Russell won the sprint before the 2026 Canadian GP

George Russell won the sprint before the 2026 Canadian GP, leading it throughout the entire distance. During the sprint, there was a clash between the Mercedes drivers, which ended badly for Antonelli. The Italian’s mistakes were exploited by Norris, who took second place.

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The sprint was held in stable weather conditions, with the track temperature around 30 degrees Celsius. As many as five drivers started the sprint from the pit lane; in four cases due to setup changes, and Stroll had a failure on the starting grid and was withdrawn for additional repairs.

Results of the sprint before the 2026 Canadian GP

Esteban Ocon will likely be disqualified for breaking technical regulations – mechanics tampered with tire pressures while fitting them to the car.

Summary and discussion of the sprint before the 2026 Canadian GP

It was not an exciting sprint with many battles and position changes. The situation was saved by two rounds of duels at the front. On the sixth lap, there were Antonelli’s attacks on Russell, and at the very end, Antonelli’s attack on Norris and a duel between Piastri and the Ferrari drivers. Overall, there were not many overtaking maneuvers in the sprint; they did not come easily. The situation resembled previous seasons.

This sprint looked interesting from Mercedes’ perspective. Russell and Antonelli were the only front runners on used tires, which was no obstacle for them. Mercedes drivers had a very good start for the first time this year – new software helped with that. In the first few laps, Russell and Antonelli pushed hard and quickly pulled away from rivals, promising full dominance. Then Antonelli decided to attack Russell, making two attempts in one lap, both very unsuccessful. The Italian went off track twice, losing time and track position as Norris overtook him. From that moment, for the remaining 2/3 of the sprint, the top three drove close together. Russell could not escape to a safe distance or deliberately kept Norris behind to make it harder for Antonelli to regain second place. I suspect there was some intentionality in this, as Russell maintained a steady pace, did not accelerate in the second half of the sprint, and the early dominance was not visible. The Briton brought a confident victory to the finish.

Lando Norris took advantage of Antonelli’s mistakes related to his lack of experience and secured second place, which considering Mercedes’ potential pace is a success. Norris wisely held second position at the end of the race.

Kimi Antonelli appeared to be the fastest driver in the sprint but also one who wants everything immediately. Both attacks on Russell could not end successfully. Antonelli could not expect to be let through then. The attack on Norris on the last lap was desperation; he did not fit on the track and remained in third place. Antonelli is young and will learn from such performances. Depending on the conclusions he draws, we will see what he achieves in F1. He will be very determined for the rest of the weekend, hopefully not too much.

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Lewis Hamilton overtook Piastri at the start and stayed ahead of him for almost the entire sprint. On the penultimate lap, Piastri successfully attacked in the final chicane, overtaking the Briton. He also blocked him a bit on the outside, which Leclerc took advantage of. As a result, Hamilton lost two positions. On an earlier lap, he slightly touched the champions’ wall but avoided car damage.

Verstappen spent the entire sprint in seventh position, was not happy with the car setup, and did not have the pace to fight for a higher position. Hadjar dropped out of the points due to engine problems, temporarily retired from the race, but after a quick repair returned driving in last place.

One point after a very good drive on hard tires was earned by Arvid Lindblad, followed by Franco Colapinto.

There was a lot of chaos further down the order. Five drivers started from the pit lane; near the end of the sprint, four drivers decided to change tires focusing on testing. Sergio Perez used this very well, finishing 11th but received a 10-second penalty for pushing a rival off the track. Hulkenberg received a similar penalty for cutting the chicane and gaining a position. Alonso did not finish due to a failure. Overall, there was a lot happening in the second half of the field, with battles, controversies, but it was largely a competition for nothing, as the points contenders escaped.

Summary

The sprint, apart from individual situations, did not provide much excitement. The situation at Mercedes will certainly continue; this may be the start of a rivalry, and Antonelli will want to get back. After the sprint, several teams will change car setups, which should translate into a different balance of power in the main qualifying. The weather forecast for Sunday predicts a significant drop in temperature and a good chance of rain; teams must take this into account.

Six sprints are scheduled for 2026. The current summary of internal duels in sprint qualifying and sprints themselves can be checked at this link. It also includes a points table earned this year only in sprints.

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