Russell retires from the lead as Antonelli wins fourth straight in Canada

Kimi Antonelli won the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday after team-mate George Russell’s Mercedes suffered a power unit failure on lap 30, handing the 18-year-old Italian a fourth consecutive Formula 1 victory and a 43-point championship lead.

Russell had been leading the race following an intense wheel-to-wheel battle with Antonelli that included a glancing blow between the two cars at the final chicane on lap 24. Antonelli briefly passed Russell off the track during that exchange and was instructed to surrender the position. When Russell’s car died at Turn 9 shortly afterwards, he climbed out in visible fury, saying he was “lost for words” as he watched a first win since the season opener in Australia disappear — and his title deficit grow sharply.

With Russell out, Antonelli cruised through the second half of the race unchallenged. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line second for Ferrari, having passed Max Verstappen into Turn 1 on lap 62 after the Red Bull driver had held second for much of the afternoon. Verstappen finished third, roughly 10 seconds behind the winner.

McLaren endured a damaging afternoon that began with a strategic miscalculation. Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris started on intermediate tyres on a track that was only marginally damp, a decision that backfired immediately as the surface dried faster than expected. Norris briefly led at the start before both drivers were forced to pit early for slicks, dropping them deep into the midfield.

Piastri’s afternoon worsened further when he ran into the back of Williams driver Alex Albon at the hairpin, forcing Albon to retire and earning Piastri a 10-second penalty alongside the damage to his front wing. Norris then retired on lap 40 at the same hairpin with a suspected gearbox failure. The virtual safety car that followed allowed the frontrunners to execute a clean tyre change from softs to mediums, completing what turned out to be a straightforward one-stop race after the forecast rain never arrived.

Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar fought over fourth place in the closing stages, though the source material was truncated before the final order behind the top three was confirmed.