George Russell defeated Max Verstappen to take his first victory of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix, while Lando Norris was forced to retired after making contact with his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
Mercedes driver Russell fended Verstappen off at the start after claiming pole and then produced a measured drive, with his lead never under serious challenge.
In a predicted two-stop Formula 1 race, Russell always had an answer to Verstappen’s pitstops and built up a decent gap over the second stint to delay his final stop until lap 43 of 70, which then allowed him to keep his rival at length until the chequered flag to take his and team’s first win of 2025.
Behind Russell and Verstappen, who settled for second, the battle for the final podium podium heated up over the final stint. Russell’s teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced his finest Grand Prix drive of his impressive career and even passed Verstappen right as the Red Bull driver went into the pits.
Verstappen’s earlier pitstop allowed him to keep position and, in the second half of the race, Antonelli’s challenge for second faded. The Mercedes rookie instead had to look in his mirrors to fend off McLaren’s Piastri, whom he had overtaken for third on lap one and held off until the finish to take a maiden Formula 1 podium and hand Mercedes a 1-3 finish.
Piastri and McLaren did not enjoy their usual race pace or tyre wear advantage in Canada, despite Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve being a track that focuses on rear tyre management.
As such Piastri was unable to benefit from having fresher hard tyres than Antonelli to find a way past the Mercedes driver, with the championship leader instead coming under pressure from McLaren teammate Norris.
After a disappointing qualifying session to seventh, Norris was having a strongest race pace following an alternative strategy as a way to fight his way back into contention.
Norris started on hards, extended his first stint and then put himself in a position to put pressure on Piastri. After pressuring Piastri for several laps, Norris initially passed the championship leader at the hairpin on lap 46 before the pair went towards the final chicane side by side.
Piastri kept the position by being later on the brakes, but on the main straight Norris then made an error of judgement as he attempted to pass his teammate on the left into a closing gap. The McLaren driver then drove into the back of Piastri and hit the pitwall to suffer terminal suspension damage and a missing front wing.
Norris immediately admitted his mistake on the team radio, saying it was “all on me”, as he suffered a big points loss in the drivers’ championship.
Ferrari suffered a disappointing afternoon, with Charles Leclerc furious as his team abandoned what appeared to be a manageable one-stop strategy and instead settled for sixth, which became fifth after Lando’s retirement.
Lewis Hamilton had a tricky afternoon with disastrously slow race pace, which undid a solid fifth qualifying position and saw him finish behind Leclerc in sixth. The seven-time world champion is believed to have suffered damage after he hit a groundhog, which cost him downforce.
Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg both produced another combative drive to grab their second consecutive points-scoring results in seventh and eighth respectively.
The final points went to the Haas of Esteban Ocon and Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who overcame a disappointing qualifying session where he started P16 on the grid.
Williams teammate Alexander Albon was less fortunate after having to park up on lap 48 with a Mercedes power unit issue, while Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson also retired to conserve engine mileage.
In the drivers’ standings Oscar Piastri extends his lead on Norris by 12 points to take a 22-point advantage heading into the Austrian Grand Prix, which takes place on the Red Bull Ring in two weeks’ time.
So congratulations to Mercedes with a double podium. George Russell winning the race and Andrea Kimi Antonelli scoring his first podium result. Defending world champion Max Verstappen finished between the Silver Arrows pair as the team’s home race is up next.
As for the McLarens, it was predicted that an on-track clash will take place at some point this season due to the highly competitive nature of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. This turned out to be true with the Papaya pair collided into one another. Lando was forced to retire and this has harmed his points in the drivers’ standings. Oscar was able to continue and took fourth but this is the first time this season that neither McLarens finished on the podium.
Canadian Grand Prix, race results:
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:31:52.688
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull+0.228s
3 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.014s
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren +2.109s
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +3.442s
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +10.713s
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +10.972s
8 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +15.364s
9 Esteban Ocon Haas +1 lap
10 Carlos Sainz Williams +1 lap
11 Oliver Bearman Haas +1 lap
12 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +1 lap
13 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1 lap
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber F+1 lap
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1 lap
16 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1 lap
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin A+1 lap
Lando Norris McLaren DNF
Liam Lawson Racing Bulls DNF
Alexander Albon Williams DNF
George Russell has clinched Mercedes’ first victory of the season in the Canadian Grand Prix, a race that ended in dramatic style after a collision between McLaren team mates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris that saw the latter crash out.
