Mercedes sets the pace at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, with Russell ahead of Norris and Antonelli. Ferrari stays in the points, but Leclerc is already focused on qualifying: starting further up the grid could change everything.
The Sprint Race at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix confirmed Mercedes’ strong form and left Ferrari with mixed feelings: valuable points, but also the awareness that the Scuderia is not yet close enough to fight for victory on pure pace.
At the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montréal, George Russell delivered a solid and commanding performance, taking the win after 23 laps ahead of Lando Norris’ McLaren and the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli. Behind them, Oscar Piastri completed a strong result for McLaren, finishing ahead of the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen crossed the line in seventh, while Arvid Lindblad took the final available point in eighth place.
For Russell, it was an important statement. Starting from the front, he managed the race, the pace and the pressure with authority, giving Mercedes the maximum possible reward from the Sprint. On a track made of long straights, heavy braking zones and sharp acceleration points, the Silver Arrows looked well balanced and extremely effective.
For Ferrari, however, Saturday was more about limiting the damage than attacking. Leclerc finished fifth, moving ahead of Hamilton in the closing stages, but he never really looked in a position to fight for the podium. The Monegasque paid the price for his starting position: beginning the Sprint from further back forced him into a race of management, where overtaking was difficult and every move required a major effort in terms of tyres and speed.
The SF-26 showed some encouraging signs in terms of race pace, but the comparison with Mercedes and McLaren remained complicated, especially in the fastest sections of the circuit. Montréal does not forgive any lack of straight-line efficiency, and Ferrari spent much of the Sprint defending rather than building an attack.
Leclerc, however, is not giving up. His view is clear: with a better qualifying result, the main race could become a very different story. The Ferrari driver believes that his Sprint result was strongly affected by the difficult Sprint Qualifying session and by the need to start only sixth on the grid.
Hamilton, sixth at the chequered flag, had shown stronger pace earlier in the weekend but lost ground in the final part of the Sprint, first to Piastri and then to his teammate. For Ferrari, having both cars in the points is still a positive result, but not enough to match the ambitions of Maranello.
The key now becomes Grand Prix qualifying. If Ferrari can place Leclerc and Hamilton further up the grid, especially inside the first two rows, the pace shown in the Sprint could become a more concrete weapon. But if the team finds itself stuck in traffic again, Sunday could turn into another race of recovery.
The Montréal Sprint therefore delivers three clear verdicts: Mercedes is the benchmark of the weekend, McLaren remains a serious threat, and Ferrari still needs something more to turn itself from the third force into a real podium contender. But in Canada, with close walls, possible Safety Cars and a race that is often unpredictable, the script can still change.
Fabio Averna