Winners and losers from the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying

An incident-studded qualifying session for the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix meant there was plenty to watch for at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve — but it was George Russell of Mercedes who snagged pole position.

But not everyone could be so lucky. These are PlanetF1.com’s winners and losers for qualifying at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix.

Winner: George Russell

If George Russell was shocked to find that he’d topped the charts for the first time this year after FP2 ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, he’ll be delighted with his pole position.

The Mercedes team as a whole has looked impressive at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend. Cooler temperatures are kind to the W16, with both Russell and teammate Kimi Antonelli able to work magic on the medium tyres while the rest of the competition seemed focused on the softs.

His time of 1:10.899 was the quickest of the session, and Russell was able to best the seemingly dominant McLarens when the time came.

But there is one drawback: Russell is lining up on the grid alongside Max Verstappen, the driver who collided with him last time out in Spain. Are we about to see sparks fly on the run to Turn 1?

Loser: Charles Leclerc

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has had a frankly frustrating Canadian Grand Prix weekend. After having to sit out all of Friday when he crashed after three laps of action and damaged his safety cell, the man from Monaco felt that pole was on the table in qualifying… until he hit traffic in Q3.

On his final flying lap, Leclerc came across the Racing Bulls machine of Isack Hadjar, which was driving slowly on the racing line. Speaking to media after the session, the Ferrari driver admitted that the dirty air thrown off the back of the RB caught him off guard. He nearly lost control, then caught his SF-25, but had to abandon his lap.

Leclerc will line up eighth on the grid Sunday afternoon despite feeling like he had the pace to contend for pole.

Winner: Alex Albon

The Williams duo of Alex Albon have looked strong all weekend long in Canada, finishing FP1 in second and third on the timing charts.

Team principal James Vowles explained that his drivers were on a different engine mode in FP1 compared to the competition, and that they’d changed modes moving forward. But Albon held that performance through to Q3, and on Sunday, he’ll line up ninth on the grid.

It isn’t his best start of the year, but it does signal that the Williams has the pace to retain its “best of the rest” status for the time being.

Albon’s teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., though, was not quite so lucky. The Spaniard was impeded by Isack Hadjar in Q1, which compromised his lap and led to an early knock-out and a 16th-place start.

More from the Canadian Grand Prix:

👉 Hamilton podium? Verstappen gets banned? Bold predictions for Canadian GP

👉Eight iconic F1 moments from the Canadian Grand Prix

Loser: Lando Norris

It was the same song, second verse for Lando Norris in qualifying. The driver who topped FP3 struggled during Q3, citing that he “just [made] too many mistakes.”

Norris ran wide on his first flying lap, which meant he needed to hope his soft tyres still had enough juice for an additional flying lap right away. That was the lap that netted him seventh.

He headed out again in the closing minutes of the session in hopes of going even quicker, but Norris admitted that he hit the wall in his final flying lap, which killed his momentum.

Downtrodden, Norris pointed at Max Verstappen as having a better shot of victory than the No. 4 McLaren driver, adding, “We’ve clearly not had an advantage around this track compared to normal.”

A seventh-place start isn’t exactly death sentence for his championship hopes, but he will have a challenge making up ground on Sunday afternoon.

Winner: Franco Colapinto

Franco Colapinto’s Formula 1 return hasn’t exactly gone to plan this year. Behind the wheel of an Alpine, he has struggled to show the brilliant pace he displayed with Williams in 2024, and his five-race guaranteed stint at the team has been closing in without much hope of success.

But on Sunday, he’s starting 10th.

Now, Colapinto didn’t make it to Q3; he set a time good enough for 12th and has earned two positions courtesy of penalties imposed on other drivers. But this will be his best shot at securing the ever-critical points that could help him secure a seat for the remainder of the season.

The Argentine racer has gone for a few spins at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, so he’ll need to play it safe on Sunday — but he’s put himself in a strong position to maximise his day.

Loser: Yuki Tsunoda

Oh, Yuki. The Japanese racer has struggled to adapt to the Red Bull RB21 since he first got behind its wheel at his home race, and the remainder of the F1 2025 season hasn’t gone particularly well for him, either.

While Tsunoda’s 11th-place starting position was one of his better qualis of the season, any potential advantage will be wiped out by a 10-place grid penalty that will see him dropped back to 20th on the grid.

Tsunoda’s penalty was handed out after FP3. Oscar Piastri collided with the wall and brought out a red flag, though he was able to drive his McLaren to the pits. Tsunoda overtook the slower-moving Piastri — a clear violation of red-flag procedure.

His best start of the season with Red Bull was eighth in Saudi Arabia, while Tsunoda has started from the pit lane in both Imola and Barcelona. He’ll have another tough race ahead of him on Sunday.

Winner: Fernando Alonso

The rumour mill has been churning overtime as pundits have pointed out that Fernando Alonso was spotted in Alpine hospitality at the Canadian Grand Prix several times this weekend — but for our purposes, we’re focusing specifically on that sixth-place starting slot.

Now, this isn’t Alonso’s best starting position of the year; he launched off the grid at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from fifth. However, he didn’t manage to finish in the points — that was an honor he only just managed in Barcelona.

Does this signal a change in form for the elder Aston Martin driver? It’s too early to tell — but if Alonso can get his elbows out on the narrow confines of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he’ll be looking good for a victory.

Loser: Max Verstappen

In any other circumstance, a second-place starting position on a Formula 1 grid would be something to celebrate — but it might just be the worst place Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could be.

Last time out in Barcelona, an audacious strategy ended in tears for Verstappen, who found himself restarting on hard tyres in the closing races. Frustrated by that as well as by the fact that both Leclerc and Russell made contact with him, Verstappen collided again with Russell after appearing to cede the position.

The move saw Verstappen’s super license hit with three penalty points, bringing his total up to 11 — just one point shy of a race ban.

Heading into Canada, so much chatter has centered around Verstappen’s potential race ban, with pundits even suggesting that the Dutchman’s rivals should “goad” him into driving aggressively and earning that 12th point. Now, he’s lining up alongside the driver he collided with in Barcelona — and all the questions about his penalty points are “p*ssing” him off.

It’s a recipe for a spicy entry into Turn 1 on Sunday afternoon in Montreal.