Canadian Grand Prix Takeaways: When Lady Luck frowns on you!
F1 OpinionWednesday, 27 May 2026 at 08:45
Formula 1, motorsport in general, is a cruel sport where doing the best you can is not always enough, and George Russell was given a rude reminder of that in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Russell arrived in Montreal with one mission: beat his teammate Kimi Antonelli and try to sway the momentum in the Title fight towards him.
And the Briton did exactly that, as he seemed to have a handle on his teammate, albeit by slight margins, as he took pole for both the Sprint Race and the Grand Prix.
While he won the Sprint, we all saw how his Grand Prix abruptly ended on Sunday as he was fighting hard with Antonelli when his W17 decided it had enough and left him stranded, livid, and in disbelief on the side of the track.
The race was entertaining with the Russell/Antonelli battle as well as that between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, but the battery effect was as clear as day, which left us with some bad taste in our mouths and that lingering feeling of what that racing could've looked like without all the electric restrictions.
Verstappen said as much despite bagging a podium, and it is now clear we have to wait for 2027 to see some improvement, which will hopefully allow us to endure this set of rules until we get the V8s back in 2030/31; that is, if FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem comes through.
With no use talking about that any further, let's turn back to Russell's nightmare of a Canadian Grand Prix and discuss some Takeaways.
When being perfect is not enough
Russell said after retiring from the Canadian Grand Prix that he felt somebody didn't want him to fight for this year's F1 Title, and you can't blame him.
Up until his power unit expired during the race, Russell had been perfect—well, almost, as his start on Sunday wasn't, but he had won the Sprint from pole and was on his way to repeat that feat in the Grand Prix despite the relentless attacks from Antonelli.
But then his Mercedes W17 broke down, and the look on his face as he watched the marshals remove his car from the track said it all.
What else could he have done? It would not be surprising if he might have thought that he drove that car too hard and broke it, but then Antonelli drove his harder and it survived... Lady luck?
Probably, but that doesn't make it any easier for George, who really needed his weekend in Montreal to be perfect to stop Antonelli from moving further ahead in the Title fight.
As it transpired, a 20-point gap in the Championship became 43, but there are still many races in 2026, and Russell can only try again and do his best hoping that Lady Luck smiles on him next time.
Having said that, it has to be noted that there were some cracks in Russell's driving when Antonelli piled on the pressure with lock-ups and wide moments, which opened the door for the latter to pounce.
Given his experience, Russell should have the measure of the young and inexperienced Antonelli, but then, the Italian is proving to be a special talent.
Antonelli got lucky...
There is no denying that Antonelli drove a great Canadian Grand Prix weekend, but Russell was that little bit better overall.
But it was a highly educative weekend for the young Mercedes driver in his second season in the top flight.
After arriving in Montreal on the back of three straight wins, Antonelli learned that momentum can change, and while he was marginally off Russell's pace, the latter was more in control and more consistent.
Another lesson Antonelli learned, the hard way, is that your teammate in F1 is your enemy, and that was clear from Russell's defense on him in the Sprint. He also learned that whinging over the team radio does not help. Toto Wolff was right to shut him down over the team radio.
But then, Kimi showed that he learned quite fast. In his battle with Russell on Sunday, he did not make the same mistakes from the Sprint. He may have committed others, but at least there was no repeat.
His attack on his teammate was unrelenting and put him under pressure, which resulted in mistakes, and while Russell was able to survive those mistakes and stay ahead, he wasn't getting off that easy.
Then Russell broke down, and Antonelli inherited the lead and took the win, and on a weekend where he was behind his teammate and learning valuable lessons, to come away with a win and a bigger Championship lead, the 19-year-old was lucky.
Canadian Grand Prix Quick Hits
- What a joke McLaren were. In what world did they think the Intermediate tyre would be the best compound for the start?
Did they bother to look at the track? Or at the Sky? Those of us watching the race from home could see it was dry enough for slicks.
Did they even bother to split the strategies? A big bungle from the reigning F1 Champions, and like Oscar Piastri said, they looked like idiots... Enough said. - A great weekend for Hamilton. Firstly, beating Charles Leclerc comprehensively, and secondly, getting that second place after a great pass of Verstappen in the Grand Prix. While the execution in qualifying for the Sprint and the Grand Prix was not good, Ferrari and Lewis more than made up for that in the Grand Prix and he made the difference.
Let's hope that he can sustain this form for the rest of the season. - A miserable weekend for Verstappen despite his podium. His form in both qualifying sessions and the Sprint showed how bad that RB22 was, but he maximized his potential in the Grand Prix in classic Verstappen fashion.
- What a weekend for Franco Colapinto. Great pace, great drives, as his teammate Pierre Gasly, the one who is supposed to lead Alpine, was lost. Many questions for Alpine and Gasly to answer...
- Too bad Arvid Lindblad couldn't take part in the Grand Prix. He did a great job in Montreal. At least Liam Lawson stepped up and scored some points for Racing Bulls.
- Cadillac lost Sergio Perez for that failed suspension. Embarrassing even for a new team. Too bad; the Mexican was on it and got close to SQ2 in Sprint Qualifying. On the other hand, Valtteri Bottas was nowhere and down four laps at the chequered flag at the end of the Grand Prix on Sunday.
- Haas' upgrade clearly didn't work as the team had hoped. At least Oliver Bearman bagged some points in the Grand Prix.
- Fernando Alonso was as feisty as ever. He made SQ2 in Sprint Qualifying, which is impressive for an Aston Martin in 2026, but he then binned it. He had a great start to the Grand Prix on Sunday and was in the top ten for some time before dropping back and retiring.
- A final word on Mercedes. Wolff said after the Sprint that his drivers' battle was good cinema... Liar...
The Austrian has a tough challenge on his hands. He has previous experience from the Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg days, but that doesn't make dealing with the situation now any easier.
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