Canadian Grand Prix: Russell beats Verstappen, Norris and Piastri collide
F1 NewsSunday, 15 June 2025 at 21:43
Mercedes driver George Russell won the Canadian Grand Prix, Round 10 of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, with Max Verstappen P2 after chasing in the Red Bull all afternoon.
Behind Russell and Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli became the third-youngest driver to celebrate on a Formula 1 podium after an impressive run to P3, with Oscar Piastri finishing P4. The top four finished the Canadian Grand Prix in the same order they started — but there was plenty of drama.
Russell claimed his fourth Grand Prix victory and his and Mercedes’ first win of the season. The Briton did not put a foot wrong all weekend, having surprised everyone with a brilliant pole position-winning lap on Saturday. He blitzed the start — a very civilised one, it has to be said. Across the field for most of the race.
Until late on in the race, when it got decidedly uncivilised. Namely, the battle between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who collided while fighting for P3 and chasing Antonelli. Papaya Rules or lack thereof flopped, resulting in McLaren’s worst result of the 2025 season and giving their rivals a sniff at rewriting the script of this title race.
Replays showed the two McLarens going wheel to wheel, side by side into the Wall of Champions chicane. Norris edged ahead, but Piastri braked late, made the complex, and stayed in front. Norris then got a strong run and tried to go around his teammate.
But there was simply no space. Norris crashed into the wall, broke his front wing, and registered an expensive DNF. All on him, as he admitted fault over the radio.
Norris took the blame instantly
Indeed, it was his fault. Shades of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button when they pranged as McLaren teammates in Canada. Eerily similar, actually. The crash meant the race ended behind the Safety Car, denying F1 fans a proper showdown in Montreal.
Rewinding to the start: once ahead, Russell appeared to control the race but could not afford to drop his guard. Verstappen was relentlessly pursuing, and one mistake would have handed the World Champion an opening. But it never came.
Russell sent a clear signal to Mercedes with this Canadian Grand Prix victory. With his contract renewal due, it was a timely call for Toto Wolff to lock him in. Verstappen, as always, gave it everything to take P2, but every time he launched an attack, Russell and the Mercedes had an answer.
Hence, the winner of the 54th Canadian Grand Prix is George Russell — a deserved, if unexpected, triumph that opens Mercedes' 2025 account and gives the 27-year-old’s campaign a major boost. It ain’t over.
Russell summed up his race: "It's amazing to be back on the top step. The last time for us was back in Vegas. I felt last year was a victory lost and probably got the victory today due to the incredible pole lap yesterday.
"Obviously so happy to see Kimi on the podium as well. Amazing day for the team. Thanks to everyone back at the factory for working to get us back fighting for victories. It feels good," beamed Russell.
Antonelli drove with a maturity that defied his age, fending off a hard charge from the McLaren duo chasing a podium. The youngest driver in the field did not flinch and was rewarded with a first F1 career podium. The first of very many, one imagines.
How they made it onto the podium
Russell made a clean start from pole, holding off Verstappen into Turn 1 and gradually building a buffer to break DRS range by Lap 7. He maintained control through the opening stint despite persistent pressure.
When Verstappen pitted on Lap 12, Mercedes immediately covered the move by stopping Russell on Lap 14, successfully rejoining ahead of Hülkenberg. As the second stint progressed, Russell managed traffic smartly and stretched his lead over Verstappen again by Lap 60.
A clean second stop on Lap 42 saw him return to P1, and he kept his cool under pressure in the final phase. The race ended behind the Safety Car, securing Russell’s fourth Grand Prix win and his first of the season. A flawless drive under strategic and on-track pressure.
Verstappen shadowed Russell closely in the opening laps, staying within DRS range until Lap 7 when the Mercedes pulled clear. He opted for an undercut strategy, making an early stop on Lap 12 to gain track position.
While the move temporarily worked, Russell’s strong pace on fresher tyres kept Verstappen in check. A second stop on Lap 37 dropped him briefly behind Antonelli, but he narrowly retained track position when the Mercedes driver pitted two laps later.
Verstappen continued pushing, closing the gap to within 1.5 seconds by Lap 57, but was ultimately unable to mount a late attack. The race’s neutralised finish sealed P2, a strong damage-limitation result for the Red Bull driver.
Antonelli voted Driver of the Day
Driver of the Day as voted by fans was deserved for a change; it went to Antonelli impressed once again with a measured and mature drive. After overtaking Piastri early for P3 on Lap 1, he remained a fixture in the top five.
