Hamilton cleared of impeding Gasly and keeps fifth on Canadian GP grid

Lewis Hamilton will start the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix from fifth on the grid after FIA stewards took no further action over an alleged impeding incident involving Alpine’s Pierre Gasly during Q1 qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Saturday. The Ferrari driver was summoned to the stewards roughly an hour after qualifying concluded.

The incident occurred on Hamilton’s outlap during Q1, when Gasly — on a flying lap — encountered the seven-time world champion weaving to warm his tyres on the run down to Turn 8. Hamilton told stewards he and the Ferrari team believed Gasly was not on a push lap at the time, a view his team corroborated.

Crucially, Gasly’s representative confirmed they did not regard the moment as a case of unnecessary impeding. The stewards’ verdict reflected that: “The driver of Car 44 explained that he was under the impression that Car 10 was not on a push lap, and his team confirmed that it had the same opinion. The driver and team representative of Car 10 stated they did not consider this to be a case of ‘unnecessary impeding’. The Stewards therefore determined to take no further action.”

Gasly had already endured a difficult Saturday. The Frenchman withdrew his Alpine from parc ferme after sprint qualifying to use the 23-lap sprint race as a testing opportunity, and his qualifying session was further compromised when contact with a groundhog in Q1 caused damage that limited him to 14th in Q2.

Hamilton qualified fifth in Q3 and will share the third row with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. George Russell claimed pole for Mercedes with a late effort, edging team-mate Kimi Antonelli to secure his second pole of the 2026 season. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri occupy the second row ahead of Sunday’s race, for which wet conditions remain a realistic possibility.