RACE REPORT | F1 Canada 2025

George Russell produced a perfect drive in the Canadian Grand Prix to take his first win of the 2025 season, while chaos unfolded behind as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris collided.

The race in Montreal got underway with anticipation building as George Russell and Max Verstappen lined up on the front row. Off the line, Russell held the lead into Turn 1, with Verstappen tucking in just behind. But it was Kimi Antonelli who made the most eye-catching start of the front runners, getting past Oscar Piastri to grab third place within the opening corners.

The opening laps were clean but calm, with Russell leading Verstappen and Antonelli as the field settled into position. Piastri slotted into fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, while further back, Alexander Albon was forced off track and had a trip across the grass at Turns 8 and 9.

By Lap 7, Verstappen was pushing hard and closed in to within half a second of Russell, applying real pressure. But the Mercedes driver responded well and broke the DRS window, stretching the gap to over a second and giving himself some breathing room.

Antonelli, initially looking strong, began to fall away from the leading duo. Verstappen stayed close to Russell but couldn’t make a move stick before eventually diving into the pits on Lap 13 to switch to hard tyres. That stop dropped him to ninth, just behind Nico Hulkenberg.

Antonelli responded a few laps later, boxing for hards and rejoining behind Verstappen. Russell then made his stop on Lap 15 to cover the Red Bull’s undercut and emerged just ahead of Verstappen, with Hulkenberg now separating the two.

Meanwhile, strategy variation began to play out. Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc stayed out longer on hard tyres and briefly led the race, running a longer first stint while others pitted early. Piastri also made his stop and rejoined comfortably ahead of Hamilton, who had found himself stuck in a frustrating DRS train behind Albon and Esteban Ocon.

As the race was getting close to its halfway point, most of the front-runners had made their first pit stops. Russell remained in the lead, followed by Verstappen and Antonelli. Piastri and Norris were close behind, with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton also in the mix. Some drivers like Ocon, Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly were still running long on their first stint.

Leclerc came into the pits on lap 28 for a fresh set of hard tyres. This confirmed that Ferrari was going for a two-stop strategy, although Leclerc made it clear he disagreed with the plan. Norris responded a lap later by stopping for medium tyres. That move likely locked him into a second stop later, since the mediums would struggle to last until the finish.

Antonelli made his second stop on lap 33 and fitted another set of hard tyres. He rejoined the track right alongside Verstappen, but the Red Bull driver just edged ahead as they exited the pit lane. Verstappen then came in again on lap 38 for his second stop, taking on fresh hards and rejoining just ahead of Antonelli and Hamilton.

Russell stayed out a little longer, keeping the lead for a few more laps. At the halfway point of the race, he had built a gap of just over four seconds to Verstappen, with Antonelli still holding third. Piastri remained fourth, with Norris starting to drop back in fifth as his medium tyres began to fade.

On lap 42, Russell came in for his second stop. He switched to a new set of hard tyres and rejoined the race in fourth place, just behind Leclerc. Piastri now moved into the lead ahead of Norris, although both McLaren drivers still needed to make another stop.

With Verstappen already having completed both of his stops and Russell on fresher tyres behind him, the fight for the win was far from over. The final part of the race was shaping up to be very close.

Oscar Piastri was the next to stop, coming in on lap 46 for his second set of hard tyres. He rejoined the track in sixth place, just behind Antonelli. At the same time, Hamilton also made his second stop. He switched back to hard tyres and rejoined just in front of Alonso, settling into seventh position.

Meanwhile, things took a turn for Lance Stroll. After squeezing Gasly off the track near the final corner, the move was placed under investigation. It didn’t take long for the stewards to hand him a 10-second time penalty. He was running in 17th at the time, and it marked another frustrating home race for the Canadian.

Worse news came for Williams as Albon pulled off the track at the hairpin with a problem, bringing his race to an early end.

By lap 48, the order had taken shape. Leclerc was out front, though he still needed to pit again. Russell and Verstappen followed in second and third, both on fresher tyres. Antonelli sat fourth with Piastri behind him in fifth. Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Ocon and Sainz made up the rest of the top ten.

Norris then made his final stop on lap 47, swapping his worn mediums for hard tyres to reach the end of the race. He rejoined in sixth, just behind Piastri.

With around 20 laps to go, the leading pack began to close up. Piastri was now right behind Antonelli and looking for a way through, but Verstappen was already disappearing up the road. The McLaren driver was told over the radio to push harder, as the fight for the podium would come down to him, Antonelli, Verstappen and Norris.

Up ahead, Leclerc still held the lead, but it was only temporary. Having used only hard tyres so far, he was required to switch compounds. On lap 53, he finally pitted for mediums and rejoined in sixth place, dropping out of the lead battle.

As the front group made their way past the slower cars, Verstappen continued to chip away at Russell’s lead, cutting the gap to just 1.6 seconds. Piastri was still right behind Antonelli, while Norris was starting to apply pressure on his McLaren teammate.

Norris was told to make his move while Piastri had no DRS. He tried a dive into the final corner but backed out at the last moment. The fight between the McLaren pair was far from over.

But just two laps later, things exploded. Norris launched a late move on Piastri at the final chicane and tried to carry the momentum down the main straight. As they both braked for Turn 1, Norris tried to send it down the inside. The two touched. Norris was clipped and sent into the barrier. His race was over.

Piastri continued, but not without damage. The contact was really similar to the famous Button-Hamilton tangle from 2011. On the radio, Norris took full blame for the crash.

The crash brought out the safety car, and with only a couple of laps left, the race was neutralised. Up front, George Russell had already pulled out a comfortable gap to Verstappen. He led the field under yellow flags as they cruised around for the final lap.

The Canadian Grand Prix ended behind the safety car. Russell crossed the line first to take a brilliant win for Mercedes, just ahead of Verstappen. Antonelli secured his first career podium in third after holding off the pressure from behind.

Piastri, despite the incident, came home in fourth, extending his lead in the championship. Leclerc rounded out the top five, with Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Ocon and Sainz completing the points.

Race results: