It might seem early, but it’s already time for Formula One’s annual stop in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix, happening this weekend at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

What was the 10th track on the calendar last year is suddenly the fifth. Traditionally, the Canadian GP has been held in June, serving as the unofficial start of summer in Montreal, but F1 moved it up a month to pair with the Miami GP that was held two weeks ago for travel and environmental impact reasons, before the series heads back overseas for its European stretch. Races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scheduled for April were postponed due to the conflict in the Middle East, which has also compressed the schedule.

The Canadian GP will feature a sprint race for the first time, adding another wrench in the plans. Teams will have less practice time on the track, but another opportunity to score points. Now add the potential for rain in the forecast and let the chaos begin.

The lone practice session and sprint qualifying take place Friday, followed by the sprint and race qualifying on Saturday, all leading up to the main event on Sunday afternoon.

Let’s take a look at the storylines to follow.

Can Antonelli continue his hot streak in Canada?

The Mercedes team has been at the head of the class with four straight GP victories out of the gate in 2026. George Russell took the season-opener in Australia, while teammate Kimi Antonelli has won the past three in China, Japan and Miami.

What’s a sophomore slump? The 19-year-old Antonelli has joined some exclusive company during his hot streak.

• Drivers to earn their first three poles consecutively: Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Antonelli
• Drivers to earn their first three GP wins consecutively: Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen and Antonelli

Senna, Schumacher, Hill and Hakkinen all went on to win the world championship during their careers. High expectations for sure, but there are reasons to believe Antonelli’s run will continue in Montreal at least.

Antonelli came in third during last year’s Canadian GP to earn his maiden podium. He’s led the most laps this season (116), with Russell in a distant second place (36). Even with McLaren’s Lando Norris looking like a threat in Miami, Antonelli crossed the finish line with a 3.3-second advantage over the reigning world champ.

The one area Antonelli can improve upon is his slow starts. Antonelli has dropped places right at the start of every grand prix this season, although that appears to be more of an issue with the car, as Russell has struggled out of the gate as well. As long as Antonelli continues to convert his poles into wins, it isn’t going to be a problem — until it actually is.

This was supposed to be the Summer of George! Russell was the heir apparent at Mercedes and ascended to the No. 1 seat after seven-time world champ Lewis Hamilton departed for Ferrari ahead of last season. With all the pre-season hype surrounding Mercedes this year, many had predicted (including this mild-mannered reporter) that Russell would be the front-runner in the championship.

That looked like a smart bet when the 28-year-old British driver won from pole position in Australia to kick off the 2026 campaign. Russell then took the checkered flag two weeks later during the sprint race in China, however, he finished runner-up in the actual race to Antonelli and has played second fiddle ever since.

Russell finished off the podium in Japan and Miami with back-to-back fourth-place results, all the while his younger teammate has been sipping champagne and/or non-alcoholic rose water (the drinking age in the U.S. is 21 after all).

Montreal has been good to Russell in recent years, though. Russell achieved his first career hat trick last year at the Canadian GP by securing pole position, winning the race and setting the fastest lap. He also qualified on pole in 2024 in incredible fashion, as Russell and Max Verstappen posted identical times (Russell was awarded pole position for setting the time first). Although Verstappen went on to win the race, Russell finished third for his first podium of the season.

Russell (80 points) remains second in the championship, 20 points behind Antonelli, but a deficit that could be erased or at least significantly cut down in a weekend, especially when you add a sprint race to the equation. Outqualifying Antonelli will be the first key for Russell to avoid slipping any further back of his teammate.

Plus, who doesn’t want to see Russell jump into the lake?

Can McLaren match Mercedes?

The double defending constructors’ champion McLaren whiffed at the beginning of the season. Oscar Piastri didn’t even start the first two GPs as an accident on the reconnaissance lap in Australia took him out of his home race before he was even able to line up on the grid, while electrical issues for not only his car but also Norris’ led to a dreadful double DNS in China.

