Kimi Antonelli further extended his lead in the championship with his fourth consecutive win of the season in Montreal, becoming the first driver in Formula 1 history to have his first four career race wins be completely consecutive. Teammate George Russell, who was having a stellar weekend after winning the Sprint and starting on pole for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, had to retire his car after an exciting wheel-to-wheel battle with Kimi in the first 30 laps due to a disappointing engine failure. Lewis Hamilton won an intense battle against Max Verstappen in the final few laps to finish P2, claiming his second podium finish of the season and his best-ever result in Tifosi Red. Verstappen finished P3, securing his first podium finish of what has otherwise been a disappointing start to the 2026 season. Overall, Mercedes continued their absolute domination, winning both the Sprint and the Grand Prix to extend their lead in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
The lone practice session of the weekend was dominated, as usual, by the two Mercedes drivers, followed by the two Ferraris whose best laps were more than half a second slower than the Silver Arrows. McLaren had a relatively quiet practice session compared to the form they carried in after securing a double podium in Miami. Sprint Qualifying saw George Russell claim pole position—a feat he had not achieved since the Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying given his teammate’s dominance afterwards. Kimi Antonelli settled for P2 on the grid to lock out a Mercedes front row. The two McLarens slotted into P3 and P4 to make up the second row, while the two Ferraris qualified in P5 and P6 to secure the third row. Max Verstappen did not have the greatest start to the weekend, only managing to qualify P7.
The Sprint start marked the very first time this season that the polesitter managed to maintain the lead until the end of the first lap. With George Russell leading and Kimi Antonelli following in second, an intense domestic battle within Mercedes ensued for first place. Russell ultimately squeezed Antonelli off the track to maintain his lead, which proved consequential for the teenager; he lost crucial time, leaving the door open for Lando Norris to overtake and claim second place. This marked the first time this season the two Mercedes cars went to battle with each other, and it was not as clean as team principal Toto Wolff would have hoped. Both drivers had plenty to say about the incident over the radio during the race and in their post-race interviews. Antonelli ultimately had to settle for P3, while Oscar Piastri, who was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap, fought back to reclaim P4. Hamilton was subsequently overtaken by his teammate, Charles Leclerc, dropping the Briton to P6 while Leclerc secured P5. Verstappen finished P7, with Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad finishing P8 to round out the points-paying positions.
George Russell, who carries a strong history at this track after winning the race last year, continued his dominance by claiming pole position for the Grand Prix with a superb final lap in the dying minutes of Q3. Antonelli, who held provisional pole until those final moments, had to settle for P2 on the grid. Mirroring Sprint Qualifying, the two McLarens slotted into the second row with Lando Norris in P3 and Oscar Piastri in P4. Lewis Hamilton was putting together a strong qualifying performance through Q1 and Q2 but failed to convert that pace in Q3, ending up fifth fastest. His teammate Charles Leclerc had a disappointing session by his standards, only managing to claim P8 on the grid, while the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar secured P6 and P7. Rookie Arvid Lindblad and Alpine driver Franco Colapinto put together impressive sessions to make it into Q3, claiming P9 and P10 on the grid, respectively.
The start of the Canadian Grand Prix took a bizarre turn when the starting lights failed to go out, forcing the drivers into a second formation lap. Compounding the chaos, Arvid Lindblad suffered a gearbox issue, forcing the marshals to push his car into the pit lane. This triggered an extra, third formation lap, which ultimately reduced the race distance from the scheduled 70 laps to 68. Lindblad was forced to retire his car before the race even began—a heartbreaking end to an otherwise impressive weekend for the rookie. When the grid finally lined up, the top eight cars started on soft compound tyres except for the two McLarens, who surprisingly opted for intermediates. While there had been rainfall before the start, the track seemed to be dry enough for slick tyres given the tyre choice of every other team on the grid.
When the lights finally went out at the second time of asking, Lando Norris enjoyed a brilliant launch to snatch the lead from P3. However, his intermediate tyre gamble failed spectacularly, forcing him to pit for slicks at the end of the second lap. Antonelli, who had made a great start to overtake Russell, inherited the race lead once Norris pitted. Oscar Piastri, who had been overtaken by Lewis Hamilton at the start, also pitted for slicks by the end of the first lap. This left Hamilton in P3, followed closely by Verstappen, who eventually overtook the Ferrari on lap 9. With Russell trailing Antonelli in second place, a fierce wheel-to-wheel battle erupted between the Mercedes teammates for the lead. George took the top spot for the first time on lap 6, before the two shared another scrap for the lead on lap 12.
The battle for leadership raged on as Antonelli managed to retake the position on lap 22, only to lock up on lap 24 and eventually hand the lead right back to Russell. Lap 30 marked a sudden end to the intra-team warfare when George Russell was forced to retire his car due to a sudden engine failure. As Russell came to a halt on the side of the track, the resulting Virtual Safety Car allowed the remaining frontrunners to swap their soft compound tyres for the mediums. From there, it was a walk in the park for Kimi Antonelli, who cruised to victory with a comfortable 10-second gap. Behind him, Lewis Hamilton clawed his way back from a seven-second deficit in third place, hunting down Max Verstappen to snatch P2 on lap 63. Their fierce, late-race battle was highly reminiscent of the historic duels the two greats shared in the past. Hamilton’s P2 and Verstappen’s P3 marked the first time the two shared a podium since the historic 2024 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The race was plagued by high attrition, with Lando Norris suffering a terminal engine issue, Sergio Perez enduring a suspension failure, and Fernando Alonso retiring with seat issues. Alex Albon sustained severe sidepod damage on lap 13 after Oscar Piastri crashed into him. The incident earned the Australian a 10-second time penalty, severely hindering his race as he finished P11, just outside the points. With Lindblad failing to start, there were only 16 classified finishers, placing a sharp focus on engine reliability concerns under the new regulations.
Charles Leclerc benefited from McLaren’s disastrous strategic gamble and Russell’s retirement to finish P4, notably crossing the line as the only driver outside the podium spots to avoid being lapped by the rampant Antonelli. Isack Hadjar finished P5, while Franco Colapinto crossed the line in P6—improving on his P7 finish in Miami to secure the best result of his Formula 1 career. Liam Lawson finished P7, while Pierre Gasly came home in P8 to secure a double-points finish for Alpine. Carlos Sainz claimed P9, and Haas’s Oliver Bearman rounded out the top 10.
With four consecutive wins, Kimi Antonelli takes a strong championship lead into the next phase of the season. However, George Russell’s engine failure and their tense Sprint race battle show that Mercedes still has a few challenges to manage internally. Next up is the Monaco Grand Prix, where the tight street circuit will reduce Mercedes’ engine advantage and reward precision. It will also be a highly anticipated weekend for Charles Leclerc, who will be hoping to bounce back and deliver a special performance for Ferrari in front of his home crowd.
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