Mercedes delayed his first stop until Lap 15, allowing him to rejoin with a strategic tyre advantage. Antonelli reasserted himself with a decisive pass on Hülkenberg on Lap 17 to climb back to P5 and cycled into podium contention as others stopped.
When Verstappen pitted for a second time, Mercedes responded swiftly on Lap 39, and although Antonelli rejoined just behind the Red Bull, he retained P3. He defended hard against Piastri in the final stint, aided by a McLaren collision that removed Norris from the equation.
The Italian crossed the line behind the Safety Car to claim his first-ever Formula 1 podium in only his debut season. Only Verstappen and Lance Stroll were younger than him when they tasted champagne on the podium.
After surviving his teammate's brain fade, Piastri went on to finish P4 after a strong race that could have delivered a podium. He lost P3 to Antonelli early on Lap 1 but remained in the top five throughout. A slow first stint was followed by improved pace, and by Lap 51 he was pressuring Antonelli.
However, traffic and colliding with teammate Norris on Lap 67 damaged his car. McLaren pitted him under Safety Car conditions on Lap 68, nevertheless, he rejoined in P4 and held position to the flag.
Another underwhelming weekend for Ferrari
Although Charles Leclerc recovered to P5 from P8 on the grid after a long first stint on hard tyres, Ferrari’s strategy raised questions again when he was given another set of Pirelli hard tyres on Lap 28, forcing a second stop. He ran as high as P1 before pitting on Lap 53 and rejoined in P6, later inheriting P5 after Norris’ DNF.
In the other Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton endured a compromised race with floor damage sustained early on. He struggled in traffic, was overcut by rivals, and finished P6. Alonso returned to the points in P7 after a quiet but solid run.
Hülkenberg impressed with strong race pace to take P8, while Ocon and Sainz completed the top ten, with the Alpine driver fending off pressure in the closing laps.
Outside the top ten, there were no real surprises. As expected, Yuki Tsunoda was no match for Red Bull teammate Verstappen, the Japanese driver labouring to P12 from near the back of the grid. He remains out of his depth in the car. On a day that was bad for their VCARB Junior Team, Max again carried the fight to his rivals, solo!
Final word on Lance Stroll, who delivered another embarrassing incident-packed weekend. This time, at his home race, he was last of the cars still running at the end, incurring a 10-second penalty for reckless driving. Penalty or not, he would most likely still have ended up stone last.
Canadian Grand Prix Result
Canadian Grand Prix: Lap-By-Lap
Lap 1: Russell made a clean getaway from pole position and maintained the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Verstappen.
Antonelli overtook Piastri for P3 at the second chicane, pushing the McLaren driver down to P4.
Hamilton held P5, while Norris slotted into P7 behind Alonso.
Albon had a scrappy start, going off onto the grass while battling Colapinto for P10 and falling back to P12.
Antonelli overtook Piastri for P3 at the second chicane, pushing the McLaren driver down to P4.
Hamilton held P5, while Norris slotted into P7 behind Alonso.
Albon had a scrappy start, going off onto the grass while battling Colapinto for P10 and falling back to P12.
Lap 2: Verstappen remained within striking distance of Russell, sitting 0.7 seconds behind the Mercedes in P2.
Antonelli had already fallen nearly two seconds off the leading pair in P3.
Piastri began to manage his pace to keep the car cool in P4. Hamilton ran another second back in P5.
Antonelli had already fallen nearly two seconds off the leading pair in P3.
Piastri began to manage his pace to keep the car cool in P4. Hamilton ran another second back in P5.
Lap 5: Verstappen closed to within half a second of Russell, maintaining the pressure on the race leader.
Antonelli trailed by 2.7 seconds in P3 with Piastri backing off slightly in P4.
Hülkenberg made up two positions to move into P9, the biggest gainer in the midfield.
Tsunoda overtook Stroll for P17 in a difficult stint for Red Bull’s second car.
Antonelli trailed by 2.7 seconds in P3 with Piastri backing off slightly in P4.
Hülkenberg made up two positions to move into P9, the biggest gainer in the midfield.
Tsunoda overtook Stroll for P17 in a difficult stint for Red Bull’s second car.
Lap 7: Russell broke DRS range for the first time, extending his lead over Verstappen to more than one second. The Red Bull driver began managing tyres to preserve life for a later phase of the race.
Leclerc, running in P8 on hard tyres, was already 11 seconds behind the leader.
Norris, also on Pirelli hards, struggled to keep pace just ahead in P7.
Leclerc, running in P8 on hard tyres, was already 11 seconds behind the leader.
Norris, also on Pirelli hards, struggled to keep pace just ahead in P7.
