Canadian GP report
Giles Richards’ report on an eventful race in Montreal is live – I will leave you to dive right into it and relive the excitement in full. Thank you for following the action with us! Please join us for Monaco in the first weekend of June.
“A battery failure,” announces Wolff of the problem that ended Russell’s race. “Because the car was going dark – there was no electronics on the car.”
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“It was bittersweet,” says Toto Wolff. “You are delighted for one driver, you are gutted for the other one.” He adds: “We should have had a one-two, so we are half happy.”
On whether he thought about jumping in earlier to tell his sparring drivers to chill: “As long as we maintained that gap [to Verstappen in third at the time] – it was OK. But obviously it can go wrong.”
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I missed Bill Taylor’s email at halfway. Sorry, Bill. “We have the Boy Wonder against elbows-out Verstappen and Hamilton,” he said. “Second half could be even better than the first.”
I like the optimism! Unfortunately from an entertainment perspective, Antonelli’s Mercedes was too quick. But we did get some great cat-and-mouse between Verstappen and Hamilton, so it was still a fun finale.
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An awful race for McLaren, despite Lando Norris briefly taking the lead with that spectacular start. It was all downhill after that – and indeed before that, as their decision to start on intermediate tyres scuppered their drivers’ chances.
We didn’t get any rain in Montreal but it’s raining fizz on the podium. Monaco is next up, a fortnight away!
Kimi Antonelli enjoys the Italian national anthem – he’s the first ever driver to have his first four F1 race wins be consecutive. Another record falls for the 19-year-old prodigy.
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We get some backstage live footage of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen guzzling fluids and watching race highlights – they warmly compliment one anothers driving. How times change. They’ll be on the podium soon, the love-in separated by Antonelli.
The Canadian Grand Prix top 10
1) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
6) Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
7) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
8) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
9) Carlos Sainz (Williams)
10) Oliver Bearman (Haas)
George Russell and Lando Norris with unfortunate DNFs after mechanical failures. It was a tremendously entertaining race.
Key event
“A cool battle with Lewis,” says Max Verstappen, who looks relatively pleased after his first podium of the season. “We need to keep improving and carrying on.”
The Red Bull is certainly behind the Mercedes, McLarens and Ferraris, so he’s understandably pleased with third place.
“It was a really fun battle with George,” says Kimi Antonelli, the race winner. “We were pretty much on the limit … it was a shame for him, the failure, because it would have a really cool to keep going.”
So a race of two halves: Kimi Antonelli and George Russell sparring for the lead was absolutely enthralling stuff. I lost count of how many times it changed hands.
Then Russell’s desperately unlucky mechanical failure cost him the lead and any points today. The Italian is now 43 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate in the title race.
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Kimi Antonelli wins the Canadian Grand Prix!
Kimi Antonelli cruises to victory! Lewis Hamilton in second, Max Verstappen third.
What a sensational, dramatic race. “Not the way I wanted to win,” says Antonelli on the radio. “It was going to be a great battle with George but we take it.”
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Lap 68/68: Hamilton encounters traffic again - Verstappen is on his gearbox… Max might yet get one chance to swipe second.
Lap 67/68: Hamilton has Verstappen all over him after they lap some back markers! Well now, we could have one last big positional change. Will Max get a chance before the flag?
Lap 65/68: Have we had the last big drama of this enthralling race? Verstappen is stalking Hamilton but it might take an error from Lewis to give him a sniff of second.
Lap 64/68: Hamilton is putting a bit of space between himself and Verstappen for second place. But it’s still within a second. Antonelli is 10 seconds out in front in the lead, of course.
Lap 63/68: Verstappen is now the hunted rather than they prey, Hamilton isn’t pulling away and Max is on his tail. Can he get an opportunity?
Hadjar in fifth gets a stop-go penalty. It should not impact his position.
Lap 62/68: Hamilton hits the brakes late and produces a textbook overtaking move to snatch second from Verstappen! Vintage Lewis Hamilton.
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Lap 60/68: Fewer than 10 laps to go and Verstappen is defending second place smartly for now. Antonelli is in cruise control in the lead, nine seconds ahead.
