Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli (top) of Italy is hoisted by second-place Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton (left) of Britain and Mercedes team senior composite technician Dean Hale (second from right), and third-place Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (right) of the Netherlands, as he wins the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, on May 24, 2026. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP
Italian teen star Kimi Antonelli charged to his fourth straight Formula 1 victory Sunday in a wild Canadian Grand Prix after Mercedes teammate George Russell was knocked out by an engine failure.
The title-chasing Mercedes drivers put on a show in a thrilling battle through 30 laps, trading the lead several times and coming dangerously close to making contact, until Russell ran into trouble.
That gave the 19-year-old Antonelli a clear path to victory ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who overtook Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for second with six laps to go in cold and windy conditions at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“It was a really fun battle, to be fair, with George. We were pretty much on the limit,” Antonelli said. “It was very close, and it was a shame for him to have the failure because it would have been a very cool battle. But we’ll take it.”
Antonelli opened a 43-point lead over Russell in the season standings through five of 22 stops. After Russell won the season-opener race in Australia, Antonelli won in China, Japan and Miami.
Hamilton had his best result since joining Ferrari last year, while Verstappen reached the podium for the first time this season.
“It’s been pretty tough for the past year and a bit, so to finally find our sweet spot and have a good weekend, it’s an amazing feeling to be back up here, especially with these guys being so quick,” the 41-year-old Hamilton said. “And actually got to have a race with Max, which is great.”
After the engine failure, Russell threw his headrest across the track and slammed his fists into the front of the car before leaving the circuit, whipping his gloves to the ground in rage.
The Englishman’s exit marked a nightmare end to an otherwise stellar weekend for last year’s winner in Montreal, who took the sprint race Saturday from the pole and also started first Sunday.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth, followed by Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
McLaren started with both drivers in the second row, but Landon Norris was forced to retire from a gearbox issue on Lap 40. Teammate Oscar Piastri placed 11th after a team decision to start on intermediate tyres backfired.
Norris flew from third to first off an exciting start on a drying track, only to switch tyres three laps in. That ceded the lead to Antonelli, who’d also moved past Russell following the pole-sitter’s poor start.
Russell regained the lead on the seventh lap with a clean overtake as Antonelli nearly hit his teammate from behind after his wheels locked up, rolling off the track. The fighting continued into Lap 12 as Antonelli advanced to first, only for Russell to re-take his position before fending off multiple attempts on Lap 17.
Antonelli successfully pulled it off on the 22nd lap, but Russell again charged back into the lead when Antonelli veered off course two laps later. The exchanges persisted until Russell’s engine blew out.
The Mercedes drivers had gone head-to-head all weekend in the fastest cars on the grid, with Russell edging Antonelli by 0.068 seconds in both the sprint and race qualifying sessions.
Tensions reached a tipping point early in the sprint race on Saturday when they made contact on Antonelli’s overtake attempt, as Russell kept his line and forced Antonelli into the grass. Antonelli lost his cool over the team radio, calling the move “very naughty” before demanding a penalty.
Published – May 25, 2026 05:02 am IST
