunday.
Sky Sports F1's Canadian GP schedule
Sunday May 24
3.40pm: F1 Academy Race 3
5pm: F2 Feature Race
7.30pm: Canadian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
9pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX*
11am: Canadian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
12am: Ted's Notebook*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday's race at 9pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
