George Russell won the sprint of the Canadian Grand Prix after an intense battle against his teammate Kimi Antonelli. The Briton finished ahead of Lando Norris, while the championship leader finished third.
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The sprint race of the Montreal weekend started with a grid already reduced by several drivers. Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas and Alexander Albon all had to start from the pit lane after changes made under parc fermé conditions. A few minutes before the start, Lance Stroll was also added to this list due to a suspension problem on his Aston Martin.
At the front of the grid, George Russell started from pole ahead of Kimi Antonelli, with the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri just behind. As soon as the lights went out, the Mercedes made an excellent start this time, an area where the team had often struggled this season.
Russell easily kept first place while Antonelli defended his second position ahead of Norris. Behind, Lewis Hamilton made a superb overtake on Piastri in the first corners to climb to fourth place.
The Russell-Antonelli duel explodes the race
Very quickly, the two Mercedes pulled a small gap on Norris. Antonelli then seemed to have a slightly better pace and began to put Russell under pressure after only a few laps.
The tension really rose on the sixth lap when the Italian attacked his teammate. Russell defended aggressively in the first corner, forcing Antonelli off track. The young Mercedes driver then insisted at turn 8 with a particularly optimistic attempt.
But this move went wrong. Antonelli locked his wheels, crossed the grass again and lost a lot of speed when rejoining the track. Lando Norris immediately took advantage to snatch second place from him.
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On the radio, Antonelli then demanded a penalty against Russell, judging his teammate’s defense too aggressive. Toto Wolff and Peter Bonnington quickly tried to calm the championship leader, who was visibly very frustrated by this tough exchange.
Norris threatens Russell until the end
This internal duel fully benefited Norris, who immediately closed back on Russell and turned the end of the sprint into a three-way battle.
For several laps, the three men raced nose to tail. Antonelli tried to catch Norris, but several mistakes in the first corner prevented him from launching a decisive attack.
Behind them, the Ferrari-McLaren group also animated the race. Hamilton resisted Piastri for a long time before hitting the famous “wall of champions” at the exit of the last chicane. The Briton then lost two positions in the last lap to Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
Up front, George Russell remained solid until the checkered flag and secured an important victory in this Canadian sprint. Norris finished second after benefiting from the Mercedes duel, while Antonelli ultimately completed the podium after a particularly eventful race.
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2026 Canadian GP F1 Sprint Classification:
