Lewis Hamilton was the first to go out on track when SQ1 got underway at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, but Kimi Antonelli set the initial best time with a 1:14.010. Hamilton responded with a 1:13.889 and became the only driver to dip below 1:14 in the entire first round. Behind him were Antonelli, Norris, Verstappen and Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls.

Photo By Mercedes F1

With one minute and 46 seconds remaining, Fernando Alonso locked his brakes on the entry to Turn 3 and went straight into the barriers in the Aston Martin. The impact destroyed the front wing and caused an immediate red flag. Alonso had already set a time that kept him inside the top 15 advancing to SQ2, but the damage to the front suspension prevented the team from repairing the car for the next round. The Spaniard apologised over the radio and climbed out of the car without having been eliminated on pace.

When the session resumed, the clock allowed barely enough time for one flying lap. The cars formed a queue in the pit lane trying to cross the line before time ran out, but most were left without an opportunity. Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas were eliminated in that first round, along with Alex Albon and Liam Lawson, who did not even take part due to damage carried over from practice.

Photo By Mercedes F1

SQ2 began with the Mercedes cars showing the pace they had hinted at in practice. George Russell set a 1:13.026 and pulled four tenths ahead of Hamilton. Antonelli was third and Charles Leclerc fourth. Max Verstappen made the cut by a narrow margin after the stewards deleted a lap for exceeding track limits at Turn 4. The Dutchman entered the final minutes with no time on the board, and his first valid lap only placed him ninth. He decided not to go out again. Carlos Sainz improved on his final attempt and moved up to tenth, which knocked Nico Hülkenberg out by 11 thousandths, along with Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.

SQ3 was contested on soft tyres, and Russell moved to the front on the first run with a 1:13.194. Hamilton was two tenths behind. On the second run, Russell lowered his time to 1:12.965, sealing the pole. Antonelli came as the last car on track and went through the final sector with the fastest split, but ended up 68 thousandths short of his teammate's time. The 1-2 for Mercedes in Montreal confirmed that the upgrades introduced on the W17 have returned the team to the fight on a circuit where traction and kerb-riding made the difference. The sprint race takes place on Saturday at 12:00 local time.

Sprint Qualifying Canadian Grand Prix 

Pos.	No.	Piloto	Equipo	SQ1	SQ2	SQ3	Vueltas
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:12.965	1:12.965	1:12.965	19
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:13.033	1:13.033	1:13.033	16
3	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:13.280	1:13.280	1:13.280	15
4	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:13.299	1:13.299	1:13.299	15
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:13.326	1:13.326	1:13.326	23
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:13.410	1:13.410	1:13.410	19
7	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:13.504	1:13.504	1:13.504	15
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:13.605	1:13.605	1:13.605	17
9	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:13.737	1:13.737	1:13.737	19
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:14.536	1:14.536	1:14.536	24
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:14.595	1:14.595		14
12	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:14.627	1:14.627		14
13	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:14.702	1:14.702		16
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:14.928	1:14.928		17
15	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:15.197	1:15.197		17
16	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:15.760			7
17	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:16.002			8
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:16.354			9
19	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:16.642			8
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:16.866			8