The Formula 1 season has continued three weeks after the USA’s Miami round, and in Montreal, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was victorious in the Canadian Grand Prix, with his teammate George Russell having contentiously won the previous day’s Sprint encounter before retiring during the main encounter. In addition to Antonelli doubling his points lead over Russell in the Drivers' Championship, the main topic of discussion was the worsening relationship between the Mercedes duo, as both of them began to assert their status as world champion material, both on and off the track. We’ve witnessed such situations before, and, providing it doesn’t get out of hand, it’s simply brilliant for the sport.

Being a Sprint weekend, there was only a single practice session on Friday, which was interrupted three times by red flags but which, more importantly, was dominated by Antonelli and Russell. Qualifying for the Sprint encounter followed later the same day, and Russell narrowly edged out his teenage teammate to claim pole position, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri helping themselves to the second row on the grid. Meanwhile, an early error from the veteran Fernando Alonso had resulted in him putting his out-of-control Aston Martin into the Turn 3 barriers, triggering further red flags.

Saturday’s 23-lap Sprint began at noon local time (17.00 back in the UK), and although Norris finished second, the story of the race was all about the hard-fought clash between the victorious Russell and the ultimately third-placed Antonelli. The young Italian complained bitterly over team radio about the aggressive nature of his teammate’s defensive tactics, which forced part owner and team principal, Toto Wolff, to twice intervene in an attempt to smooth the troubled intra-team waters. His drivers just about shook hands afterwards, and how this all brought back memories of the often fraught situation between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes and particularly during the 2016 season when Hamilton collided with his teammate on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix and put both drivers into immediate retirement. Wolff’s initial reaction back then had been to sack both of them on the spot as they had been warned in advance, but the punishment was subsequently reduced to a severe warning.

Qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix followed later on Saturday, and Russell and Antonelli helped themselves to the front row on the grid for the Grand Prix ahead of the McLaren duo. Prior to the start of Sunday’s main event, Wolff explained that he wants his drivers to behave like lions rather than lambs, but without risking the overall fortunes of the Mercedes team, and interestingly, he admitted that if Norris had behaved towards Antonelli like Russell had during the Sprint, his team would have lodged a protest about unacceptable driving from the McLaren world champion, but of course, it’s a different matter when you are talking about teammates.



The anticipation level was sky-high amongst the record attendance as the 22 drivers lined up on the grid for the start, and all eyes were on the Mercedes duo out front. As for the weather, the UK and much of Europe may have been basking in sunshine amidst unusually high temperatures for May, but in Montreal it was a mere 12C, with light rain falling and a cool breeze blowing.

Third-placed Norris leapt into an immediate lead, but McLaren’s race was ruined by a decision to start both of its drivers on intermediate tyres rather than slicks, and early pitstops followed. This left Antonelli out front ahead of Russell, and a thrilling battle between the pair ensued as they repeatedly exchanged positions, leaving the rest in their wake. The Grand Prix had transformed into a thrilling two-car race, captivating spectators both at the circuit and around the world.

This was all to change on lap 30, though, when Russell’s Mercedes suffered a power unit failure and he ground to a halt, angrily throwing his head rest out of the car. This left Antonelli comfortably clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. A couple of Virtual Safety Car interventions briefly interrupted the flow of the race before, with six laps remaining, Hamilton swept past Verstappen at Turn 1, and the subsequent podium trio comprised Antonelli, Hamilton and Verstappen. After four consecutive victories, Antonelli ended up 43 points ahead of Russell in the Drivers’ Championship and with Mercedes dominating the Constructors’ one.

It’s perhaps unsurprising that the new-for-2026 Cadillac team has yet to score a single point this year, but it is highly embarrassing for the Honda-powered Aston Martin team, led by the design guru Adrian Newey and with a driver pairing of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, to be the only other outfit without any points so far. Honda has yet to deliver on power and reliability, despite high expectations for the highly compensated Newey and the drivers. Only time will determine whether this situation can be significantly improved upon this season. During the Thursday media day in Montreal, Alonso was asked how difficult it was to maintain his motivation when the car is uncompetitive, but the clearly still very self-confident 44-year-old Spaniard simply replied, somewhat immodestly, it has to be said, by claiming that he was still the best driver in F1! He certainly still has significant raw pace in the right circumstances, but he’s surely no longer the quickest driver on the grid regardless of the car he is in.

Following the Grand Prix in Montreal, all the teams were busy packing up and relocating back to their UK and European bases before heading to Monaco for the next round in a fortnight’s time. With most F1 drivers living in the iconic Principality (mainly for tax avoidance reasons), it will also be the only event on the calendar during which they can sleep at home in their own beds and even walk to the circuit each day, although the latter may be unwise with all the streets packed with visiting fans seeking autographs and selfies with any driver they might spot.



2026 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
1 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1hr28m15.758s
2 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +10.768s
3 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +11.276s
4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +44.151s
5 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) Lapped
6 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Lapped
7 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) Lapped
8 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Lapped
9 Carlos Sainz (Williams) Lapped
10 Oliver Bearman (Haas) Lapped
11 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) Lapped
12 Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) Lapped
13 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) Lapped
14 Esteban Ocon (Haas) Lapped
15 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Lapped
16 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) Lapped
17 George Russell (Mercedes) Retired
18 Lando Norris (McLaren) Retired
19 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) Retired
20 Alex Albon (Williams) Retired
21 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Retired
22 Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) Retired

2026 Formula 1 Canadian Sprint Race
1 George Russell (Mercedes) 28m50.951s
2 Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.272s
3 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +1.843s
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +9.797s
5 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +9.929s
6 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +10.545s
7 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +15.935s
8 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +29.710s
9 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +31.621s
10 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +36.793s
11 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1m1.344s
12 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1m1.814s
13 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1m4.209s
14 Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) +1m10.402s
15 Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) +1m12.158s
16 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Lapped
17 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) Lapped
18 Oliver Bearman (Haas) Lapped
19 Alex Albon (Williams) Lapped
20 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Lapped
21 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) Lapped
22 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Retired



2026 Drivers’ Championship
1 Kimi Antonelli 131
2 George Russell 88
3 Charles Leclerc 75

2026 Constructors’ Championship
1 Mercedes 219
2 Ferrari 147
3 McLaren 106