F1 LIVE | Follow Qualifying at the Canadian GP after tense Mercedes battle

Mercedes' George Russell secured victory at the Canadian GP Sprint Race, finishing ahead of Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The main talking point, however, will be an early skirmish between the two Mercedes drivers, when Kimi Antonelli's move resulted in contact at Turn 1, with and the Italian eventually losing P2 to Norris after going off for a second time at Turn 8.

Mercedes have once again looked a step ahead of the field so far at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Brackley-based outfit topped also the timing sheets in Free Practice, with Kimi Antonelli showing strong pace, and reinforced their one-lap performance during Sprint Qualifying as George Russell secured Sprint pole.

The nearest challenger to the Mercedes pair in Sprint Qualifying was Lando Norris, who finished a distant third in the McLaren, over three-tenths off the pace. The reigning world champion edged out his teammate Oscar Piastri, who was only a few hundredths further back.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc followed in fifth and sixth, respectively, while Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar finished seventh and eighth. Arvid Lindblad and Carlos Sainz completed the top ten after solid performances from both drivers.

In the 2025 edition, Russell beat Verstappen to pole with a last-gasp effort, snatching pole by 0.160s, while Piastri had to settle for third, 0.221s adrift. Antonelli took a strong fourth for Mercedes ahead of Hamilton, who equalled his best qualifying result for Ferrari in fifth.

Alonso was an impressive sixth for Aston Martin, while Norris was left to rue another costly qualifying error, which left him only seventh on the grid in the second McLaren. Ferrari’s Leclerc also made a mistake, which ruined his final lap and meant he lined up only eighth. Isack Hadjar and Alex Albon completed the top 10 for Racing Bulls and Williams.

Earlier, Antonelli admitted to a sense of frustration after narrowly missing out on Sprint pole at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Italian, returning to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – the scene of his maiden Formula 1 podium – set a lap of 1:13.033, just a few hundredths shy of teammate Russell’s benchmark.

Despite finishing almost three-tenths clear of the nearest rival, Norris, Antonelli described his final effort as “bad”, believing he left time on the table. Speaking after Sprint Qualifying, he pointed to a sub-optimal preparation lap and tyre temperature issues as key factors behind the missed opportunity.

The Bologna-born driver also expressed satisfaction with the upgrades Mercedes brought to Canada, noting encouraging signs in the team’s overall pace advantage. However, he stressed there is still work to be done to fully understand the updated package and extract maximum performance.