George Russell claims pole position in Canada for the third year in a row

It has been a great weekend for George Russell so far as his luck in Canada strikes again. After winning the sprint race earlier today, the British driver claimed pole position ahead of his teammate in Montréal.

Credit: Formula One

In the fifth round of the 2026 season, Formula One returns to Canada at the Circuit Gilles Villneuve. It was another sprint weekend where George Russell picked up an additional eight points earlier in the day.

Russell managed to continue his momentum into qualifying, claiming his third consecutive pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix. He will be joined by Kimi Antonelli on the front row, with Lando Norris starting in third.

Here's how qualifying panned out in Montréal:

Q1

It was a green light in the pit line where Alex Albon was first to lead out the queue following behind. All 22 drivers were quick to make their way out onto the track.

After getting some heat into their tyres, Oscar Piastri set a lap time of 1:15:105. It wasn't quite quick enough as he was soon pipped by the likes of Max Verstappen and Norris. Piastri soon made another quick lap to ensure his progression to Q2, however Verstappen put in another quick lap with a time of 1:14:067.

It wasn't long until the championship leader Antonelli set a benchmark time of 1:13:380, taking the top spot from his teammate Russell.

In the Racing Bulls car, Arvid Lindblad put in an impressive lap which moved him up into third on the timesheet. The rookie has had a great weekend so far and looks to continue this momentum into tomorrow's Grand Prix.

After sitting down in 22nd, Charles Leclerc managed to put better time to get him out of the elimination zone. The Monegasque driver had a shaky start to the session after his lock up but managed to secure his spot in Q2. With only a few second to go, Esteban Ocon managed to just make his way out of the elimination zone and into 15th, but was pushed back down by a two fighting Audi's, with Nico Hülkenberg moving into 14th and Gabriel Bortoleto into 16th. At his home race, Lance Stroll did not manage to make it through to Q2, along with his teammate Fernando Alonso. Both Cadillac's did not advance either.

Q1 eliminations

17. Esteban Ocon

18. Alex Albon

19. Sergio Pérez

20. Fernando Alonso

21. Lance Stroll

22. Valtteri Bottas

Q2

The next part of qualifying got underway with 16 drivers looking to maximise the potential of their machinery in Montréal. Norris set the benchmark of 1:13:235 on fresh soft tyres and held his spot over Lewis Hamilton, Piastri and Russell on their quick laps. That was until Antonelli swooped in again with a time of 1:13:076. Verstappen only went fifth fastest with his teammate Isack Hadjar's quick lap taking him ahead into second.

Leclerc was struggling again in Q2. He got himself out of the elimination zone, but it wasn't enough to sit comfortably before Q3 as he only moved into ninth. Liam Lawson was down at the bottom of the timesheets with four minutes to go. Also struggling out on track, Lawson didn't have enough in the car to join his RB teammate in the top 10. Hamilton had a great time of 1:13:041, putting him in provisional pole for a short time, before Hadjar had a lap time of 1:12:975, the quickest of the session yet. Pierre Gasly was another unfortunate competitor as his final quick lap only moved him into 14th and did not progress to Q2.

Franco Colapinto had a great performance in Q2 and progressed into Q3, securing a place in the top 10 ahead of tomorrow's race.

Q2 eliminations

11. Nico Hülkenberg

12. Liam Lawson

13. Gabriel Bortoleto

14. Pierre Gasly

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Oliver Bearman

Q3

Setting the first benchmark was Verstappen with 1:13:473. Snatching the position quickly from the former champion was Norris with 1:12:729, his quickest time of the session yet. Piastri moved into third with Hamilton in second. On his first quickest lap of Q3, Antonelli only managed to go fourth quickest. Russell on his flying lap moved into third position as his teammate Antonelli taking provisional pole from Norris clocking a 1:12:646.

Russell right at the end had a flying lap to take pole position from his teammate in what is his third pole position in a row in Canada.

Canadian Grand Prix Starting Grid

1. Geroge Russell

2. Kimi Antonelli

3. Lando Norris

4. Oscar Piastri

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Max Verstappen

7. Isack Hadjar

8. Charles Leclerc

9. Arvid Lindblad

10. Franco Colapinto

11. Nico Hülkenberg

12. Liam Lawson

13. Gabriel Bortoleto

14. Pierre Gasly

15. Carlos Sainz

16. Oliver Bearman

17. Esteban Ocon

18. Alex Albon

19. Sergio Pérez

20. Fernando Alonso

21. Lance Stroll

22. Valtteri Bottas