Russell denies Mercedes rival Antonelli pole position for Canadian Grand Prix with last-gasp effort

George Russell beat Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli and McLaren's Lando Norris to pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with a last-gasp effort.

Russell, who had won the Sprint in Montreal earlier on Saturday, posted a 1m 12.578s with his final effort to finish just 0.068s clear of Antonelli as Mercedes locked out the front row for Sunday's 70-lap race.

The Briton had been on the back foot in the final segment of Qualifying having aborted his first flying lap and he was down the order with his first completed run.

But Russell pulled out the fastest lap at the very end as the Mercedes duo beat Norris and the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton suffering a mistake on his second run that left him P5.

Max Verstappen headed Red Bull team mate Isack Hadjar in P6 after complaining about the straightline speed of his car, with the top 10 completed by the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Franco Colapinto (Alpine).

Nico Hulkenberg once again just missed out on a spot in the final part of Qualifying and will start P11. The Audi driver finished ahead of Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), the second Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly's Alpine, Carlos Sainz (Williams) and the Haas of Ollie Bearman.

The second Haas of Esteban Ocon finished P16 after just missing out on Q2 by 0.070s, where he was joined by the Williams of Alex Albon and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.

Sergio Perez finished P20 but the Cadillac driver is under investigation for several incidents, one of which included blocking Alonso on his final flying lap.

The order was completed by home hero Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas, the pair set to start at the back of the grid for Sunday's 70-lap Canadian Grand Prix.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Antonelli sets the pace as Ocon and Albon drop out

There was action even before the light at the end of the pit lane turned 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 slammed on the brakes in avoidance.

Out on track, all drivers opted for the soft Pirelli rubber as focus switched 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 posted 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 became the first man to dip below the 1m 14s barrier with a 1m 13.953s, but it was quickly beaten by both Antonelli and Hadjar as track conditions improved.

There were a number of off-track excursions as drivers explored the limits – Hulkenberg running deep at Turn 1, as Audi team mate Bortoleto cut the grass at Turn 3, while Leclerc missed the final chicane on his first quick lap.

The Audis occupied the drop-zone for much of the session, but improvements on their final laps as others faltered meant Hulkenberg reached P14 and Bortoleto made P16 and the final spot, just 0.070s clear of elimination.

Ocon was 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 ruined any chance of improvement.

The Cadillac driver finished P20 and had earlier been noted for "failing to follow the race director's instructions", which will be investigated post-session.

Both Stroll and Bottas also failed to advance after each suffered 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 left him just over one-tenth clear of Norris, as Piastri, Hadjar, Hamilton and Leclerc completed the top six, with Russell back in P9 and just ahead of Verstappen.

Knocked out: Ocon, Albon, Alonso, Perez, Stroll and Bottas

Q2 – Hadjar and Hamilton lead the way, Hulkenberg misses out again

With fresh soft Pirelli tyres, times immediately improved in Q2 as Antonelli set a 1m 13.076s leaving him ahead of Norris, with Hadjar, Hamilton, Piastri and Verstappen, who stated "I can't get my front tyres in the window", all jumping ahead of Russell.

The Briton was nearly six-tenths behind his Mercedes team mate and headed into the run-off area at Turn 1 during the session before finding a better lap time.

Leclerc was also struggling for performance, initially down in P9 and on the edge of dropping out, which was not helped by being stopped at the weigh bridge in the pit lane.

Bearman took 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 failed to trouble the top 10.

It took 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 finished 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 finished a Qualifying session in P11, as Lawson, Bortoleto, Gasly, Sainz and Bearman all failed to advance.

Knocked out: Hulkenberg, Lawson, Bortoleto, Gasly, Sainz and Bearman

Q3 – Russell denies Antonelli after comeback

Russell's pole position looked incredibly unlikely until the final moments of Q3, as the Mercedes driver aborted his opening effort after suffering a snap of oversteer at Turn 6.

Having been sent back out earlier than the opposition, Russell posted his first flying lap and embarked 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 had also not troubled the top of the leaderboard with his first initial effort, as Norris proved 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 missed out on the chance to qualify higher after running onto the grass on the exit of Turn 7.

Verstappen was P6 despite complaining of the straightline speed in his Red Bull, with team mate Isack Hadjar just fractions slower. Leclerc struggled for performance and managed P8, followed by Lindblad and Colapinto.

Key quote

"It’s always challenging coming back from the Sprint race – the car feels very different, you’re obviously into the Qualifying format," said Russell. "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."

What’s next

The 2026 Canadian Grand Prix is set to begin at 1600 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.