F1 Canadian GP: Russell wins sprint after Antonelli clash

A calm and collected George Russell triumphed in the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix sprint race, as Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli endured two trips across the grass in the battle for victory.

Mercedes, which locked out the front row ahead of the McLarens, Ferraris and Red Bulls, maintained its advantage at the start as polesitter Russell led Antonelli, despite the Silver Arrows having previously suffered from sluggish getaways in 2026.

The only change among frontrunners was Lewis Hamilton going around the outside of Oscar Piastri in Turn 2 for fourth, as Lando Norris stayed third and Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar still made up the top eight.

Antonelli started pressuring Russell on lap five, and attacked on the next tour around the outside in Turn 1, but he was given no room by Russell and cut through the grass.

Antonelli wasn’t giving up and launched another attempt at Turn 8 but braked too late and bounced across the grass, losing second place to Norris. “That was very naughty,” the Italian complained of Russell.

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

Briefly challenged by Hamilton, Antonelli pulled away and eventually closed the gap to Norris, who himself was pressuring leader Russell. The sophomore attacked the McLaren on the last lap, around the outside in Turn 1, but couldn’t make the move stick, so the top three remained unchanged.

Hamilton had to withheld pressure from Piastri and eventually collapsed to sixth on the last lap, behind the Australian and Ferrari team-mate Leclerc. Verstappen finished seventh.

Hadjar ended up three laps down after two pitstops, meaning Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad collected the last available point after completing the race on hard tyres.

Further back, Lance Stroll finished highest of all five cars which started from the pitlane, having encountered a front suspension issue shortly before the start. Valtteri Bottas, Oliver Bearman, Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly were in the same starting situation but were outraced by the Aston Martin.

F1 Canadian GP - sprint race results

SPRINT

All Stats

Cla	Driver	#		Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Chassis	Engine
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63		23	-				10		Mercedes	Mercedes
2	L. Norris McLaren	1		23	+1.272 1.272	1.272			9		McLaren	Mercedes
3	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		23	+1.843 1.843	0.571			8		Mercedes	Mercedes
4	O. Piastri McLaren	81		23	+9.797 9.797	7.954			7		McLaren	Mercedes
5	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		23	+9.929 9.929	0.132			6		Ferrari	Ferrari
6	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		23	+10.545 10.545	0.616			5		Ferrari	Ferrari
7	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3		23	+15.935 15.935	5.390			4		Red Bull	Red Bull
8	A. Lindblad Racing Bulls	41		23	+29.710 29.710	13.775			3		RB	Red Bull
9	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		23	+31.621 31.621	1.911			2		Alpine	Mercedes
10	C. Sainz Williams	55		23	+36.793 36.793	5.172			1		Williams	Mercedes
11	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30		23	+1'01.344 1'01.344	24.551					RB	Red Bull
12	G. Bortoleto Audi	5		23	+1'01.814 1'01.814	0.470					Audi	Audi
13	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		23	+1'04.209 1'04.209	2.395					Haas	Ferrari
14	S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team	11		23	+1'10.402 1'10.402	6.193					Cadillac	Ferrari
15	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27		23	+1'12.158 1'12.158	1.756					Audi	Audi
16	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		22	1 lap						Aston Martin	Honda
17	V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team	77		22	1 lap						Cadillac	Ferrari
18	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		22	1 lap			1			Haas	Ferrari
19	A. Albon Williams	23		22	1 lap			1			Williams	Mercedes
20	P. Gasly Alpine	10		22	1 lap			1			Alpine	Mercedes
21	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6		20	3 laps			2			Red Bull	Red Bull
dnf	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		15				2		Retirement	Aston Martin	Honda
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