Antonelli claims Canadian GP for fourth straight F1 win after Russell exits

Around 360,000 fans watched Mercedes driver Kimi Antollini win the F1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

MONTREAL — Formula One leader Kimi Antonelli charged to victory in a wild Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, claiming his fourth-straight race win after teammate George Russell exited due to engine failure.

The title-chasing Mercedes drivers put on a show in a thrilling fight through 30 laps, trading the lead several times and coming dangerously close to making contact, until disaster struck for Russell.

The 28-year-old Brit threw his headrest across the track and slammed his fists into the front of the car before leaving the circuit, whipping his gloves to the ground in rage.

That gave Antonelli a clear path to victory ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who overtook Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for second in a throwback battle with six laps to go under cold and windy conditions at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

"It was a really fun battle, to be fair, with George. We were pretty much on the limit," Antonelli said from the track. "It was very close and it was a shame for him to have the failure because it would have been a very cool battle.

"But we'll take it."

A 19-year-old Italian sensation, Antonelli joined multi-time world champions Fernando Alonso, Hamilton and Verstappen as the only active drivers to win four consecutive races.

He opened up a 43-point lead over Russell in the drivers’ standings through five of 22 stops this season.

Hamilton earned his best result since joining Ferrari last year, while Verstappen reached the podium for the first time this season.

"It's been pretty tough for the past year and a bit, so to finally find our sweet spot and have a good weekend, it's an amazing feeling to be back up here, especially with these guys being so quick," the 41-year-old Hamilton said. "And actually got to have a race with Max, which is great."

Russell's exit marked a nightmare end to an otherwise stellar weekend for last year’s winner in Montreal, who took Saturday’s sprint race from the pole and also started first on Sunday.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth, followed by Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Williams’ Carlos Sainz Jr. and Haas’ Oliver Bearman filled out the top 10.

McLaren started with both drivers in the second row but Landon Norris was forced to retire with a gearbox issue on Lap 40. Teammate Oscar Piastri placed 11th after a team decision to start on intermediate tires backfired.

It was spitting rain much of the day as temperatures hovered around 14 C, but the inclement weather subsided before the race.

Norris flew from third to first off an exciting start on a drying track, only to switch tires three laps in. That ceded the lead to Antonelli, who’d also moved past Russell following the pole-sitter’s poor start.

Russell regained the lead on the seventh lap with a clean overtake as Antonelli nearly hit his teammate from behind after his wheels locked up, rolling off the track.

The fighting continued into Lap 12 as Antonelli advanced to first, only for Russell to re-take his position before fending off multiple overtake attempts on Lap 17.

Antonelli successfully pulled it off on the 22nd lap, but Russell again charged back into the lead when Antonelli veered off course two laps later. The exchanges persisted until Russell’s engine blew out.

The Mercedes drivers had gone head-to-head all weekend in the fastest cars on the grid, with Russell edging Antonelli by 0.068 seconds in both the sprint and race qualifying sessions.

Tensions reached a tipping point early in Saturday’s sprint race when they made contact on Antonelli’s overtake attempt, as Russell kept his line and forced Antonelli into the grass. Antonelli lost his cool over the team radio, calling the move “very naughty” before demanding a penalty.

Stewards did not investigate the incident, but Antonelli had the last laugh Sunday and extended his championship lead.

Montreal’s Lance Stroll, the lone Canadian on the 22-driver grid, finished a season’s best 15th after starting the race from the pit lane as six drivers retired.

The Canadian GP took place weeks earlier than its traditional mid-June slot as part of an F1 calendar designed to reduce travel.

The race intersected with a Canadiens playoff run for the first time, with bleu-blanc-rouge colours blending with Ferrari red and McLaren orange downtown and across the paddock, creating an especially vibrant atmosphere in the city.

Some 360,000 fans, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino in a Canadiens jersey, attended the three-day event, with spectators braving the rainy weather to fill the grandstands on Sunday.

The prestigious Monaco Grand Prix, set for June 7, is next on the F1 circuit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press