Antonelli finished more than 10 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Hamilton, who took his second podium in 2026.
Published May 25, 2026
A day after colliding with Mercedes teammate George Russell in a heated sprint race, Kimi Antonelli went from furious to victorious as the 19-year-old Italian star claimed his fourth straight victory in the hotly contested Canadian Grand Prix.
After a thrilling 30 laps in Sunday’s race as the title-chasing Mercedes duo traded the lead multiple times and almost collided, Russell retired with engine failure.
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Russell then had trouble, giving Antonelli a clear path to the finish line and a commanding championship lead.
“To be fair, the battle with George was really fun. We were pretty close to the limit,” Antonelli said. “It was a very close fight. It was supposed to be a very good fight, so it was disappointing for him to fall short. But we’ll take it.”
Antonelli finished more than 10 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli opened up a 43-point lead over Russell through five of the 22 races. After Russell won the opening race in Australia, Antonelli also won in China, Japan, Miami and now Montreal.
Russell’s sending off marked a nightmarish end to an otherwise stellar weekend for last year’s Montreal champions. He won the sprint race from pole position on Saturday and had a top start on Sunday.
When the power unit failed, the 28-year-old British driver threw his headrest onto the track, slammed the front of his car with his fist and left the circuit slamming his gloves on the ground in anger.
Russell said he wished he could have done “40 more laps” to fight Antonelli.
“I loved it. I thought it was great. There hasn’t been a fight like this in years,” he said. “Right now (the championship) is a situation where he should lose and there are so many points ahead. I feel like God doesn’t want me to be in this fight.
“The pressure is off. Just go out and enjoy every race and try to win every race. I have nothing to lose.”
Once Russell’s day was over, the spotlight shifted to two long-time rivals, with Hamilton chasing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen back in 2021.
The seven-time world champion finally overtook Verstappen for second place in cold and windy conditions at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with six laps remaining, his best result since joining Ferrari last year.
The 41-year-old said: “It’s been a pretty tough year or so so it feels great to finally find that sweet spot and have a good weekend.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, followed by Red Bull’s Izak Hajjar.
F1 standings 2026
Mercedes (219 points) leads Ferrari (147 points) by 72 points in the constructors’ standings. McLaren, which had no driver scores on Sunday, finished third with 106 points.