You can only go up from there, and McLaren used the five-week gap following the Japanese GP wisely to prepare upgrades for the cars. That paid immediate dividends in Miami as Norris and Piastri finished 1-2 in the sprint and 2-3 in the race to round out the podium behind Antonelli. Additional upgrades are expected for Montreal, with confidence rising.

“I think you’d have to feel silly if you don’t feel confident about the future when we improved so much this weekend,” Norris said after the Miami GP, according to formula1.com. “We also know (Miami’s) a track that suits us. I’m always that guy that looks at things on the slightly more glass-half-empty side, but this is a track that suits us and in the past has not suited the Mercedes quite so well.

“Yet they were still very fast, and we’re going to go to a track that Mercedes have probably been the best at over the last five, six years. So, we have to wait and see.”

McLaren will also look to avoid a repeat of what happened last year. The team was completely dominating the scene when it arrived in Montreal, but almost left empty-handed. As both drivers were chasing down Antonelli for third place during the late stages of the race, Norris ran into the back of Piastri’s car and crashed into the pit wall. Norris was forced to retire on the spot. Piastri held on in fourth, but his hopes of a potential podium evaporated.

Is Ferrari a contender or a pretender?

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have shown their Ferraris have been hot off the line this year. Formula One isn’t a drag race, though, and holding onto that advantage over the course of an hour and a half has proven problematic.

Leclerc sits third in the championship but is looking to erase a dreadful eighth-place result in Miami. After lunging into the lead at the start, Leclerc dropped out of contention following a slow early pit stop, then spun and tapped the wall on the final lap. Leclerc struggled to bring the car home, or even keep the rubber on the road, leading to a 20-second time penalty for leaving the track to gain an advantage.

Hamilton has history at the track, earning the first of his record 105 career wins in Montreal. Altogether, the 40-year-old British driver has been victorious seven times at the circuit (tied for the most with another legend, Schumacher). Hamilton has yet to reach the top of the podium in a grand prix since joining Ferrari, but how fitting would it be for him to snap that slump in Montreal?

What’s going on with Red Bull?

Seventh place in the standings and zero podiums must seem like unfamiliar territory for the four-time world champ Verstappen. Consider this a rebuilding season for Red Bull as it not only adjusts to the new regulations but also has a new power unit partnership with Ford after Honda moved on. Red Bull has also lost quite a few top personnel behind the scenes over the past few years who were instrumental to the team’s success.

Part of Verstappen’s woes have been self-inflicting, as the Dutch driver spun out on his own accord during the opening lap in Miami while chasing Leclerc for the lead. He miraculously avoided any contact and managed to make a full rotation to stay on track and recovered to finish fifth for his best result of the season. Verstappen also received a five-second time penalty for crossing the line at the pit exit, although it didn’t affect his result.

Verstappen has finished on the podium in four consecutive seasons in Montreal, with three straight wins from 2022-24 and a runner-up result last year. Besides, you can never count out Verstappen. Last season’s title fight down to the wire with Norris proved that even with a monster of a car, Verstappen will push it to the, ahem, max.

What are the expectations for Stroll at home?

Montreal’s own Lance Stroll is the lone Canadian on the grid, and although the Aston Martin driver has scored points at his home race in the past, Sunday’s goal will be simply to finish the race.

Yes, expectations are that low, particularly when Stroll and teammate Fernando Alonso believed at the start of the season that they couldn’t drive their cars for an extended period of time due to dangerous vibrations that could potentially cause nerve damage. That’s one vibration that isn’t such a sweet sensation.

Consider Miami a huge improvement, as both drivers finally made it to the checkered flag in the same race. Never mind double podium or double points, at Aston Martin, a double finish is a success. Granted, both Stroll and Alonso were lapped by the leaders, but at least they didn’t sustain any permanent injuries.

Next step? Finishing on the lead lap.