It had been a strong start from pole position for Russell, the Briton launching away cleanly to hold the lead from Max Verstappen. What followed was a race of different strategies across the pack, with some opting for a two-stop plan while others tried to nurse their tyres on a one-stop.
Most of the frontrunners executed a two-stop strategy, setting up for a thrilling finale as the gaps amongst the top five cars became increasingly close in the closing stages. While Russell was leading from Verstappen, Piastri was trying to catch Kimi Antonelli for third – but the Australian also had Norris hot on his tail.
The McLaren pair then engaged in a feisty battle and contact occurred between them after Norris hit the back of Piastri’s car, resulting in Norris parking up at the side of the track. The Briton went on to apologise for the incident over the radio.
With the Safety Car being deployed as Norris’ stricken car was recovered, Russell crossed the line to seal his fourth career Grand Prix victory while Verstappen followed in second. There were also double celebrations at Mercedes as Antonelli claimed third, marking the Italian’s debut F1 podium.
Piastri managed to hold onto fourth, the Australian having pitted under the Safety Car, while Charles Leclerc took fifth for Ferrari ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton in sixth.
Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, added to his points tally by claiming seventh for Aston Martin, while Nico Hulkenberg bolstered Kick Sauber’s total with a solid eighth.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/russell-takes-solid-victory-as-piastri-and-norris-collide-late-on-in.2cri9oFCALqhfsbvpqDfBq
Mercedes achieved their best weekend of the season so far at the hands of George Russell, who converted his pole position into a win ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli in a frenetic Canadian Grand Prix.
The Brackley outfit have struggled to consistently keep pace with their frontrunner rivals, but the cooler temperatures and smoother surface in Montreal played perfectly into their hands and helped Russell to secure his first pole and win of the year.
He controlled the race from lights out, executing a two-stop strategy after enduring some early pressure from the lead Red Bull, with Verstappen never allowing the Briton too much breathing room throughout the 70 laps.
Although he expected more of a challenge from the championship leader, Oscar Piastri was ultimately restricted to P4 after Antonelli passed him on the opening lap, and a late collision with Lando Norris meant that the race ended behind the Safety Car which confirmed Russell’s victory.
“It’s amazing to be back on the top step, obviously the last time for us was back in Vegas,” he later said. “I thought last year for us was a victory lost, and then obviously we got the victory today probably due to the incredible pole lap yesterday.
“So happy to see Kimi on the podium as well so it’s an amazing day for the team – thanks to everybody back at the factory who’s been working so hard to get us back fighting for victories. It feels good.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/its-amazing-to-be-back-on-the-top-step-russell-jubilant-after-hard-fought.3UhTotoF3ZNFCq1NC0z0SU
Oscar Piastri praised Lando Norris for his apology after the two McLaren Formula 1 drivers clashed late in the Canadian Grand Prix – and doesn’t believe it will change the team’s approach.
In the lead-up to the collision, Norris attempted to launch a handful of moves on Piastri for fourth in Montreal, but could not find a way to take advantage of his team-mate’s lack of DRS when the Australian dropped off Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s tail.
Norris briefly got past at the end of lap 66 with a lunge at the Turn 10 hairpin, but was compromised on the exit and the two went side-by-side into the final chicane.
Piastri held the inside line, but Norris attempted to pounce on the exit – yet found his car in a rapidly closing gap next to the pitwall at the start of the 67th lap.
Piastri said he hadn’t seen the incident but felt the contact and revealed Norris had apologised immediately and taken the blame.
He said that having open discussions was good for team harmony, and was happy that Norris had elected to apologise.
“I honestly haven’t seen what happened,” said championship leader Piastri. “I obviously felt a bit of a touch, but yeah, it’s an unusual place to have an incident.
“So, I still need to have a look. Lando’s apologised to me, so I guess that says a little bit, but I honestly haven’t seen much.
“Lando is a very good guy and I think it’s in his character and in his personality to say exactly what he thinks. And if that’s detrimental to himself, or if it’s about himself, then it doesn’t matter for him.