Lap 59/68: Gasly closes on Lawson as they duel for seventh and eighth. Further up the field, Hamilton hasn’t really made a move on Verstappen since some serious looks when he first caught up. Does the have the power to make a move stick?
Lap 58/68: The battle for second is the liveliest on the track as Hamilton tries to find a way past Verstappen. Antonelli leads; Leclerc is far back in fourth all on his own.
Lap 57/68: Hamilton is behind Verstappen in a faster car – but of course Max will not be giving up a place easily. The Ferrari weaves behind and Lewis looks for an opening.
Lap 56/68: Hamilton is looming ominously behind Verstappen. He’s right in the place to mount a challenge. Max blocks his first attempt.
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Lap 55/68: Antonelli is on his own in the lead, Verstappen in second has Hamilton one second behind him as they tussle for second. Can he get close enough to pass?
Lap 54/68: The virtual safety car ends and we’re back racing. Hadjar is still in fifth after is penalty. Charles Leclerc spins in fourth! He corrects and keeps it on the track but is 15 seconds behind third-place Hamilton.
Lap 52/68: Leclerc is 10 seconds behind Hamilton in fourth. We’ve got yet another virtual safety car and a double yellow flag … can’t see why yet. More debris? Hadjar pits, changes tyres and takes his penalty. Piastri does the same.
Lap 51/68: Verstappen is struggling with tyre temperature on his Red Bull, apparently. Antonelli isn’t exactly growing his lead – it’s 6.5 seconds – but he’s possibly in cruise control at the front and hoping his luck is better than Russell’s.
Lap 50/68: Hamilton in third is closing the gap to Verstappen. It’s down to 2.5 seconds.
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Lap 49/68: We’ve had six retirements so so plenty of drivers will be thinking that there’s a chance of points just by keeping their car on the road.
“Everything turned off all of a sudden – engine stopped, no electronics… a bit lost for words right now,” says Lando Norris from the pits.
Lap 47/68: Norris is shown waking back to the pits and waving to the local fans. His rocket start that launched him into an early lead must seem a long time ago. Antonelli is having it his own way in P1.
Lap 46/68: For all the talk of rain, it’s dry in Montreal. Still an eventful and entertaining race though!
The virtual safety car is back on. Debris by the pit lane entrance, perhaps? A brave marshal runs on to the track to snatch it up.
Lap 45/68: We see footage of George Russell getting a consoling hug from Toto Wolff as he walks back to the paddock. Antonelli’s lead over Verstappen is 5.6 seconds. Isack Hadjar is getting a 10-second penalty.
Lap 43/68: Sergio Perez limps into the pits with one front tyre pointing entirely the wrong way. His suspension just broke on the track and his race is over.
Lap 42/68: Antonelli leads but he’s lost time passing back markers and Verstappen, in seccond, and Hamilton, in third, close up. They’re still over four seconds behind.
Lando Norris retires!
“Something has broken – the gearbox or something,” says Lando Norris as he drives into the pit to park his McLaren and end his race on lap 40. He was in the points after a tough race. The world champion sounds pretty crestfallen.
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Lap 39/68: Charles Leclerc overtakers Isack Hadjar to move up fourth, a place behidn his Ferrari teammate.
“Russell’s car came to a halt through Kimi’s power of manifestation,” Krishna Moorthy emails in to say. Huge if true.
It’s a crying shame. That Mercedes battle for the lead was absolutely thrilling stuff.
Lap 37/68: Hamilton is gaining on Verstappen, he looks happier on this set of tyres. Antonelli pitted during the virtual safety car, of course.
Lap 36/68: Antonelli has already pulled out a six-second lead on Verstappen in second. Russell might get a slap on the wrist for throwing his headrest out of his car after he pulled up.
Lap 34/68: We’re back racing! Here’s the leaders at about the halfway point:
1) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
5) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6) Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
7) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
8) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
9) Lando Norris (McLaren)
10) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Lap 32/68: And breathe! That thrilling battle between the Mercedes pair came to an abrupt stop on lap 30 as Russell suddenly lost power out of nowhere. A power unit failure, according to Mercedes – the team had no sign it was coming.