Lap 8: Hamilton held a steady gap of just under two seconds to Piastri ahead in P4, potentially conserving tyres as the front group settled into rhythm.
Lap 9: Piastri reported higher rear tyre degradation compared to Practice Two and sat 2.2 seconds behind Antonelli, unable to close the gap to the Mercedes in P3.
Lap 11: Norris closed onto the gearbox of Alonso in the fight for P6, showing signs that his hard tyre strategy was beginning to come alive.
Lap 12: Norris overtook Alonso for P6 with a clean move on the back straight.
Verstappen dove into the pits from P2, rejoining in P9 just before Antonelli could challenge for position.
Verstappen dove into the pits from P2, rejoining in P9 just before Antonelli could challenge for position.
Lap 14: Russell responded immediately to Verstappen’s stop and pitted from the lead, rejoining in P7 just ahead of Hülkenberg.
Antonelli temporarily took over P1.
Norris received a team radio message saying this was “Plan A” and that they needed an amazing race from him.
Antonelli temporarily took over P1.
Norris received a team radio message saying this was “Plan A” and that they needed an amazing race from him.
Lap 15: Antonelli made his stop and rejoined in P9 behind Verstappen with fresher tyres.
Norris overtook Hamilton on the main straight for P5 just as Hamilton pitted. The #44 Ferrari rejoined in P10 behind Ocon.
Norris overtook Hamilton on the main straight for P5 just as Hamilton pitted. The #44 Ferrari rejoined in P10 behind Ocon.
Lap 17: Piastri pitted from the lead group, which promoted Norris to P1 and Leclerc to P2 on their long-running hard tyres with a 3.3 second gap between them.
Russell in P3 was six seconds behind on fresher mediums.
Antonelli passed Hülkenberg with a bold move up the inside to reclaim P5 and continued to show strong pace in the recovering Mercedes.
Russell in P3 was six seconds behind on fresher mediums.
Antonelli passed Hülkenberg with a bold move up the inside to reclaim P5 and continued to show strong pace in the recovering Mercedes.
Lap 19: Hamilton found himself stuck behind Ocon after his stop and was losing close to a second per lap to the front runners while Alonso dropped further down the order to P14.
Lap 20: Norris continued to lead with a three second gap to Leclerc in P2 as both remained on their original hard tyres without stopping .
Russell in P3 closed the gap to Leclerc to 2.3 seconds on fresher tyres.
Verstappen sat 1.9 seconds behind Russell in P4 with Antonelli five seconds behind the #1 Red Bull after clearing traffic.
Russell in P3 closed the gap to Leclerc to 2.3 seconds on fresher tyres.
Verstappen sat 1.9 seconds behind Russell in P4 with Antonelli five seconds behind the #1 Red Bull after clearing traffic.
Lap 20: Hamilton passed Albon and then overtook a Haas at the end of the lap to move up two positions but remained well off the podium fight after his time loss in traffic.
Lap 21: Albon expressed frustration over Williams’ strategy after falling back rapidly and criticised the team over radio for not listening to him before insisting they now commit to the one-stop strategy saying it annoyed him and warning not to pit again after committing to it.
Lap 25: Leclerc was informed over team radio that Ferrari wanted to switch to plan B but responded that he preferred plan C.
Russell closed in with the gap dropping under one second.
Russell closed in with the gap dropping under one second.
Lap 27: Russell used DRS and fresher tyres to easily overtake Leclerc down the back straight for P2 and began chasing Norris who led by two seconds on an extended first stint.
Lap 28: Verstappen closed up to Leclerc but was unable to pass immediately and lost time before the Ferrari finally pitted for another set of hard tyres, prompting immediate questions over strategy on the team radio.
Lap 29: Norris pitted from P1 and McLaren fitted mediums, committing him to a one-stop strategy as he rejoined a few seconds ahead of Leclerc.
Alonso re-entered the points by overtaking Tsunoda for P10.
Alonso re-entered the points by overtaking Tsunoda for P10.
Lap 30: Hamilton, carrying car damage since Lap 13, was overcut by Norris and Leclerc and fell to P7, 4.7 seconds behind Leclerc and 10 seconds ahead of Ocon.
Lap 31: Russell returned to the lead with Verstappen following in P2 just over two seconds adrift.
Mercedes appeared to be handling the heat well in the opening half of the race. Antonelli was P3.
Mercedes appeared to be handling the heat well in the opening half of the race. Antonelli was P3.
Lap 33: Piastri began to close the gap to Antonelli in the fight for P3.
Norris set the fastest lap on fresh mediums 6.9 seconds behind.
