Russell on Mercedes making baby steps with starts
George Russell says Mercedes have only made “baby steps” improving their starts this season, as he prepares to lead a Mercedes front-row lock-out in the Canadian Grand Prix sprint after taking pole ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Russell said: "We're making progress, we're making baby steps in this regard. I'm not going to stand here and say we're going to fly off the line in P1 and P2. I hope that's going to be the case, but history tells us it's not happened very often, or at all, this year. Let's see tomorrow, but it's a good first day."
George Russell reveals 'baby steps' concern as Mercedes face latest start threat
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Leclerc on illegal cool-down laps in Montreal sprint qualifying
Charles Leclerc said Ferrari should complain to the stewards because he believes some rivals’ cool-down laps in sprint qualifying in Montreal were “for sure illegal”, after the Ferrari driver qualified sixth at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Leclerc said: "We should complain about the cool-down laps, they are for sure, for sure illegal. For tomorrow let's focus on being alone on-track and not having these guys' cool-down laps."
Leclerc told Ferrari to complain about rivals' “illegal” cool-down laps
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Norris on McLaren changes after Sprint Qualifying improvement
Lando Norris said his third place in Sprint Qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix was a “good surprise” after McLaren made changes following a lack of confidence in the car earlier on Friday. Norris said: "Very. A very good result, actually – a good surprise. I think after this morning we were a little bit worried, let's say, about how far off we were and more just the lack of confidence in the car. But we made some tweaks, we changed some things and seemed to make a good improvement. I'm happy with third. A positive turnaround, and I'm proud of the team that we managed to do such a good job."
Norris reflects on Sprint Qualifying P3 after early worries
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Round-up: Ocon feels “extremely lucky” after practice crash, and more
Why McLaren's removed its new front wing in Montreal
2026 F1 Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying analysis by Peter Windsor
Russell on never doubting himself after sprint pole
George Russell says he has “never doubted” himself this season after taking Sprint Qualifying pole at the Canadian Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Russell said: "It obviously feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself – I knew what I could do. Miami was obviously a bit unique. This is an amazing circuit here – high-grip, feels like you're driving a proper Formula 1 car around here which is how it should be. I'm glad today came together."
Russell ‘never doubted' himself in return to Canada Sprint pole
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Lawson on playing catch-up after hydraulic leak in Canada
Liam Lawson says he will be “playing catch-up” for the rest of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend after a hydraulic leak on his Racing Bulls car curtailed his running in the only practice session on Friday and meant he missed Sprint Qualifying. Lawson said: "I think in a weekend that is a Sprint, already it's tough to get that track time. FP1 is really important to put the laps together because that's the only actual practice we get, the rest of the time we are in competition and in performance mode. It definitely makes it really tough on a weekend like this... it's going to be tough for sure, I'm going to be playing catch-up tomorrow."
Lawson laments tough Friday in Canada after car issues
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Liam Lawson airs 'frustration' after suffering misery in Montreal
Palmer on energy management challenge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Former Formula 1 driver and F1 TV reporter Jolyon Palmer said Circuit Gilles Villeneuve presents an energy management challenge because the chances to recharge and the need to deploy electrical power do not line up neatly across the lap. Palmer said: "What's then difficult is the run out of the hairpin up towards that final chicane because you've only got the chicane to recharge something before you get another run to complete the lap in qualifying. You've got quite a low recharge limit as well. It's the lowest we've seen so far: six megajoules that you can harvest through a lap, so you have got plenty of opportunity to do that in the first two-thirds of the lap."
Jolyon Palmer explains Canadian GP energy management challenge
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Winners and losers from 2026 Canada F1 sprint qualifying
Piastri on McLaren's starts compared to Ferrari
Oscar Piastri says McLaren’s race starts have been better than Ferrari’s all season, rejecting the belief that Ferrari are the strongest off the line. Piastri said: "Yeah [I do need to watch my mirrors for fast-starting Ferrari drivers], I mean, our starts have been better than Ferrari's all year, so we're confident in ours. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Mercedes gets competitive as well, but until that time comes, we'll try our best to take advantage of it."
