Pole position to Russell in Canada: Kimi Antonelli mocked, Charles Leclerc behind
George Russell again mocks Andrea Kimi Antonelli and takes pole position ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday evening (start time at 10 p.m. Italian time). In Montreal, the front row is still all signed by Mercedes, with the Englishman crossing the line at the last attempt with a time of 1:12.578, 68 thousandths faster than his young teammate. McLarens are confirmed as second force with Lando Norris third ahead of Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth ahead of Max Verstappen. Only eighth was Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari, beaten by the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar.
This is not the first time on the Canadian weekend that Russell manages to get the better of Antonelli by the same margin of 68 thousandths: identical gap had already separated the two teammates in Friday’s Sprint qualifying, with the Briton stopping the stopwatch on 1:12.965. A script that repeats itself and tells of an increasingly close and hard-fought internal rivalry within Mercedes.
Saturday, moreover, had already offered a taste of what will happen in the race. In the Sprint Race, Russell had won by defending himself with a very aggressive maneuver from the attack of Antonelli, who was forced off the track on lap six in an attempt to overtake his teammate. The episode had triggered a heated radio repartee, with the Bolognese driver complaining at length to the pit wall and Toto Wolff, who, perhaps for the first time since the young driver’s debut, urged him to calm down and reason out the incident in private. The end result had seen Russell first, Lando Norris second – adept at inserting himself into the internal Mercedes tussle – and Antonelli third.
The tension had not died down in the pits. In post-Sprint interviews, Antonelli had tried to frame the episode lucidly: “It was a tough battle. With George we had practically the same pace: I tried to pass him, we were side by side, but he pushed me out. Then I made a mistake in turn eight and there I definitely compromised my race.” Beaten Russell’s comment: “With Kimi it was a good challenge, it is very important to have finished both on the podium, also because he often saw the grass.” Wolff, speaking at Sky Sports microphones, had explained his position clearly: “We don’t want Star Wars wars to start in the team. There are internal rules that have to be respected.”
In the overall standings, Antonelli remains in the lead with 106 points – also the result of three consecutive wins in long races, the last of which was in Miami where he had recovered after a bad start, dominating all the way to the checkered flag – while Russell climbs to 88, reducing the gap to 18 points. A still important gap, but one that tells of an increasingly heated internal rivalry within Mercedes, as indeed former driver David Coulthard had already anticipated: “The friendship is over, George now knows that there is a real threat to the world title.”
More defiladed Ferrari, with Hamilton fifth and Leclerc only eighth. The Maranello-based Scuderia’s difficulties are nothing new this weekend: team principal Frederic Vasseur has repeatedly acknowledged the gap from the top, quantifying it already after the Australian Grand Prix as “about half a second.” To close it, Ferrari is banking on technical development – including the controversial rear wing renamed “Macarena” – and on ADUO, the regulatory mechanism that grants additional development opportunities to less competitive teams on the power unit front. On Sunday, at the circuit dedicated to Gilles Villeneuve, Leclerc and Hamilton will try to take advantage of every opportunity to climb back up and get closer to a podium finish that has often appeared within their grasp this season but rarely conquered consistently.
F1, Canadian Grand Prix 2026: the starting grid
1. George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:12.578
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2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:12.646
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3. Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1:12.729
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4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1:12.781
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 1:12.868
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-RB Ford) – 1:12.907
7. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull-RB Ford) – 1:12.935
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:12.976
9. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls-RB Ford) – 1:13.280
10. Franco Colapinto (Alpine-Mercedes) – 1:13.697
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) – 1:13.886
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls-RB Ford) – 1:13.897
13. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) – 1:14.071
14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine-Mercedes) – 1:14.187
15. Carlos Sainz (Williams-Mercedes) – 1:14.273
16. Oliver Bearman (Haas-Ferrari) – 1:14.416
17. Esteban Ocon (Haas-Ferrari) – 1:14.845
18. Alexander Albon (Williams-Mercedes) – 1:14.845
19. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin-Honda) – 1:15.196
20. Sergio Perez (Cadillac-Ferrari) – 1:15.429
21. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Honda) – 1:16.195
22. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac-Ferrari) – 1:16.171
