Russell clings on to win Canada Sprint after clashing with Antonelli

George Russell resisted incredible pressure to hold on to the lead of the Canada Sprint, beating Lando Norris and a fiery Kimi Antonelli to victory after clashing with his Mercedes team mate.

For the first time this season, Russell and Antonelli held position on the opening lap, but it was far from a straightforward win for the Briton. He endured a tight battle with the 19-year-old, who repeatedly darted off track and was forced to settle for third place behind a rapid Norris, despite multiple calls for Russell to be penalised after the pair banged wheels and the Italian was pushed onto the grass.

Oscar Piastri was fourth as McLaren enjoyed another successful Sprint, gaining a position from Lewis Hamilton late on, before the Ferrari driver lost another spot to his team mate with Charles Leclerc sealing P5.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad grabbed the final points on offer in P7 and P8, neither able to find the pace necessary to fight those ahead.

Franco Colapinto was a respectable ninth for Alpine, followed by Williams’ Carlos Sainz and the second Racing Bulls car of Liam Lawson, who recovered from his limited running and charged through the field from P18.

Points were a distant prospect for Audi as Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg finished P12 and P15 respectively, with the latter handed a 10-second time penalty in the Sprint’s latter stages. They were separated by Esteban Ocon for Haas and Cadillac’s Sergio Perez.

Lance Stroll was 16th for Aston Martin after narrowly making the start. He took the chequered flag ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Ollie Bearman, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, all of whom started from the pit lane.

Last in the order were Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and the final Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, with both drivers pitting during the Sprint and using it as a chance to gather further data.

AS IT HAPPENED

Just a couple of weeks after the Miami Grand Prix, F1 returned to action with a second consecutive Sprint weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which is hosting the high-pressure format for the first time.

Track evolution is immense at this venue and only one practice session was on offer during Friday’s running, giving drivers and teams a short period of time to find their rhythm and identify the success of their latest upgrades – with the exception of Ferrari and Aston Martin, every outfit has introduced a range of updated components for this round.

Heading into the Sprint, it was confirmed that Bearman, Gasly, Bottas and Albon would all start from the pit lane due to their teams making changes under parc ferme conditions, with all four originally set to line up on the back half of the grid.

There was further frustration for Aston Martin as home hero Stroll was wheeled back to the garage with a front suspension issue. He was set to be one of three drivers starting on soft tyres alongside Cadillac’s Perez and Bottas, with Lindblad opting for hard tyres in P9 and everyone else using the yellow-walled mediums.

As they got into position for lights out, all eyes were on the Silver Arrows pair who have repeatedly lost out on opening laps this season, but it was a different story this time around as they held position to escape up the road from Norris, with Russell maintaining the lead. Just behind, Hamilton continued his strong momentum from Friday’s running to displace Piastri for P4.

Things weren’t looking easy for Russell as his team mate – the current championship leader – kept constant pressure on him in the early stages, remaining less than a second behind as they jointly opened up an advantage over Norris.

There were some changes to the midfield order as Hulkenberg, who started from P11, ran over the grass and lost four positions. Meanwhile, Stroll was noted for a start infringement after Aston Martin rushed to make the beginning of the Sprint.

Drama began to unfold rapidly at the front of the field towards the end of Lap 5 as Antonelli’s motivation to snatch the lead came to fruition – he tried to pass Russell, and it looked like they touched as the Italian ended up cutting the corner at Turn 2 before running off the road again shortly after, labelling his team mate’s defence “very naughty”.

While Antonelli called for a penalty, believing that he was forced off track, Norris squeezed through to take P2, forcing Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff to instruct over the radio: “Concentrate on the driving please, and not on the radio moaning.”

The chaos surrounding the lead momentarily quietened down, but it wasn’t over for Antonelli – he dropped away from the top two and focused on defending against a determined Hamilton, who has excelled at this circuit in the past.

Elsewhere, Hadjar initially returned to the pits to retire after reporting an engine problem, but emerged back on track within a couple of laps and used the remaining session to gather data for the rest of the weekend.

Although the threat of Antonelli had temporarily fallen away, Russell was far from safety as he led the field. Keen to repeat his victory from the Miami Sprint, Norris was mere tenths behind the Mercedes driver and by Lap 15, Antonelli closed in to get himself back in the fight.

Russell’s defence was complicated after Albon pitted, causing traffic that the frontrunners would have to pass. The Williams driver obeyed the blue flags but nevertheless irritated his compatriot, who found himself just a few tenths clear of Norris.

As the battle at the front remained as intense as ever, Hamilton ensured that the Wall of Champions lived up to its name as he hit it whilst defending P4 from the second McLaren of Piastri, who made his way past on the following lap.

Almost simultaneously, Antonelli ran wide again to bring a sudden end to his fight for more points as he settled for third place behind Russell and Norris, with Piastri almost 8 seconds adrift in fourth.

Hamilton lost another position to his Ferrari team mate late on and wound up sixth ahead of Verstappen and Lindblad, who claimed the final point available in the Sprint. They were followed by Colapinto, Sainz and Lawson, the latter delivering a good performance after missing out on Friday’s Sprint Qualifying.

Bortoleto and Ocon were next up for Audi and Haas, leading Perez and Hulkenberg as the last drivers to finish on the same lap as the victor. Meanwhile, it was another day of learning for Aston Martin as Stroll took P16 while Alonso ultimately retired.

Those who started from the pit lane struggled to gain any significant positions – Bottas led in 17th from Bearman, Albon and Gasly, while Hadjar crossed the line even further behind after struggling with engine problems.

Key quote

"I was never really concerned to be honest," said Russell. "I know Miami is a bit of a bogey track for me and of course there's been this huge break in the calendar. Lots of people with a lot of things to say but ultimately just wanted to get back racing and it feels like the season is restarting now with six races in eight weeks. Just looking forward to getting into that groove. Great to be back in Montreal and amazing fans as always."

What’s next

Following the Sprint, the drivers will return to action for Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix later on Saturday at 1600 local time. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action.