After a triple header in Europe, Formula One returns to North America for the Canadian Grand Prix. Seventy laps lie ahead, promising thrill and excitement.
The grid was set with Russell on pole, followed by Verstappen in second and Piastri in third.
18 drivers start on the grid, Gasly and Lawson will both start from the pit lane after receiving penalties. Norris and Leclerc both start on hard tyres, whilst the rest of the top 10 start on mediums.
On lights out, Russell kept his lead with Verstappen comfortably behind. Russell’s teammate, Antonelli overtook Piastri for third.
By Lap 5 Russell still maintained the gap between him and Verstappen since the start of the race, and continued to close in. However, on Lap 7 Russell was out of DRS range.
Norris overtook Alonso on Lap 12 to take sixth place. Hamilton was now 3 seconds ahead in fifth.
Pit window open!
Verstappen made the first stop of the race on Lap 13, swapping his hard tyres for medium. The Mercedes team followed suit and also pitted Russell for hard tyres. On Lap 15, Mercedes also pitted Antonelli.
Lap 16, Norris overtook Hamilton as the Ferrari came into the pit lane. Norris was now in second place. Lap 17, Piastri pitted from the lead and re-entered the track in seventh place.
Hamilton gained two positions overtaking Albon and Ocon on Lap 20. Leclerc was passed by Russell for second on Lap 28, 14 laps after he had pitted for new hard tyres.
Ferrari pitted Leclerc on Lap 28 for another set of hard tyres, ensuring a two-stop race for the Monegasque. Following this, McLaren pitted Norris for a set of medium tyres. Norris emerged onto the track in fifth place, 7.5 seconds behind his teammate, Piastri.
Russell regained the lead after the Norris pit stop, with Verstappen following 2.8 seconds behind.
Verstappen took his second stop of the race on Lap 37, pitted for another set of hard tyres. Meanwhile, the Mercedes of Antonelli pitted behind him; consequently, Verstappen managed to stay ahead.
Mercedes pitted Russell for his second stop of the race on Lap 42. He re-entered the track in fourth place, 3.4 seconds ahead of Verstappen.
Piastri pitted from the lead on Lap 46 and emerged behind Antonelli in sixth place.
Close call!
Gasly and Stroll nearly collided at the end of Lap 46. Gasly claimed Stroll unfairly pushed him wide off the track and demanded a penalty for Stroll.
Norris pitted behind Piastri and rejoined the track a few seconds behind his teammate.
Yellow flag!
Albon was out of the race, pulling into the recovery area at the hairpin on Lap 49 with a technical problem.
Penalty
Stroll received a 10-second time penalty for his earlier incident with Gasly.
Leclerc pitted from the lead on Lap 53 and reentered the track in sixth, maintaining a 20-second advantage over his teammate.
Retirement
Lawson came into the pit on Lap 53 to retire the car from the race due to an issue with the cooling system.
Lap 55, Antonelli held off Piastri to keep the last place on the podium.
Norris was now within DRS range of Piastri who was in DRS range of Antonelli.
Safety car!
Lap 67, Piastri and Norris drove wheel to wheel to claim fourth place. Norris passed initially through turn 10, but Piastri regained position.
Into the first corner, Norris tried to find a gap past his teammate but clipped the back of him, sending him into the wall, which led to his retirement from this race.
With Norris’ McLaren parked at the side of the track, the safety car was deployed until the end of the race.
Chequered flag
As the chequered flag was waved, George Russell crossed the line to get the first win for Mercedes since Las Vegas 2024.
Max Verstappen finished in second, and Kimi Antonelli finished in third, who claimed his first-ever podium in Formula One.