George Russell takes Canadian Grand Prix pole with Mercedes front row
23rd May 2026Mercedes’ George Russell has claimed his third consecutive pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix, locking out a Silver Arrows front row.
Feature image credit: Pirelli
Russell has claimed yet another pole position for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix, marking his fourth consecutive top spot position on the grid at the event in all formats.
The King’s Lynn-born driver has enjoyed a strong weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but it looked like another Canadian pole might not be on the cards after a late mistake.
On his first banker lap of Q3, Russell had tapped the barrier on the exit of turn four, which resulted in him abandoning the lap and diving straight into the pits – leaving him tenth.
He ventured back out on the track with over six minutes on the clock, placing him out of sync with the remaining top 10 drivers.
Russell takes Canada GP sprint victory as Antonelli disagrees
However, the championship contender left his best lap to last as Russell claimed pole position by 0.06s ahead of his championship-leading teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
As such, it means Mercedes has secured the double this weekend with back-to-back front-row lockouts across the sprint and grand prix races.
McLaren were next in line on the timing boards with defending champion, Lando Norris, who rounded out the top three ahead of his teammate, Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton looked to be in position to threaten pole position in the dying embers of qualifying, but a mistake on his final attempt at turn seven cost him his final run.
The seven-time world champion pulled straight into the pits at the end of qualifying, finishing fifth overall.
Who qualified where for the Canadian Grand Prix?
22 – Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +2.892s
21 – Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +2.815s
20 – Sergio Perez, Cadillac +2.049s
19 – Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1.816s
18 – Alexander Albon, Williams +1.471s
17 – Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.465s
16 – Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.441s
15 – Carlos Sainz, Williams +1.298s
14 – Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1.212s
13 – Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +1.096s
12 – Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +0.922s
11 – Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +0.911s
10 – Franco Colapinto, Alpine +1.119s
9 – Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +0.702s
8 – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.398s
7 – Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +0.357s
6 – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +0.329s
5 – Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +0.29s
4 – Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.203s
3 – Lando Norris, McLaren +0.151s
2 – Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +0.068s
1 – George Russell, Mercedes 1m 12.578s
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Russell takes Canada GP sprint victory as Antonelli disagrees
- Steward’s grant Lawson and Albon permission to race in Canadian Sprint
- Hamilton credits revised preparation after strongest qualifying display of season
- Russell hails Mercedes upgrade push after Canadian Sprint pole
- Racing Bulls fined €10,000 for technical breach
- Antonelli leads Mercedes one-two in incident-filled FP1 at Montreal
- Liam Lawson referred to stewards for technical breach at Canadian Grand Prix
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
