As always with the Sprint format, Saturday at the Canadian Grand Prix featured the 100 km short race and qualifying for tomorrow's main event.

The battle for pole saw Scuderia Ferrari HP fighting right to the end, as was the case yesterday, with a very much on form and competitive Lewis Hamilton in an extremely closely matched field. In the end, the Briton qualified fifth, while Charles Leclerc had a slightly more difficult afternoon, ending up eighth fastest. Tomorrow, however, everything could be turned on its head by the rain, which is forecast for Montreal.

The two Ferraris made it through the first phase on used Softs, while from Q2 onward both Lewis and Charles could count on new sets of the softest compound. In Q3, Lewis had an excellent first timed lap, putting him provisionally second with a time of 1'12"868. He was unable to improve on his second run and his time was beaten by three drivers, which dropped him to fifth. Charles encountered traffic on his first run and had to give his all on his second flying lap, 1'12"976, just one tenth slower than his teammate. However, in such a tightly bunched field it meant he had to settle for eighth on the grid.

Rain is expected to play a part, but if tomorrow's Grand Prix is run in the dry, the data from today's Sprint race, especially in terms of tyre behaviour and race pace, could prove invaluable.

Earlier at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit, the third Sprint race of the season delivered seven points for the Scuderia courtesy of Charles' fifth place and Lewis' sixth. After a strong start that saw Hamilton climb as high as fourth, both SF-26s were competitive in the middle part of the race, finishing just behind the leaders at the end of the 23 laps.

Lewis Hamilton: It was a good session overall and I felt comfortable in the car, especially through Q2 and on the first run in Q3. We made a small change ahead of qualifying that worked well and the team did a strong job improving the car throughout the session. The final lap didn't come together quite as I wanted, but we are making progress and I feel hopeful that we can keep moving in the right direction. The race could be very unpredictable tomorrow so I'll be ready to take advantage of any opportunities.

Charles Leclerc: In the Sprint, I think we paid the price for our starting position. The pace felt good but I got stuck behind Oscar (Piastri) who was very fast on the straights.

Qualifying did not go well for me. I just struggled to put the tyres in the right window and was sliding around in Q1 and Q2. In Q3, I managed to gain some confidence and felt a bit better in the car, but that final position isn't what we are aiming for. I think the race will be tricky for everyone, especially if it is wet, so we will have to see how things unfold tomorrow.

Fred Vasseur: It was a tight session especially in the end, as Lewis was running P2 after the first runs in Q3. Unfortunately he didn't manage to put everything together on his final attempt. It's a pity because the pace was there and we could have aimed for a stronger result. Now the focus shifts to tomorrow, when we could face a very different challenge. So far we have never raced these cars on these new tyres in wet conditions, which means teams and drivers will need to learn very quickly, even on the laps to the grid. That could make for a very open race.

Check out our Saturday gallery from Montreal here.