Qualifying Highlights | 2026 Canadian Grand Prix

Key lap now for Esteban Ocon. Oh, he's well wide on the way into Turn 8. That meant he had a lot of turning to do towards the exit, and hence you've got turning on the throttle and a load of fish tailing out towards the wall. Not neat, not tidy from Ocon. And, oh, there's a hideous amount of wheel spin on the exit as well. That's going to cost him on the run down towards the final chicane. This is messy from Ocon, and he needs to improve. He's a tenth slower than his teammate through the first sector, a tenth slower than his teammate through the second sector. It has not been a compliant lap. He's waiting to get on the power. Ocon, without the confidence at all, has to have upgraded that car. He gets up to 15th. He's given himself a fighting chance. So, what about the Audis? What about Albon to try and improve? What about Alonso coming out of the final turn? Albon has gone across the line, and Albon gets the chance. Alonso goes to 18th position. Hülkenberg was going very quickly at two-thirds distance. Hülkenberg will believe that he can escape. Albon is done. He's through the first sector, and he's nowhere near it. So, Albon is 16th and is not going to improve. He's been in the bottom six on average so far this year. Hülkenberg trying to get through into the next part of qualifying. There's a lap to do just that. Now, can Bortoletto do the same thing and knock out Esteban Ocon? Yeah, this is it now. It's Bortoletto v. Ocon. One corner. Deep inhale. And send it. What have you got, Gabi? Bit of kerb. Lot of kerb. Let's find out if it's enough for the former F2 champion across the line. Gabriel Bortoletto finds a time good enough for progression. That will be satisfying for Audi. Under pressure. Not the easiest weekend for them, but they have made the next part of qualifying. Bottas ends up at the back of the field, and that is why. Massive lock-up. Trying to push a little bit hard on that final lap. He has a bigger moment for Stroll. Well, Stroll was able to gather it together and avoid the wall that his teammate hit. But he is still behind his teammate for a Grand Prix qualifying session. Here's Fernando Alonso. One-time winner of this Grand Prix. Car in the way. Can't imagine he'll be delighted. Wow, the car in the way. The last corner. Yeah, copy Perez. He's starting a lap. Yeah, in the line, mate. It's a penalty coming for Perez. That's a pretty slam-dunk case of impeding. Ocon goes out along with Albon. Alonso, Perez, Stroll and Bottas. Lawson. Final attempt for him to try and get out of the bottom six. It's improvement through the first couple of seconds. It's not enough. He misses out. Eleventh for Lawson. Didn't miss out by much. Four hundredths of a second. Isaac Hadjar to the top of the field. An unexpected sentence to say, even if it is Q2. Now, Hülkenberg heading out as it stands. And the German driver just misses out. Eleventh place for Hülkenberg. These are tiny, tiny margins. Sainz, Bortoletto, Gasly and Behrmann all still completing laps. Still chances to be taken. Bortoletto went brave at the end of Q1. Can he do something similar to sneak ahead of his teammate in the final chicane? It's the brakes. Down four gears. And it's over to Gabriel Bortoletto looking for a time. Only thirteenth. Lots of personal bests being set by those currently in the drop zone. But are any good enough to displace Franco Colopinto? It's only his teammate now. It's only Gasly that can find an improvement for those in the drop zone. Leclerc doesn't need to improve, but surely will. And Charles Leclerc gets up to eighth position. Half a second adrift of Isaac Hadjar. Now Pierre Gasly. The final chicane is complete. The wall of champions is waved on by. The active aero is open. Gasly versus Colopinto. And it's nowhere near in the end. Franco Colopinto once again will be the lead Alpine on the grid. He has reached Q3 at back-to-back Grand Prix. Gasly has not been getting on with the Alpine update. He is out. Along with Hülkenberg, Lawson, Bortoletto, Sainz and Behrmann. Verstappen tight to the wall of champions. Trying to find his best at the end of a session where he struggled with the front of the car. And Verstappen puts a 13.4. That's a step back compared to what we've seen. Now what can Hadjar do by the end of the lap? No, he's left time on the table. There's way more in that. Over to the McLarens then. First of all, we will see Oscar Piastri with his blue crash helmet for the Canadian Grand Prix. Comfortably ahead of both of the Red Bulls. But Norris has always been superb around this circuit. Does he go top? The answer is yes. Both Mercedes on flying laps now. That is a belter of a lap from Norris to put a quarter of a second between him and his teammate. The Mercedes are nowhere near this man's first sector. Lewis Hamilton misses out at the end by a tenth of a second. The Mercedes will hope to claw it back. They were miles back on the Ferrari man's first sector. Russell's lap is not on it at all. Antonelli's a little better through the middle part of the lap. But they've got a lot of work to do as we pick them up. This is George Russell now heading towards the final turn. But he's missed a load in the middle of the lap. Charles Leclerc went into P4. Arvid Lindblad split the two Red Bulls. He's in P6. Russell doesn't even finish it. So to the championship leader by 18 points. Kimi Antonelli trying to make it four Grand Prix poles in a row. And he has the fastest final sector. But he is fourth. And it's Lando Norris versus Lewis Hamilton at the end of Run 1. Is this going to be where the lap goes into 60? It certainly is. Rear snap. Russell applies all of that power. Fights the car slightly out of the hairpin at Turn 10. He's got to get around the car that is building up. That's Franco Colapinto who moves away from the racing line. How much dare he gamble? That's very, very tight on the second part of the corner for George Russell. Maybe a little bit of time left there. Russell to third. And he fell back by a tenth. Over to Max Verstappen. A huge gap at the rear wing. Verstappen doesn't improve. This now is all on Antonelli. If he matches his best last sector, he'll be on provisional pole. Right out towards the grass on turn in. Antonelli looking for provisional pole. This is the moment as he comes across the line. Antonelli goes fastest by eight hundredths of a second. Norris is still in the fight. It is not done yet. It's all going to come down to the La Chicane and the Waller champions for Lando Norris. Possibly for Oscar Piastri too. Charles Leclerc improves to fourth position. The McLarens are still contenders. Lewis Hamilton has bailed out of it. He has dropped off the front row. And Piastri will try and demote him further. Lando Norris is already there up against Kimi Antonelli trying to take his first Grand Prix pole since he became world champion. Lando Norris misses out by eight hundredths of a second. And here's Oscar Piastri who's been the second of the McLarens so far this weekend. Can he change it at the end? He gets to third. Russell goes again. He does indeed. Hajar to the line. But Russell with that second flying lap. Mercedes went early. They've given him two shots. And this is it. All or nothing for George. He's seventh at the moment. Hajar gets to P5. Russell fighting it all the way to the end. Can he get on the front row? Can he take pole position again? The answer is yes. George Russell steps forward at the end. And takes pole position once again for the third year in a row. He will lead the line for the Canadian Grand Prix. Russell with a last gasp effort. And after all of that excitement once again it is a Mercedes 1-2. Nice work. We made that a bit tricky. That euphoric feeling of putting together a push lap with the pressure on. And it's George Russell with his second pole of the year. And he's ninth in his Formula 1 career.