“I think that’s a great quality of Lando. I think it’s good for the whole team going forwards that we can have these conversations and go racing like this and have things not go the way we want and get through them. So, yeah, that’s all.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/piastri-lauds-norris-apology-after-mclaren-clash-at-f1-canadian-gp/10733252/
McLaren team chief Andrea Stella has confirmed that the team will be reviewing the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, but applauded the latter for taking responsibility for the misjudgement.
The two drivers, both in contention for the championship, were involved in an intense battle during the Canadian Grand Prix. After multiple laps of clean racing, Norris went for the overtake on his team-mate but misjudged the gap to the left of his car and ended up clipping the wall and the rear left of Piastri’s MCL39, ending his race.
Fortunately for the Australian driver, his race was not over, and he crossed the line in fourth position under safety car conditions.
Stella reacted to the incident while talking with Sky Sports F1 pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz, explaining that there was clearly “no malintent” from Norris’ side.
“We never want to see a McLaren involved in an accident and definitely we never want to see the two McLarens touching each other,” he explained.
“It’s something we definitely need to review because this is a very clear principle. At the same time it’s a contact that happened because of a misjudgement. Just Lando misjudged the distance to the car ahead and therefore there was no malintent.
“Lando owned [up] immediately, took responsibility for that, but certainly something to discuss and review. Our principles are already in place, our drivers will have something to learn further and we go racing again.
“It is absolutely a misjudgement that cost Lando quite a lot in the championship. It already cost for the team so definitely an incident that should have not happened.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mclaren-chief-confirms-review-of-norris-piastri-clash-but-insists-no-malintent/10733262/
Lando Norris said he regretted letting his team down and admitted he was at fault for a collision with McLaren Formula 1 team-mate Oscar Piastri, which saw the Brit crash out of the Canadian Grand Prix.
In a desperate attempt to squeeze past the F1 championship leader on lap 67, Norris got it all wrong and simply ran out of room, sticking his McLaren into the wall.
There were no complaints from Norris, just an apology before he trudged back to the team’s garage – and the incident now leaves him 22 points behind his rival in the F1 standings.
“I’m sorry,” he said over team radio. “All my bad. All my fault. Stupid from me.”
It was the culmination of a fight for fourth place and, despite suffering damage, Piastri was able to hold on to the position.
Speaking after the race, Norris explained his decision to take the inside line on the start-finish straight, stating he felt Piastri had left enough room at the time before slowly closing the door.
“I don’t expect to pass Oscar on the outside into Turn 1,” Norris said. “I should never have gone for it, I guess, in complete hindsight.
“I thought he was starting to drift a little bit to the right, so I thought I had a small opportunity to go to the left. But it was way too much risk, especially on my team-mate. So, happy nothing happened to him, and I paid the price for my mistake.”
Norris added that it was important for him to own up to the incident, expressing his remorse that he’d “let down my team” and was planning to apologise to the rest of the McLaren staff.
He denied that the move came out of frustration that McLaren had endured its most muted performance this season, in which neither driver graced the podium for the first time in 2025.
“Our rule number one is to not make contact with your team-mate and it’s what I did. McLaren is my family. I race for them, you know, every single weekend.
“I try and do well for them, more than I often try and do well for myself. So, when I let them down like this and when I make a fool of myself in a moment like today, I have a lot of regret.
“That’s for me always the worst feeling. So, of course, I only really need to apologise to all of them and Oscar as well.
“He’s not going to be happy altogether with what happened. I wouldn’t be either if it was the other way around, you know. So, again, I owe him an apology for taking such a risk. He raced me fairly until that point and close and that’s what you want.
“I think we didn’t have the pace for pole yesterday. Oscar did a good job and good lap to get P3. Today we were probably quicker than we were expecting, I would say, which is a big positive for us.
“Our race pace was very strong and I felt like quite easily the quickest on track. So, it doesn’t really matter in the end of the day when I crash. But, yes, I think we clearly always struggled more in qualifying this season than we have in the race.
“I think that showed again this weekend. So, yes, it’s quite obvious to us that our weakness is qualifying at the minute as a team, of course, myself too. And that’s what we’ve got to work on.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/norris-accepts-fault-after-crashing-into-piastri-during-f1-canadian-gp/10733224/