Kimi Antonelli achieved his fourth consecutive victory in a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, following his battle with George Russell in which his Mercedes teammate was forced to retire with a power unit issue.
Russell was leading the race after an intense fight with Antonelli, including a wheel-to-wheel moment at the final chicane, when his Mercedes car suffered a power unit failure on lap 30. After parking up at Turn 9, Russell jumped out of the car in a furious rage as he not only saw a chance to win his first Grand Prix since the season opener in Australia disappeared, but also saw teammate Antonelli get a major points boost in the drivers’ championship.
The Silver Arrows pair had been aggressively trading the lead over the first half of the race, with a moment on lap 24 at the final chicane, with Antonelli briefly passing Russell off the track before being ordered to hand the position back.
Russell’s exit allowed Antonelli a much more relaxed second half of the race to cruise home to a fourth consecutive win, dramatically expanding his championship lead on his teammate to 43 points. As he saw Kimi cruise to victory, George said he was “lost for words” by his retirement.
Behind Antonelli, both McLaren cars suffered a disastrous race, which started with a backfiring choice to start on intermediates on a slightly damp track. As the field did two extra formation laps due to trouble for Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls, Oscar Piastri questioned the decision of starting on the grooved tyres, and both he and teammate Lando Norris soon had to come in for slicks, despite Norris briefly taking the lead at the start.
As both McLarens dropped back into the midfield pack, Piastri clattered into the back of Alex Albon at the hairpin, forcing Albon into retirement and Piastri to the pits for a new front wing. The McLaren driver was handed a 10-second penalty.
Lando’s race was even worse, as he had to retire on lap 40 at the hairpin with a suspected gearbox failure. The following virtual safety car period was the perfect time for the frontrunners to switch from softs to mediums on what turned out to be a straightforward one-stop race as the expected rain never hit the track.
With both McLarens eliminating themselves from contention, fifth-starting Max Verstappen moved up to second some nine seconds behind Antonelli, as the four-time champion tried to fend off a spirited Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari. At the start of lap 62, Hamilton finally passed Verstappen into Turn 1 to take second, finishing ten seconds behind the winner.
Behind the pair, Charles Leclerc and Isack Hadjar also battle in a Ferrari versus Red Bull duel for fourth place, with Hadjar handed a 10-second penalty for weaving on the straight, which almost led to a high-speed collision. Leclerc found a way past for fourth but finished over 44 seconds behind Antonelli after surviving a big moment out of the final chicane.
Hadjar, who cleared his time penalty under a late virtual safety car period, was then handed a stop-and-go penalty for ignoring yellow flags, but the Red Bull driver still hung onto fifth due to the huge gap between the five remaining frontrunners and Formula 1’s midfield.
Alpine came out on top of that midfield battle once more, with Franco Colpainto taking a career-best sixth place ahead of Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson and teammate Pierre Gasly, who bounced back from a bad weekend with eighth. Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman rounded out the top ten to take the final points for Williams and Haas respectively.
Piastri ended his ordeal outside the points in P11, in the company of both Audi cars, while a total of six cars retired from the race.
Alongside Lindblad, Albon, Russell and Norris, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso disappeared from the race with what the team called a problem with his seat. Cadillac’s Sergio Perez suffered a collapse of his front-right suspension and was fortunate to stop the car in the pitlane.
So congratulations to Andrea Kimi Antonelli in winning in Canada and has a significant 43 points over his title rival and teammate. George Russell’s non-finish makes it tricky in terms of the championship. The next race is Monaco and it will be fascinating how the battle resumes between the Silver Arrows.
Canadian Grand Prix, race results:
1 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:28:15.758
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +10.768s
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Ford +11.276s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +44.151s
5 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Ford +1 lap
6 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes +1 lap
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Ford +1 lap
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes +1 lap
9 Carlos Sainz Williams-Mercedes +1 lap
10 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari +1 lap
11 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes +2 laps
12 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +2 laps
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +2 laps
14 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari +2 laps
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda +4 laps
16 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari +4 laps
Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari DNF
Lando Norris McLaren-Mecedes DNF
George Russell Mercedes DNF
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda DNF
Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes DNF
Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Ford DNS
Kimi Antonelli has taken victory in a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix, and extended his championship lead to 43 points in the process, after Mercedes team mate George Russell was forced to retire on Lap 30 following a power unit issue on his car.
The early stages of the race were dominated by a thrilling battle for the lead between Russell and Antonelli, with some contentious moments between them as the pair swapped positions on numerous occasions.
But the duel came to an end in heartbreaking circumstances for Russell when the Briton suffered a sudden technical issue that forced him to stop on track. A Virtual Safety Car was deployed and much of the field pitted, with Antonelli left holding a solid lead over second-placed Verstappen.
From there the Italian was untroubled at the front, crossing the line with a margin of 10.7 seconds to seal his fourth consecutive win. Lewis Hamilton took a strong second place for Ferrari, the seven-time World Champion overtaking the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in the final laps.
Verstappen held onto third to score his first podium of the season, while Charles Leclerc and Isack Hadjar were fourth and fifth respectively in the sister Ferrari and Red Bull cars. Franco Colapinto continued his good run for Alpine in sixth, and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson just held off the other Alpine of Pierre Gasly as the pair claimed P7 and P8.
