With rain forecast for Monday morning’s race, Piastri and his own team mate Lando Norris are looming as real threats to end Mercedes’ domination of the 2026 Formula One season after McLaren showed they have narrowed the gap to the frontrunners.
In an ominous sign of what could be down the road for the rest of the season, the top four cars were separated by just two-tenths of a second, giving Piastri renewed hope despite Mercedes’ early superiority.
“I think we are a bit closer to Mercedes, yes, but I still don’t think we have their ultimate pace,” the Australian said.
“We will wait and see with the weather in the race. I think that is going to be the biggest opportunity.”
For the third year in a row, Russell put himself on pole position at the Gilles Villeneuve street circuit in Montreal but it was a close shave for the Englishman, who needed a blistering flying lap right at the end of qualifying to top the timesheets.
His teenage Italian team mate Antonelli settled for second as Mercedes locked out the front row for the fourth time in five races this season.
Constructors’ champions in each of the past two years, McLaren filled both spots on the second row with Norris qualifying third and Piastri a heartbeat away in fourth.
“Mercedes is the fastest car and they locked up the front row but we are a little bit closer – under two tenths of a second,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said.
“The car performs well in the corners. We lose some time in the straights and we will have to look at that. Overall, progress. The trend is very encouraging.”
While Mercedes still have a speed advantage over the rest of the field, tensions appear to be rising between their two drivers that could benefit the McLaren pair.
A fuming Antonelli went on the team radio to accuse Russell of running him off the road in the sprint race, held before official qualifying for the main race, prompting Mercedes’ bosses to tell him to cool it.
Both Mercedes drivers were ordered to attend a private meeting before qualifying to clear the air with Russell saying later that both men were aware of their prime responsibility not to crash into each other.
“We had a good chat since the sprint. We are both racing drivers. We both know what to do, we both respect one another,” Russell said.
“We will go racing and hope it’s just a battle between the two of us but we saw how competitive everyone was today.
“And tomorrow looks to be wet which will be a whole new challenge, so it’s not what we are thinking about. We just want to ensure we are on the top step.”
Antonelli leads Russell in the championship standings after he came off second best when they made contact during the sprint, dropping back to third.
The 19 year old had started from pole in each of the last three Grands Prix but said his team mate deserved it this time after doing a better job on the soft compound tyres.
“I am pretty happy. There was still a little bit left on the table but George did a great lap and all eyes on tomorrow,” Norris said.
“We will see what the weather is like but we will try and be ready for anything.”
Norris was the main beneficiary of the scrap between the two Mercedes’ pilots in the earlier sprint race, finishing second with Piastri placing fourth after getting held up by Lewis Hamilton.
Like Piastri, Norris believes Mercedes still have an advantage but the prospect of foul weather could change everything.
“I feel like we did a good job out there today. It’s a difficult track to put everything together perfectly. But I think we did another good job,” Norris said.
“I think it’s clear these guys are just that little bit quicker. It’s nice to be closer than we were yesterday. I had fun [in the sprint] but the weather is going to be different tomorrow, so we’ll wait and see.
“We’re in a good place and the place we need to be.”