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Lewis Hamilton's fifth-place finish in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying is in jeopardy after the seven-time world champion was summoned to face the FIA stewards over an alleged impeding incident involving Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
The investigation, scheduled for one hour after the conclusion of qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, centres on a moment in Q1 when Gasly, on a flying lap, encountered Hamilton — who was on an outlap — on the run down to Turn 8. Hamilton appeared unaware of the Alpine car's approach as he weaved across the track to warm up his tyres, forcing Gasly to find a way past before completing his lap. The stewards must now determine whether the Ferrari driver's actions warrant a grid penalty.
Hamilton had gone on to qualify fifth in Q3, slotting in behind the leading Mercedes and McLaren runners and set to share the third row of the grid with Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
For Gasly, the incident added further frustration to what has been a deeply difficult weekend. The Frenchman ended Q2 in 14th place and failed to advance to the final qualifying segment, while Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto progressed to Q3 and claimed 10th place on the grid. Gasly's struggles have been well-documented throughout the weekend — he had already taken his car out of parc ferme following sprint qualifying, effectively using Saturday morning's 23-lap sprint as a de facto test run to better understand the behaviour of his machinery. Alpine's issues with Gasly's car have been an ongoing concern, and the team had been searching for answers to his recent difficulties even before arriving in Montreal.
Hamilton is not the only driver facing scrutiny. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll is also summoned before the stewards for allegedly impeding Audi's Nico Hülkenberg during Q1. Meanwhile, Cadillac's Sergio Perez has been called to the stewards' office over an incident with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso — with Alonso himself also under investigation for a potential unsafe release from his garage.
The flurry of stewards' hearings adds a layer of uncertainty to the grid ahead of Sunday's race, for which wet conditions remain a realistic possibility.
At the front of the grid, George Russell claimed pole position with a decisive final effort in Q3, edging team-mate Kimi Antonelli to secure his second pole of the 2026 season for Mercedes. Russell's lap capped a dominant qualifying performance from the Silver Arrows, who locked out the front row ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on row two.
Whether Hamilton starts from fifth or is shuffled further down the order will depend on the outcome of the stewards' hearing — a verdict that could have meaningful consequences for Ferrari's race strategy on what promises to be an unpredictable Sunday in Montreal.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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