Formula 1 heads to Montreal for Round 5 of the 2026 season, the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, from 22–24 May. The race on the artificial island of Île Notre-Dame also marks the third sprint event of the campaign, and the first time the Canadian Grand Prix has hosted the format.
Kimi Antonelli arrives in Montreal having won three consecutive races from pole position, most recently holding off Lando Norris in a tense battle in Miami. The 19-year-old Italian leads the championship by 20 points from team-mate George Russell, with Norris and Oscar Piastri also in contention. Sunday’s race gets underway two hours later than last year — at 21:00 BST — to avoid a clash with the Indianapolis 500, which starts at 17:30 BST on the same afternoon.
Race and Session Times (BST)
Canada’s sprint weekend format brings competitive action across all three days, with sprint qualifying on Friday evening before the 23-lap sprint race and main qualifying on Saturday.
Friday, 22 May:
First Practice: 17:30–18:30
Sprint Qualifying: 21:30–22:14
Saturday, 23 May:
Sprint: 17:00–18:00
Qualifying: 21:00–22:00
Sunday, 24 May:
Race: 21:00
Weather Forecast
Montreal is shaping up to be a potentially wet weekend, which could shake up what has so far been a largely predictable pecking order in 2026. Friday’s sprint qualifying is expected to be dry and sunny, but drizzle and light winds are forecast for both Saturday’s sprint race and main qualifying session, with temperatures around 19°C. Sunday’s 70-lap grand prix — starting at 16:00 local time — is also predicted to feature light rain and light winds, with a high of 19°C. If the rain arrives, Montreal’s unforgiving barriers could play a decisive role.
How the Sprint Weekend Works
Canada hosts its first ever sprint event this weekend, the third of six on the 2026 calendar. The sprint race covers 23 laps of the 4.361km Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, with points awarded to the top eight finishers on a scale from eight down to one. Sprint qualifying is split into three knockout sessions — SQ1, SQ2 and SQ3 — lasting 12, 10 and eight minutes respectively, with six cars eliminated in each of the first two sessions. Norris won the most recent sprint in Miami from pole position, and will be eager to repeat that form around a circuit that has historically rewarded low-downforce setups and strong straight-line speed. The remaining sprint events of the season take place at Silverstone in July, Zandvoort in August and Singapore in October.
What to Expect
Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is one of the most beloved tracks on the Formula 1 calendar — a fast, low-downforce layout that mixes long straights into heavy braking zones and rewards driver bravery. The Turn 10 hairpin and the final chicane at Turns 13 and 14 are the primary overtaking opportunities, and with DRS — now replaced by the 2026 overtake mode — drivers will be pushing hard into both zones all weekend. Looming over it all is the infamous Wall of Champions at the exit of the final chicane, which earned its name after Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed at the same spot during the 1999 race weekend. With wet conditions potentially in the mix and a sprint format adding extra variables, Montreal has all the ingredients for one of the most unpredictable rounds of the season.