Carlos Sainz added to Williams’ tally in ninth, and Haas’ Ollie Bearman sealed the final point on offer in 10th. Oscar Piastri missed out in P11 on what turned out to be a nightmare day for McLaren, with both cars pitting early for slick tyres after their decision to start on the intermediate compound proved to be the wrong one.
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Mercedes driver George Russell said he was “lost for words” after retiring from the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix lead, but said he “loved” his intense battle with team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell and Antonelli had been trading the lead until power unit trouble saw Russell coast to a halt on lap 30, handing Antonelli a comfortable drive to his fourth consecutive grand prix win. As a result, the 19-year-old Italian expanded his title lead to 43 points.
Russell admitted he was “lost for words” after suffering a bitter blow in the title race. “Everything just turned off all of a sudden,” he told Sky. “Just went into the corner, engine stopped, no electronics, no proper braking. I’m a bit lost for words to be honest right now.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m proud of my weekend. Pole in the sprint, won the sprint, pole in qualifying. I was leading when I stopped, I had good [fun] battling with Kimi. From my side I don’t feel like there was anything more I could have done this weekend. So, I’ll leave satisfied. Of course, I’m pretty damn frustrated with what’s happened. But yeah, what more can I do?”
A day after he and Antonelli traded blows in the sprint race, Russell said he enjoyed his fierce battle with his younger team-mate, which reminded him of go-karting.
“I thought it was great, I loved it to be honest, I really enjoyed it,” he added. “I felt like the karting days, you know, we didn’t make any contact, it was hard, close. Yeah, I loved it. That’s what racing is about. I’d have loved to have continued it for 30 more laps.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/george-russell-lost-for-words-after-heartbreaking-canadian-gp-exit/10823946/
Lando Norris has defended McLaren’s gamble to start the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix on intermediate tyres, insisting the decision was based on valid reasoning despite ultimately backfiring.
With Circuit Gilles Villeneuve hit by unpredictable showers in the build-up to lights out, tyre selection proved to be tricky. While the majority of the grid opted for slick rubber, the Woking outfit chose intermediate tyres.
The Briton capitalised immediately, surging into an early lead and carving out a two-second advantage by the end of the opening lap. But as the track quickly dried, Norris was left at a severe disadvantage and was forced to pit.
While speaking to the media after he ultimately retired from the race, Norris discussed the decision to start on intermediates and at what point he realised it was the wrong choice.
“Probably just on the warm-up lap,” he said. “I think the rain already stopped a little bit by then, so, yeah, it was the wrong decision in hindsight. Obviously, it was good for a lap and kept me out of trouble, and so easily things could have happened behind, and I would have looked much better, but it was the wrong decision in the end.
“But I don’t think through any bad decision-making. There were valid reasons for doing what we did. I’m happy we went for something and stuck to it. It doesn’t work out sometimes, that’s the way it is, so we take it on the chin, and we learn from it.”
Norris argued that his strong start demonstrated the drivers on slick tyres were struggling more with grip.
“I just had a lot more grip, as simple as that, honestly,” Norris explained. “It shows how slippery it was for them in the beginning, and I had a two-second gap after one lap, so it wasn’t like it was stupid to be on that tyre… It was just drying out, and of course, when they got a bit of temperature into the tyres, it worked out for them.
“Like 1% more rain or a few little bits of drizzle here or there, and it really would have suited us a lot more. So, that happens sometimes and nothing really went our way today. I don’t think our pace was going to be exceptional either way with the temperatures we had, and we ended with a DNF, so just a bit unlucky.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lando-norris-defends-mclaren-strategy-after-canadian-gp-gamble-backfires/10823967/
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes that the intense battle between drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell for the lead in the Canadian Grand Prix was “just acceptable”.
The Mercedes duo engaged in a thrilling tussle during the early stages of the 68-lap race in Montreal, as the pair went wheel-to-wheel and traded the lead several times.
Their personal battle only came to an end when Russell was forced to retire on Lap 30 due to a power unit problem, with Antonelli left clear to take his fourth Grand Prix win in succession.
“It was just acceptable. I think probably 10% less battling would have made us all happier but it’s okay,” said Wolff on the fight between his drivers.
The latest on-track battle came after Russell and Antonelli also fought for the win in Saturday’s Sprint, with Antonelli unhappy about a Turn 1 move that left him on the grass.
On Saturday, Wolff had stated that “I don’t want to hold him back” regarding Antonelli’s fighting spirit, but confirmed post-race on Sunday that the latest flashpoint would be discussed ahead of the next race in Monaco.
“I think first we need to calm things down,” said Wolff. “Also make sure George is in a good head space, or a better head space, and then discuss it with them. We always want to be transparent.”
Antonelli’s victory means he now holds a 43-point lead in the Drivers’ standings after just five Grands Prix weekends, with Wolff stating that Sunday’s result was bittersweet.
“Obviously a win is a win and that is great. Kimi deserves it, but bittersweet for the team,” added Wolff.
“Obviously you had George who was leading the race and we let him down with failure. That is always difficult to cope, we’d rather see them racing like we did for the whole race and then figuring out on track who deserves to win.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/just-acceptable-wolff-gives-verdict-on-mercedes-intra-team-battle-after-bittersweet-canadian-grand-prix.5EEzhz3nYYEByvj76y2HuW