Canadian Grand Prix 2026: George Russell beats Kimi Antonelli to pole position

George Russell beat Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with the very last lap of the qualifying session.

Russell, who won the sprint race earlier on Saturday, was on the back foot after aborting his first lap.

But a final run on which he did two flying laps enabled him to pip Antonelli by 0.068 seconds and Russell whooped with delight on the radio after realising he had secured pole.

“It is the most exhilarating feeling in the world when it comes at the last minute out of nowhere,” he said over the radio.

Antonelli had looked set to beat his team-mate when he eclipsed the time set by McLaren’s Lando Norris on the Briton’s first run, with Russell’s first lap on his final run good enough only for third.

But Russell had planned for two laps and he did the business on his second one.

He said: “There are times when you expect to be on pole and every lap is the quickest, but the times when it comes together at the end are the sweetest.

“The car was out of sync, out of balance [for much of the session]. I knew I needed a big lap and on my preparation lap I saw Kimi on the TV screen going purple [fastest] and I was like, right, I need to bring something big here.”

Antonelli said: “It was very difficult to get the tyres in the right window. It was a pity to miss out by such a small amount but George did a great lap.”

Norris was also in the fight for pole, and set what before Russell’s final run was the fastest middle sector as he tried to grasp top spot back from Antonelli.

But the world champion fell 0.083secs short of the Italian’s mark, before Russell raised the bar again.

“It was such a challenging session but to do it on the very last lap was epic,” said Russell, explaining that the team had made some changes to the car for qualifying with a view to predicted wet weather on Sunday.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest, ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, separated from his team-mate Charles Leclerc by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.

Hamilton had been second fastest after the first runs, when Russell did not set a time, and said he felt he could have been third but he “didn’t get the last lap”. He did not say why.

Hamilton faces an investigation on charges of impeding Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the first part of qualifying.

Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto completed the top 10.