Mickey the Mouth
The Syndicate News Wire
- May 21, 2026
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George Russell beat Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli on Friday to take pole position for the sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The British driver clocked 1 minute 12.956 seconds to beat his Mercedes team-mate by mere 0.068 seconds. Defending F1 champion Lando Norris was third, 0.315 seconds off the pace.
This is a second sprint pole for Russell, who also started in first on his way to victory at the Chinese GP sprint race in March.
"This feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself. I know what I can do and this is an amazing circuit with high grip," Russell said.
At the Miami GP earlier this month, he finished the sprint in fourth after qualifying in sixth. He was also fourth in the main race.
"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," he added.
"I'm 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."
Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was fourth followed by the Ferrari cars of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Four-time champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull tema-mate Isack Hadjar were seventh and eighth respectively.
The qualifying had a major delay due to a red flag in the first part after Fernando Alonso crashed his Aston Martin into the wall.
The practice session earlier was also marred by interruptions, including a turbulent finish after Esteban Ocon lost control of his Haas and hit the barriers.
There were previously two red flags during practice. The first one was caused by Liam Lawson, who came to a stop in the Racing Bulls at the exit of turn four.
With 35 minutes left, the session was once again suspended as Alex Albon of Williams brushed the wall out of turns six and seven.
Williams said that Albon crashed into the barriers after hitting a groundhog. The animals have become a regular feature during race weekends at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Both Albon and Lawson weren't able to participate in qualifying.
Mercedes have dominated the season so far, with Antonelli winning three out of four races and Russell taking the opening round in Australia.
The sprint race is on Saturday, followed by the qualifying for Sunday's main race.
Continue reading...
The British driver clocked 1 minute 12.956 seconds to beat his Mercedes team-mate by mere 0.068 seconds. Defending F1 champion Lando Norris was third, 0.315 seconds off the pace.
This is a second sprint pole for Russell, who also started in first on his way to victory at the Chinese GP sprint race in March.
"This feels great after a tough Miami but I never doubted myself. I know what I can do and this is an amazing circuit with high grip," Russell said.
At the Miami GP earlier this month, he finished the sprint in fourth after qualifying in sixth. He was also fourth in the main race.
"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," he added.
"I'm 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."
Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was fourth followed by the Ferrari cars of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Four-time champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull tema-mate Isack Hadjar were seventh and eighth respectively.
The qualifying had a major delay due to a red flag in the first part after Fernando Alonso crashed his Aston Martin into the wall.
The practice session earlier was also marred by interruptions, including a turbulent finish after Esteban Ocon lost control of his Haas and hit the barriers.
There were previously two red flags during practice. The first one was caused by Liam Lawson, who came to a stop in the Racing Bulls at the exit of turn four.
With 35 minutes left, the session was once again suspended as Alex Albon of Williams brushed the wall out of turns six and seven.
Williams said that Albon crashed into the barriers after hitting a groundhog. The animals have become a regular feature during race weekends at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Both Albon and Lawson weren't able to participate in qualifying.
Mercedes have dominated the season so far, with Antonelli winning three out of four races and Russell taking the opening round in Australia.
The sprint race is on Saturday, followed by the qualifying for Sunday's main race.
Continue reading...