The Formula One season resumes in Canada this weekend as Mercedes look to continue their streak of winning every race.
Kimi Antonelli has claimed three wins in a row to lead the championship by 20 points from team-mate George Russell.
Here, the Press Association looks at what to expect this weekend.
Russell needs a win
Mercedes have hit the ground running with the new regulations for this season and have the grid’s best car. Russell therefore was expected to be the dominant figure and an opening win in Melbourne pointed to that being the case. But Antonelli, 19, has turned the tables on his experienced team-mate, who was a long way off the pace three weeks ago in Miami. That is not a track, by his own admission, that Russell enjoys.
But Montreal is. He won from pole last year and was third the year before having been in winning contention for much of the race. Russell shrugged off the early gap to his team-mate in Miami, but he needs a win in Montreal to stop those questions from coming again.
Mercedes to pull further ahead?
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull brought big upgrade packages to Miami, with Mercedes bringing a smaller set. While the gap closed, it was another Mercedes win. The championship leaders are expected to add more to their car this weekend, which if it works immediately could be ominous for the rest of the field. McLaren are also adding new components. What developments the others still have up their sleeve could be key to prevent the grid’s leading team from pulling away.
Norris back in winning contention?
Allez le Canada 🇨🇦#McLarenF1 | #CanadianGP 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/CGXZvQ89Qy
— McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team (@McLarenF1) May 19, 2026
McLaren’s upgraded package helped Norris to sprint pole and victory in Miami and he was close to following that with a race win but the pit stop strategy aided Antonelli’s triumph. Norris has fared well in Miami in recent seasons so it will be interesting to see if he and team-mate Oscar Piastri are genuinely back in race-winning contention at a very different track.
What is all this ADUO talk?
ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) is the latest instalment in the story of F1’s complex new regulations. To encourage close competition, if a power unit manufacturer – for example Honda or Ferrari – has an internal combustion engine which is deemed to be more than two per cent behind the leading manufacturer in performance, but not more than four per cent, they are permitted an additional upgrade.
It will be judged by the FIA and people are talking about it this weekend as Canada represents the first point at which the results will be calculated. They will be released within two weeks of the race. Now, Mercedes clearly have the sport’s dominant engine and Honda – supplying Aston Martin – are lacking the most performance, with the others somewhere in between. What impact ADUO has on performance and the results this season is very much unknown.
How to follow the action
It is a second successive sprint weekend – the first time one has been held in Canada – meaning an action-packed schedule. The sole practice session is 1730 BST on Friday followed by sprint qualifying at 2130. Saturday’s sprint is at 1700 followed by main-race qualifying at 2100.
Sunday’s 70-lap race begins at 2100.
