Russell and Antonelli clash in fraught Canada sprint

George Russell held on to victory in Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix sprint race, after coming to blows with his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

Russell and Antonelli streaked clear of the field at the start of the race - the first time Mercedes has led the opening lap in 2026 - but they twice came to blows on lap five of the 23-lap sprint race.

First, Antonelli tried to drive around the outside of Russell at Turn 1, only to be forced to run across the grass.

“That was very naughty,” Antonelli told his Mercedes team before calling for a penalty for Russell.

Further around the lap, Antonelli tried again at the third chicane at Turn 8/9 chicane, but locked up and went right across the grass.

That cost him second place to Lando Norris’s McLaren and prompted more frustration over the team radio.

His race engineer, Pete Bonnington, told him to focus on passing Norris, but Antonelli replied: “I don’t care, he [Russell] pushed me off”. 

That led to team boss Toto Wolff getting involved: “Kimi, concentrate on the driving, please and not on the radio moaning”.

Russell, Norris and Antonelli were separated by a couple of seconds for much of the race. 

Antonelli made his biggest attack on the penultimate lap as he tried to go around the outside of Norris, only to have cut across the chicane once again.

Russell held onto victory to win by 1.2 seconds ahead of Norris, with Antonelli half a second behind. 

Oscar Piastri lost fourth place to Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap but took it back right at the end of the race, with Hamilton also losing fifth to Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. 

Max Verstappen was seventh behind Hamilton, with Arvid Lindblad taking the final point for Racing Bulls in eighth place. 

Isack Hadjar lost that eighth place as engine issue required him to be wheeled back into the garage. He rejoined the race but finished three laps down in 21st place.

Results

1 George Russell (Mercedes)
2 Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.272s
3 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +1.843s
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +9.797s
5 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +9.929s
6 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +10.545s
7 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +15.935s
8 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +29.710s
9 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +31.621s
10 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +36.793s
11 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1m01.344s
12 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1m01.814s
13 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1m14.209s
14 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +1m10.402s
15 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1m12.158s
16 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1 lap
17 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) +1 lap
18 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +1 lap
19 Alex Albon (Williams) +1 lap
20 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1 lap
21 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +1 lap
DNF Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)