F1 2026 Canada GP LIVE: Sprint qualifying start time, schedule and updates – UK Times

7. Racing Bulls – 14 points

11. Aston Martin – 0 points

Formula One is “continuously evaluating” the possibility of reinstating one – if not two – of the Middle Eastern races cancelled last month due to the conflict in the Gulf.

However, recent noises from the sport’s American owners, Liberty Media, and the sport’s governing body, the FIA, suggest that solutions to rescheduling the cancelled races are on the table. In a conference call with investors last week, during which details of a 53 per cent year-on-year revenue rise were announced, Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang stated that executives were “continuously evaluating the calendar this year”.

Chang added: “As Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] mentioned to Bloomberg News last week, it might be possible to reschedule one race toward the end of the season.” He did ensure that any decision would be made in a “timely fashion”.

But what are the options on the table? What is at stake? And could the end-of-season races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi also be at risk?

“It’s one of the risks of this circuit. I know that sounds strange,” Williams team principal James Vowles told Sky Sports. “Unfortunately there’s been a few of these.

“He [Albon] has hit a marmot [groundhog] and the damage is extensive from that point onwards.

“He needed this session. You get 60 minutes and that’s it, and to lose over half of it is frustrating.

“Back in the garage he’s more worried about his mum, who suspects he’s going to have to pay to adopt a family of marmots because that’s a consequence of that.”

“Obviously, last year was not the easiest for Lewis. He spent so many years in a team (Mercedes) that he knew really well, and had a lot of support from that team. Then, you go to a different team that is based in Italy, and he doesn’t speak Italian. He doesn’t have that on his side, whereas his team-mate does.”

The 2009 world champion added: “So, it does take a minute to get used to it, especially at 40 years old when learning is a lot more difficult than it is in your twenties. But it has been really good to see him competitive this year, and fighting with Charles.”

Button emphasised the importance of current form, as he claimed, “as long as you’re competitive the (external) noise doesn’t really matter. If he is as quick as he thinks he should be, then it is fine, and it doesn’t matter what other people say from the outside. If he is doing a job that he thinks is good enough, then he will have that confidence and want to carry on if he is enjoying it.”

Norris believes Russell has the mettle for the title scrap – one which Norris and McLaren would very much like to muscle their way into – but says having a dangerous challenger across the garage will make life much harder.

“I think any situation that he’s ever dealt with is different to fighting for a world championship,” Norris said.

“Forget everything that’s ever happened, I think as soon as you’re fighting for a world championship, and then you also have a strong team-mate, that’s a very different situation.

“The last few years, I’ve had a very strong team-mate that as soon as I wasn’t on my A game, I was way off. That always makes your life a lot, lot tougher.”

• Sprint qualifying: 9:30pm

• Sprint race: 5pm
• Qualifying: 9pm

11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

12. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

14. Alex Albon (Williams)

15. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

16. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

18. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

19. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

21. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

22. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:13.402

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.142

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.774

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.953

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.964

6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.397

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +1.561

8. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +2.050

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +2.296

10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +2.461