Norris set the fastest lap on fresh mediums 6.9 seconds behind.
Lap 34: Six drivers including Ocon in P8 and Sainz, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Lawson and Gasly from P10 to P14 had yet to stop as they stretched out long opening stints on hard tyres for a planned one-stop strategy.
Lap 36: Hamilton expressed frustration over team radio, saying he was nowhere in this race and did not understand what had gone wrong but was told his pace was decent considering the car damage.
Lap 37: Verstappen came under pressure from Antonelli and with the Mercedes in DRS range Red Bull called their man in for an early second stop, fitting new hard tyres as he rejoined in P6.
Lap 39: Mercedes responded by pitting Antonelli, who rejoined just behind Verstappen with the Red Bull narrowly holding onto track position as they exited the pits nose to tail.
Lap 40: Piastri moved into P2 with Norris in P3 .
Both McLarens extended their stints while Verstappen and Antonelli completed their second stops.
Both McLarens extended their stints while Verstappen and Antonelli completed their second stops.
Lap 41: Russell began catching a DRS train of traffic prompting speculation that Mercedes would time his second stop accordingly to avoid losing time.
Lap 42: Russell pitted for the second time and rejoined on hard tyres between Leclerc and Verstappen.
Piastri reclaimed the lead with Norris three seconds behind in P2.
Piastri reclaimed the lead with Norris three seconds behind in P2.
Lap 46: Piastri pitted from the lead as his tyres began to drop off and rejoined in P6 behind Antonelli.
Norris stayed out, possibly looking to gain a tyre advantage for the final stint.
Norris stayed out, possibly looking to gain a tyre advantage for the final stint.
Lap 48: Norris made his final stop and rejoined just behind Piastri as the two McLarens squared off for a possible intra-team battle.
Leclerc moved into the lead temporarily but still owed a stop.
Leclerc moved into the lead temporarily but still owed a stop.
Lap 49: Albon retired from the race after stopping at the hairpin with a technical problem but pulled off safely and did not trigger a Virtual or full Safety Car.
Lap 50: Stroll received a 10-second penalty for forcing Gasly off the track in a late-race incident but it was not expected to affect the points-paying positions.
Lap 51: Piastri closed to within one second of Antonelli in the fight for what will become a net P4 once Leclerc pits.
Norris sat 3.7 seconds behind his team-mate and lapping faster than both ahead.
Norris sat 3.7 seconds behind his team-mate and lapping faster than both ahead.
Lap 53: Leclerc finally pitted from the lead after repeated requests on team radio and rejoined in P6, 20 seconds ahead of Hamilton but seven seconds behind Norris, making a podium challenge unlikely.
Lap 55: Piastri remained stuck behind Antonelli in the fight for P3.
Norris closed in on his team-mate with all five front-runners now covered by under seven seconds.
Norris closed in on his team-mate with all five front-runners now covered by under seven seconds.
Lap 57: Verstappen cut the gap to Russell to 1.5 seconds in the battle for P1 as the top five remained within six seconds of each other in a rare green-flag race-long fight without any safety car intervention.
Lap 59: Piastri encountered heavy traffic and was slowed by Ocon at a crucial moment which brought Norris within DRS range of his team-mate, increasing pressure from behind as the McLarens continued their chase of Antonelli.
Lap 60: Russell re-established control of the race by extending his lead over Verstappen to more than two seconds after clearing traffic and appeared to have the Red Bull covered with 10 laps remaining.
Lap 61: Norris closed to within half a second of Piastri in the battle for P4 with no team instructions issued by McLaren and both drivers pushing hard in the closing stages.
Lap 62: Norris had a look up the inside of Piastri into the final chicane while Piastri remained just outside DRS range of Antonelli in the fight for the final podium position.
Lap 64: Russell set a new fastest lap and extended his lead to 2.5 seconds over Verstappen while Piastri moved into DRS range of Antonelli and looked poised to challenge for P3.
Lap 67: Norris and Piastri collided while battling for position when Norris attempted an overtake into Turn 1 and made contact with the rear of Piastri’s car, sending himself into the barriers and out of the race.
Lap 68: McLaren took advantage of the large gap behind to pit Piastri who rejoined in P4 and avoided losing position despite being briefly held up in pit lane traffic.
Lap 70: The race ended under the Safety Car as Russell crossed the line to win the Canadian Grand Prix for Mercedes ahead of Verstappen in P2 and Antonelli in P3 who claimed his first career F1 podium. Piastri finished P4 with Leclerc in P5, Hamilton P6, Alonso P7, Hülkenberg P8, Ocon P9 and Sainz P10.
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