George Russell takes pole position for the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix; Checo Pérez to start P20

George Russell led a dominant Mercedes front-row lockout at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, while Sergio Pérez was eliminated in Q1 and will start 20th.

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@F1

Mercedes delivered its strongest qualifying performance of the season in Montreal as George Russell secured pole position for the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix with a lap of 1:12.578.

The British driver narrowly defeated teammate Kimi Antonelli, who had briefly held provisional pole with a 1:12.646 lap before Russell produced a near-perfect final run in Q3.

The result completed a dominant front-row lockout for Mercedes and reinforced the team’s growing momentum in Formula 1.

Qualifying at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve featured constant changes at the top of the timing sheets. Max Verstappen initially led the session before Lando Norris pushed McLaren to the front. Antonelli then stunned the field with his pace before Russell responded in the final moments.

McLaren remained close behind with Norris and Oscar Piastri qualifying third and fourth, respectively. Lewis Hamilton placed fifth for Ferrari, while Verstappen settled for sixth after struggling to find balance throughout the session.

Further back, Isack Hadjar, Charles Leclerc, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto rounded out the top ten.

For Sergio “Checo” Pérez, however, qualifying turned into another difficult afternoon with Cadillac. The Mexican driver failed to escape Q1 and will start 20th on Sunday.

Despite improving late in the session, Pérez could not extract enough pace from the Cadillac package to advance into Q2. Esteban Ocon, Alexander Albon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas were also eliminated in the opening segment.

Pérez acknowledged after qualifying that the team continues searching for consistency over one lap and hopes race conditions in Montreal can create opportunities to move forward through strategy and tire management.

The Canadian Grand Prix will take place Sunday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a track historically known for unpredictable races, safety cars and dramatic late-race moments.