Kimi Antonelli during the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint qualifying – Photo: Race Pictures
Russell claimed pole position for the Sprint at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Antonelli and Norris completing the top three today at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. After completing SQ1 and SQ2 on the medium tyres, drivers switched to soft tyres for the final session of the day, where the Briton proved to be the quickest, finishing ahead of his teammate and his championship rival.
The two McLaren drivers, Norris and Piastri, will occupy the second row of the grid. Lewis Hamilton was in fine form throughout qualifying, but the seven-time world champion only finished fifth. Charles Leclerc will line up alongside the Briton. Red Bull Racing had a difficult day, as Verstappen and Hadjar will start from seventh and eighth, respectively on Saturday. Arvid Lindblad and Carlos Sainz completed the top ten with strong performances from both drivers.
The first day of on-track action at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve wasn’t without its fair share of drama and challenges for several drivers. The practice session was marred by multiple red flags, including that of Liam Lawson, whose team was slapped with a hefty fine, and Alex Albon, who unfortunately ran over a marmot. The free practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix was indeed a pulsating one.
Once running resumed and the session concluded, Antonelli topped the timesheets with a best lap of 1:13.402. The championship leader was closely followed by Mercedes teammate Russell, who finished just over a tenth behind.
Hamilton placed third in his Ferrari but was more than seven-tenths off the pace set by Antonelli. Leclerc and Verstappen completed the top five, both nearly a second adrift of the dominant Mercedes duo. Behind them, Norris, Piastri, Lindblad, Nico Hülkenberg and Fernando Alonso completed the top ten, with lap times ranging from just over a second to two seconds off the benchmark.
Esteban Ocon was undoubtedly one of the main talking points during Thursday’s media day in Montréal, with the Haas driver forced to address recent rumours surrounding his future in Formula 1. Over the past few days, speculation had emerged suggesting his place within the American team could already be at risk ahead of 2027, with some reports even hinting at a possible exit before the end of the current season.
Speaking with GPblog among other media outlets, Ocon strongly rejected the claims and made it clear that there is no tension whatsoever between himself and team principal Ayao Komatsu. The Frenchman appeared visibly irritated by the stories circulating online, insisting the reports were entirely invented and based on false information.
Esteban Ocon during the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint qualifying – Photo: Race Pictures
“Honestly, complete bull***t., to be honest. It’s unbelievable. I mean, we were just talking with Ayao just now. The article I saw was calling him Ryo Komatsu, which is quite funny. And they were even saying that we had a massive dispute in Miami. It’s complete nonsense. Honestly, it’s all fabricated and complete bull***t.”
Max Verstappen admitted he was left with a sense of unfinished business after a dramatic ending to his maiden Nürburgring 24 Hours appearance last weekend. The Dutchman and Verstappen Racing had emerged as clear contenders for victory at the Nordschleife, only for a late mechanical issue to destroy their hopes after more than 20 hours of racing.
A driveshaft failure ultimately dropped the car far down the order despite the team having controlled the race for much of the event, turning what had looked like a potential triumph into a hugely frustrating result.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Verstappen made it clear the Nürburgring 24 Hours had long been an event he wanted to experience outside Formula 1. The Dutchman pointed to the raw intensity and brutality of racing around the Nordschleife as part of the attraction, adding that the experience only strengthened his desire to continue exploring endurance racing in the future.
“Outside of Formula 1, there’s a lot of other kind of racing that you can do and that one was definitely on my list. If you look at the onboards, I think you can understand why. It’s brutal and just very exciting. And yeah, for me it was something that we prepared for a long time and that we managed to get it all together for that weekend, which is something that was really cool and of course also something that I would like to keep going.”
During Thursday’s media day in Montréal, Max Verstappen also addressed Formula 1’s recently revised 2027 regulations, offering what many could interpret as another important clue regarding his long-term future in the sport.
The FIA confirmed several adjustments to the upcoming rules package earlier this week following increasing criticism from drivers and teams over the current direction of the regulations. Verstappen himself had previously been among the most vocal figures expressing concerns about the future technical philosophy of Formula 1.
“It’s definitely heading into a very positive direction. I think it’s the minimum I was hoping for, and I think it’s really nice that that’s what they want to do. You know, that’s definitely what I think also the sport needs.”
Canadian Grand Prix circuit details
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of Formula 1’s most iconic street-style permanent circuits, hosting the Canadian Grand Prix. The race track is situated in Notre-Dame, Montreal. The circuit length is 4.361 km (2.710 miles), and it is particularly famed for its tricky chicanes, including the last two turns, where the Wall of Champions often catches out any driver who gets it wrong.
Canadian Grand Prix Full schedule
The race weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is set to be packed with action, with not just the Formula 1 race featuring a sprint weekend on the calendar, but also several support races, including Formula 2 and the F1 Academy series.
The weekend will span from May 22 to May 24. It will kick off with the sole practice session of the weekend in the F1 category, from 17:30–18:30 BST. The weekend will progress with Sprint Qualifying between 21:30 and 22:14.
Day 2, Saturday, will kick off at 17:00–18:00 with the Sprint Race, before being followed by Qualifying, which takes place from 21:00–22:00. The Grand Prix, which will be the climax of the race weekend, will draw the curtain on the weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with the race slated for 21:00.
Feeder series Canadian Grand Prix Schedule
For the feeder series, Friday, May 22, will see F1 Academy Practice at 13:55 and Formula 2 Practice at 15:00. Later the same day will feature F2 Qualifying at 18:55 before F1 Academy Qualifying at 22:55. Saturday, May 23, will kick off at 14:40 with the start of F1 Academy Race 1, with the F2 Sprint Race at 19:00. The day for the junior series will conclude at 23:00 with F1 Academy Race 2. Sunday, May 24, will kick off at 15:40 with F1 Academy Race 3, followed by the F2 Feature Race at 17:00.