George Russell wins from pole as McLaren drivers c...

Mercedes driver George Russell defeated Max Verstappen at System 1’s Canadian Grand Prix to say his first win of the 2025 season, whereas Lando Norris retired after contact with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

Russell fended Verstappen off firstly after claiming pole on Saturday after which produced a measured drive, together with his lead by no means underneath critical risk. 

In a predicted two-stop race, Russell at all times had a solution to Verstappen’s pitstops and constructed up an honest buffer over the second stint to delay his last cease till lap 43 of 70, which then allowed him to maintain his rival at arm’s size till the end to take his and Mercedes’ first win of 2025. 

Behind Russell and Verstappen, who settled for second, the battle for the ultimate podium spot heated up over the ultimate stint. Russell’s team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced his most interesting grand prix drive of his fledgling profession and even handed Verstappen proper because the Dutchman peeled off into the pits. 

Verstappen’s earlier pitstop allowed him to maintain place and, within the second half of the race, Antonelli’s problem for second pale. The Italian rookie as an alternative needed to look in his mirrors to fend off McLaren’s Piastri, whom he had overtaken for third on lap one and held off till the end to take a maiden F1 podium and hand Mercedes a 1-3. 

Piastri and McLaren did not get pleasure from their common race tempo or tyre put on benefit in Canada, regardless of Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve being a monitor that emphases rear tyre administration. 

As such Piastri could not profit from having more energizing exhausting tyres than Antonelli to discover a well past the Mercedes driver, with the championship chief as an alternative coming underneath strain from McLaren team-mate Norris. 

After a disappointing qualifying session to seventh, Norris loved arguably the strongest race tempo of the pack as he made an alternate technique work to claw his approach again into rivalry. 

Norris began on hards, prolonged his first stint after which put himself ready to place strain on Piastri. After hounding Piastri for a number of laps, Norris initially handed the Australian on the hairpin on lap 46 earlier than the pair barrelled in the direction of the ultimate chicane aspect by aspect. 

Piastri stored the place by being afterward the brakes, however on the primary straight Norris then made an error of judgement as he tried to move his team-mate on the left right into a closing hole. The Brit then drove into the again of hPiastri and hit the pitwall to undergo terminal suspension harm. 

Norris instantly owned as much as his mistake on the workforce radio, saying it was “all on me”, as he suffered a giant factors loss within the drivers’ championship. 

Ferrari endured a disappointing afternoon, with Charles Leclerc livid as his workforce deserted what seemed to be a manageable one-stop technique and as an alternative settled for sixth, which turned fifth after Norris’ retirement. 

Lewis Hamilton had a tough afternoon with disastrously sluggish race tempo, which undid a strong fifth qualifying place and noticed him end behind Leclerc in sixth. The seven-time world champion is believed to have suffered harm after he hit a groundhog, which price him downforce. 

Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg each produced one other combative drive to seize their second consecutive points-scoring ends in seventh and eighth respectively, popping out on the forefront of an entertaining midfield dogfight. 

The ultimate factors went to the Haas of Esteban Ocon and Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who overcame a disappointing qualifying session which yielded sixteenth on the beginning grid. 

Workforce-mate Alex Albon was much less lucky after having to park his Williams on lap 48 with a Mercedes energy unit subject, whereas Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson additionally retired from a hopeless place to preserve engine mileage. 

Within the drivers’ standings Oscar Piastri extends his lead on Norris by 12 factors to take a 22-point benefit into the Austrian Grand Prix, which takes place on the Purple Bull Ring in two weeks’ time. 

F1 Canadian Grand Prix outcomes

Pictures from Canadian GP – Race