Antonelli wins Canadian GP for a fourth straight win as Russell stops in the lead

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the Canadian GP in Montreal on 24 May, making it four wins in a row this season. Team-mate George Russell, who started from pole and led, stopped on lap 29 with a power unit problem, which handed Antonelli the lead and left him 43 points clear of Russell.

Kimi Antonelli celebrating straight after a win — Kimi Antonelli straight after winning the Chinese GP in March 2026 (not a photo from the Canadian GP). Photo: Liauzh, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Result: Antonelli wins, Hamilton second, Verstappen third

According to Lapchive, the race ran 68 laps over 296.548 km in dry conditions. Antonelli started second, took the flag in 1:28:15.758 and set the fastest lap on the final lap, a 1:14.210. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) was second, 10.768s behind, and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) third at +11.276s. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was fourth and Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) fifth. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) finished sixth, which SI called his best F1 result.

Pos	Driver	Team	Grid	Time/gap	Points
1	Antonelli	Mercedes	2	1:28:15.758	25
2	Hamilton	Ferrari	5	+10.768	18
3	Verstappen	Red Bull	6	+11.276	15
4	Leclerc	Ferrari	8	+44.151	12
5	Hadjar	Red Bull	7	+5.033 (67 laps)	10
6	Colapinto	Alpine	10	+19.510 (67 laps)	8
7	Lawson	RB	12	+34.235 (67 laps)	6
8	Gasly	Alpine	14	+34.572 (67 laps)	4
9	Sainz	Williams	15	+58.014 (67 laps)	2
10	Bearman	Haas	16	+59.049 (67 laps)	1

The sources do not agree on every figure. GPblog gave Hamilton's gap as 10.638s while Crash.net and Lapchive say 10.768s, and Leclerc's gap is 40.898s in GPblog against 44.151s in Crash.net and Lapchive. This article follows Lapchive.

A messy start

The race was untidy from the first moment. Crash.net and SI reported that Arvid Lindblad (RB) stalled on the grid, the start was aborted and extra formation laps cut the distance to 68 laps; Lapchive lists Lindblad as a non-starter. Lando Norris (McLaren) led off the line on intermediates, but SI said McLaren pitted both cars almost at once. Russell took the lead on lap 6, and SI said Verstappen passed Hamilton for third around lap 9.

GPblog reported that Antonelli passed Russell around lap 22 and was told by Peter Bonnington to give the place back, while SI places that after contact at the final chicane on lap 24. The two accounts differ, so the exact sequence is not confirmed.

Russell stops, then more cars follow

Russell's car stopped while leading. RacingNews365 wrote that it halted on the exit of Turn 9 with a power unit failure, and Crash.net quoted him telling Sky Sports: "Everything just turned off all of a sudden" and "engine stopped, no electronics, no proper braking." The lap is given as 29 by Lapchive, Crash.net and SI, and as 30 by GPblog and RacingNews365. No Mercedes statement on the failure turned up in the sources read.

Lapchive records five retirements: Alexander Albon (Williams, lap 11), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin, lap 23), Russell (lap 29), Norris (McLaren, lap 38) and Sergio Pérez (Cadillac, lap 39). SI suspected a gearbox problem for Norris, while other sources gave no cause. Virtual safety cars were deployed on laps 31, 46 and 53, and there was no full safety car.

Late fight for second

Crash.net said Hamilton passed Verstappen around the outside of Turn 1 on lap 62 to hold second. SI also reported that Leclerc called Hadjar's late defence after the restart "nearly a huge one" on the back straight. Hadjar was penalised for it and still kept fifth (the penalties are covered in a separate article).

What to watch

GPblog and SI both put Antonelli 43 points ahead of Russell. With Russell scoring nothing in Montreal, the intra-team title fight at Mercedes matters more going into the next race. RacingNews365 called Antonelli the first driver to win his opening four F1 races in a row, but the other sources did not confirm that wording, so treat it with caution.