Berlin [Germany], May 26: Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli won the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday as his Mercedes team-mate and title contender George Russell was forced to abandon the race.
Sprint race winner Russell had a bad start from pole position, losing the lead to Lando Norris of McLaren and also falling behind Antonelli.
But once Norris pitted for slick tyres on lap two, after having started on intermediates due to the some light drizzle, Antonelli and Russell started battling each other for first place.
It was a tight fight that saw them making contact on lap 24, but no team orders from Mercedes to slow down.
Russell was leading on lap 30, but that's when his race ended. The British driver went wide at Turn 8 and onto the grass before slowing down and stopping on track with a power unit failure.
"I'm lost for words, can't say much more than that," Russell told broadcaster Sky Sports.
From this point, it was an easy run for Antonelli as none of the cars behind him were able to pose a threat.
Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari was second after a battle with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in the final laps. The Dutchman had to settle for third, but will be happy to be on the podium for the first time this season.
Defending champion Norris, meanwhile, also abandoned the race due to a technical issue.
This was Antonelli's fourth consecutive and overall win in five races this season. He tops the drivers' standings with 131 points, 43 ahead of Russell.
"It was a really fun battle with George, we were on the limit and it was not easy today with the wind. One lap he locked up and I went in front, and then I locked up and he went ahead," Antonelli said after the race.
"It was a shame for him to have the failure as we would have had a close battle, but we will take it. A big thank you to the team."
Hamilton v Verstappen
Four-time world champion Verstappen and his Red Bull team have had a tough start to the season as new regulations came into force. His best result before the weekend had been a fifth place but the Dutchman finally made his way to the podium in Montreal.
He started the race in sixth, but after overtaking Piastri and with Norris pitting early, he only had Hamilton ahead of him and by lap nine he had already left the British rival behind and made it to the top three.
But seven-time world champion Hamilton came back to haunt Verstappen in the final laps and made a move on lap 62 to claim only his second podium since joining Ferrari in 2025.
"It is an amazing feeling to be back up here and I actually got to have a race with Max which was good," Hamilton said.
Hamilton and Verstappen had their share of fights on track, especially in 2021, when the Dutchman beat Hamilton for the title in the final race of the year.
"I had some cool battles out there. Racing back up the front is always better. Cool battle with Lewis, we kept pushing right to the line. To be on the podium is extremely positive, so happy with that," Verstappen said.
Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari was fourth followed by the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar and the Alpine of Franco Colapinto. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls was seventh, while Pierre Gasly in the second Alpine and Carlos Sainz of Williams completed the top 10.
Three formation laps The Canadian GP had an unusual build-up with three formation laps.
After the first one, drivers waited for the lights to go out but they just stayed on as the Racing Bull of Arvid Lindblad was stranded on the grid.
The cars then set off for a second lap but once they returned to the grid, marshals were still wheeling Lindblad's cara aways, which forced a third round.
Source: Qatar Tribune
