Kimi Antonelli claimed victory in a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix to strengthen his grip on the Drivers’ Championship, as Mercedes team-mate George Russell retired from the lead battle with a power unit issue on Lap 30.

Russell had been running at the front following an intense opening half of the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, during which he and Antonelli traded the lead several times in a close and thrilling Mercedes duel. The pair ran wheel-to-wheel through much of the first stint, with the battle reaching its peak on Lap 24 when they briefly banged wheels at the final chicane. Antonelli briefly moved ahead after going off track but was instructed to return the position.

The captivating clash ended just six laps later, however. As the pair raced towards Turn 9, Russell suddenly lost power and after trundling through run-off ground to a halt at the corner exit. The power unit failure brought an abrupt halt to his hopes of a first win since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and the Briton responded by angrily hurling his headrest from his car. Freed from the tight struggle, Antonelli then controlled the remainder of the race to secure a fourth consecutive victory and extend his championship advantage over Russell to 43 points.

Behind the winner, McLaren endured a difficult afternoon after both cars started on Intermediate tyres on a slightly damp track. Two additional formation laps, caused by trouble for Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls, increased uncertainty over tyre choice, and Oscar Piastri questioned the decision before the start. Lando Norris briefly led when racing began, but both McLarens were soon forced to pit for slick tyres, dropping them into the midfield.

Piastri’s race became more complicated when he hit the rear of Alex Albon’s Williams at the hairpin, forcing Albon to retire and requiring the McLaren driver to pit for a replacement front wing. Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty over the incident and eventually finished 11th. Norris later retired on Lap 40 at the hairpin with a suspected gearbox issue, triggering a Virtual Safety Car period that allowed the leading cars to switch from Soft to medium tyres. With forecast rain failing to arrive, the race became a straightforward one-stop contest for the front-runners.

Max Verstappen, who started fifth, moved up to second but later in the race came under sustained pressure from Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari. With the Red Bull driver complaining poor tyre warm-up on Mediums, Hamilton closed and after another exciting duel the seven-time champion powerd passed the four-time champion with a clincal move around the outside into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 62. He went on to finish second, 10 seconds behind Antonelli, with Verstappen finishing third to take his and his team’s first podium of the season.

Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari after a late battle with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who received a 10-second penalty for moving more than once and the French driver was later given a stop-and-go penalty for ignoring yellow flags. Despite the brace of penalties, Hadjar retained fifth thanks to a sizeable gap back to Franco Colapinto who took P6 for Alpine. 

Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson was seventh, just clear of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Haas’ Oliver Bearman, who took the final point on offer.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Race
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 68 1:28'15.758 
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 68 1:28'26.526 10.768
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 68 1:28'27.034 11.276
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 68 1:28'59.909 44.151
5 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 67 1:28'20.791 1 lap /5.033
6 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 67 1:28'35.268 1 lap /19.510
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 67 1:28'49.993 1 lap /34.235
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 67 1:28'50.330 1 lap /34.572
9 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 67 1:29'13.772 1 lap /58.014
10 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 67 1:29'14.807 1 lap /59.049
11 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 66 1:28'28.457 2 laps /12.699
12 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 66 1:28'29.940 2 laps /14.182
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 66 1:28'36.914 2 laps /21.156
14 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 66 1:29'24.393 2 laps /1'08.635
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 64 1:28'34.155 4 laps /18.397
16 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 64 1:29'09.148 4 laps /53.390
     Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 39 53'36.890 Retirement
     Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 38 50'53.221 Retirement
     George Russell Mercedes 29 37'11.054 Retirement
     Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 23 31'30.980 Retirement
     Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 11 14'56.653 Retirement
     Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 0 - Not started