Canadian Grand Prix Sprint: George Russell takes the win, gloves off at Mercedes
F1 NewsSaturday, 23 May 2026 at 18:37
George Russell won the the Sprint Race of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend from pole fending off teammate Kimi Antonelli and McLaren's Lando Norris.
However, that win did not come without dram as Russell and Antonelli had a couple of brushes on track as the latter tried to take the lead while the former stood firm.
Going back to the start, Mercedes had a great start for a change and kept their respective positions off the line with the only change in position being Lewis Hamilton passing Oscar Piastri for fourth as the rest of the top ten remained the same.
Mercedes hold the advantage, and Hamilton makes his way through on Piastri! 😎
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 23, 2026
Here's how the start of the Sprint unfolded! 👀👇#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/JKGYmsj4Qb
After the start, Antonelli set out trying to pass Russell and kept him honest and by Lap 5 when Russell ran wide at the hairpin and the Formula 1 Championship leader pounced.Bu
But the Italian went off at Turn 1, and after that he tried another move but also ran through the grass at Turn 8 which helped Lando Norris take second place as the reigning F1 Champion went on to chase the Sprint leader.
THE SCENES!! 🤯
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 23, 2026
Russell and Antonelli fight for the lead once again! 👀#F1Sprint #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/N12CkUS0RF
After that, Antonelli was furious over the radio with his engineer unable to calm him down until Mercedes boss Toto Wolff interfered asking him to basically shut up and drive.
After that, Norris kept Russell honest but never managed to make a move on him as Antonelli also tried to chase the #1 McLaren but couldn't make a move stick after also going off road on Lap 23 but had to give the place back.
That meant Russell pulled off a gap and went on to take the win with Norris in second and Antonelli in third.
AROUND THE OUTSIDE... 👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 23, 2026
Antonelli tries on the outside of Norris, but goes deep and into the run-off! 💨#F1Sprint #CanadianGP | LAP 23/23 pic.twitter.com/oCZeKtI9pe
Behind the top three, Hamilton kept P4 for some time as Piastri tried to pass him while also defending from Charles Leclerc, but the seven-time F1 Champion tapped the Wall of Champions which ultimately cost him two positions with both Piastri and Leclerc passing him.
So it was Piastri in P4, Leclerc in P5, and Hamilton in P6 as Max Verstappen drove a lonely race to take seventh ahead of Arvid Lindblad who took the final point in eighth.
What the top three said
It was a bit of an awkward post-sprint interview as Russell and Antonelli gave their opinions on the incidents between them.
Russell tried to play things down, he said: "It was a cool race, very difficult to get a gap around here. It felt quite easy to follow and the slipstream felt quite powerful with the Overtake Mode.
"It was a good battle with Kimi. I'm glad we are both standing here after the race," he added.
"I was never really concerned," the Briton added when asked about his situation trying to respond to Antonelli's winning streak. "I knew Miami was a bit of a bogey track and there was this huge break in the calendar.
"Lots of people had a lot of things to say but ultimately I wanted to get back racing and it kind of feel like the season will really start now with six races in eight weeks."
As for Norris, he was simply happy to take second, he said: "It was a good race - and good to watch [Kimi and George] go at it for a while! We were there to pick up the pieces when things happened.
"Mercedes were quick. Kimi caught me back up pretty quickly and I was pretty worried but it was fun on a tough track.
"Today was a good result for us," the McLaren Champion concluded.
As for Antonelli, he was a bit calmer but insisted his teammate pushed him off track, he said: "It was a tough battle to be fair. We were all there in terms of pace. It was not easy.
"I tried to make my move but I need to review on that because I was well alongside and got pushed off. It is what it is.
"Then I made a mistake into Turn 8 because I took a big bump, locked up then I compromised my race from there but it was a good battle," Antonelli concluded.
Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Race Provisional Classification
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