Oscar Piastri issues clear response to widespread Ferrari belief
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Verstappen on Red Bull needing to investigate car ride issues
Max Verstappen says Red Bull need to investigate the ride of his car after he struggled over the bumps during sprint qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "I'm not surprised, just my feeling in the car was not very good. I was struggling a lot with just the ride of the car, so all over the bumps, I couldn't put my foot down. Actually, my feet were even flying off the pedals, just made it very difficult to be consistent and that's something that we need to investigate."
Max Verstappen calls for Red Bull investigation after 'feet flying' worry
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Daniel Valente 🏎️
@F1GuyDan
Nico Hulkenberg has been P11 in 5/7 qualifying sessions this season
🇦🇺 P11
🇨🇳 P11 (sprint)
🇨🇳 P11
🇯🇵 P13
🇺🇸 P12 (sprint)
🇺🇸 P11
🇨🇦 P11 (sprint)
2h ago
Autosport
@autosport
Carlos Sainz puts a Williams car in Q3 for the first time this year in any qualifying format 📈👏
2h ago
Daniel Valente 🏎️
@F1GuyDan
George Russell is now part of only 5 drivers with multiple sprint poles
• Max Verstappen (10)
• Lando Norris (5)
• Oscar Piastri (4)
• George Russell (2)
• Lewis Hamilton (2)
2h ago
Formula 1
@F1
🗣️"I never doubted myself" 😮💨
#F1Sprint #CanadianGP
2h ago
Canadian Grand Prix 2026: George Russell takes pole for sprint race
George Russell edges out Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli to take pole position for the sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix.
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Russell pips Antonelli to Canada sprint pole as Alonso crashes out
⚪️ Russell's post-sprint qualifying interview
"This feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself. I know what I can do. Miami is unique and this is an amazing circuit with high grip. It feels you are driving a proper F1 car around here, which is how it should be. It came together today. The team have done a great job to bring things forward and there is now a big focus for tomorrow. We are making baby steps. "I am not going to say we are going to fly off the line. I hope that's the case but history tells us that hasn't happened often or at all this year. McLaren have been making good starts."
⏱️ Sprint Qualifying Results
P1) George Russell P2) Kimi Antonelli: +0.068 P3) Lando Norris: +0.315 P4) Oscar Piastri: +0.334 P5) Lewis Hamilton: +0.361 P6) Charles Leclerc: +0.445 P7) Max Verstappen: +0.539 P8) Isack Hadjar: +0.640 P9) Arvid Lindblad: +0.772 P10) Carlos Sainz: +1.571 Knocked Out (Q2) P11) Nico Hülkenberg P12) Gabriel Bortoleto P13) Franco Colapinto P14) Esteban Ocon P15) Oliver Bearman P16) Fernando Alonso Knocked Out (Q1) P17) Sergio Perez P18) Lance Stroll P19) Pierre Gasly P20) Valtteri Bottas P21) Alexander Albon P22) Liam Lawson
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Canada F1 sprint qualifying results 2026
2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix - Sprint Qualifying results
Alonso on SQ1 crash after lock-up in Canada
Fernando Alonso said a lock-up left him with nowhere to avoid the wall after crashing out of SQ1 in sprint qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Alonso said: "I locked up the front and there is no room to avoid anything here in Canada. Too much on the limit. We are a little behind with the pace so we were pushing seven or eight places more than we should have."
Fernando Alonso explains Canadian GP sprint qualifying crash
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Fernando Alonso explains rare crash in Canadian GP sprint qualifying
Racing Bulls fined over Lawson stoppage
Racing Bulls has been fined €30,000 for Liam Lawson’s stoppage in practice in Canada, with €20,000 suspended for 12 months, after stewards found the car’s clutch disengagement system did not comply with Article C9.3 of the technical regulations. In their verdict, the stewards said a ruptured joint caused a hydraulic leak that stopped the car, but when the CDS was activated it "failed to release the clutch and hence the car could not be moved", calling that a "serious matter" because "Had the system worked as intended by the regulations, the incident could have been dealt with swiftly via deployment of the Virtual Safety Car."
Racing Bulls issued significant fine for 'serious' rule breach
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Explained: The “serious” car problem that led to Racing Bulls' penalty
Racing Bulls handed suspended £25,900 fine for “serious” problem on Lawson's car
Formula 1
@F1
Into the barriers for Fernando! 😳
Here is the moment that ended Alonso's SQ1 prematurely 👇
#F1Sprint #CanadianGP
3h ago
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