Lap 31/68: It must have been a mechanical issue for Russell as he slowed dramatically and came to a stop. I’m no body language expert but he looked: understandably furious as he got out of his car.
The cars all start to pit under the virtual safety care conditions.
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George Russell is out!
The Mercedes driver goes off the track, slows down and parks his car! George Russell is out of this race from the lead.
We have a virtual safety car situation.
Lap 29/68: “Both cars need to race without risk” is the word from George Russell’s engineer as Kimi Antonelli gets a similar message.
Lap 28/68: Antonelli is still very close to Russell as the pair lead from Verstappen, six seconds back in third with Hamilton another five second back in fourth.
Lap 27/68: Fernando Alonso has retired from the race after a challenging the weekend. Apparently Mercedes have told their drivers to “tidy it up” – ie stop almost driving one another off the track. Russell leads Antonelli. For now.
“What’s the point?” Antonelli complains on the radio, but he gives back the lead to Russell. George isn’t happy about where Kimi gave him the place back!
The gloves are: off.
Lap 25/68: Russell retakes the lead as Antonelli locks up at the hairpin! Kimi charges to retake – do they touch?? Maybe not quite. Antonelli gets the lead back but is told to give back P1 as he went off to gain track position.
Lap 24/68: So Antonelli leads! Piastrai gets a 10-second penalty for that incident with Albon. The Mercedes cars both pass the world champion Norris. The McLarens are not having a fun race.
Lap 23/68: Antonelli is all over Russell like ants on a Snickers. He draws alongside him on the straight and this time makes it stick! It was coming – the teenage Italian is back in the lead.
Lap 21/68: The stewards and doling out penalties for yellow flag infringements but none effecting the leaders. The Mercedes come up to lap Norris.
Lap 20/68: Alex Albon is out of the race after that clash with Piastri. The Mercedes drivers are five seconds ahead of Verstappen in third. There’s barely anything between George and Kimi at the front.
Lap 18/68: The Mercedes at the front are giving us terrific entertainment as they joust for the lead. Antonelli is right on the back of his teammate.
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Lap 17/68: Russell locks up on the corner, Antonelli can’t quite capitalise but they are wheel to wheel on the straight! Nothing in it! Russell just hangs on as Antonelli makes the smart move and backs off. But he is ready to pounce if Russell locks up again.
Lap 16/68: Lando Norris has to come in for an early second stop due to a mechanical issue. Junk in the sidepods, speculates Martin Brundle. He’s back out but down in 14th.
Lap 15/68: Russel is seven-tenths ahead of Antonelli as they spar for the lead. This is terrific stuff. Though you suspect Toto Wolff has everything clenched.
Lap 14/68: They’re changing Oscar Piastri’s wing, he’s clearly had some kind of incident. A collision with Alex Albon, apparently, the Williams driver an innocent party. The McLaren team get Piastri back out but he’s almost a lap down.
Lap 12/68: Antonelli overtakes Russell! Then Russell takes back P1 almost instantly! They’re almost wheel to wheel at the start of lap 13. Cat and mouse stuff as the Mercedes tussle at the front. Some debris on the track means we’re on a yellow card.
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Lap 11/68: Oliver Bearman is up in ninth after starting in 16th. Norris is gradually making up places – he’s in 11th after that early pit stop. But he’s 33 seconds behind the leaders.
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Lap 10/68: Russell has a one-second lead from Antonelli at the front. Verstappen is a further two second behind after passing Hamilton. Leclerc is fifth, a place behind his teammate.
Lap 9/68: Max Verstappen brakes late and overtakes Hamilton’s Ferrari to grab third spot! “I’ve got no power – come on guys,” says Hamilton on the radio.
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Lap 8/68: Russell – who started in pole has slipped to third at the start – got back to second when Norris stopped, and is now in P1 after overtaking Antonelli. He’s starting to build a lead at front now.
Lap 6/68: Russell is in the lead! He goes up the outside of Antonelli, who locks up, goes off in a plume of tyre smoke – he recovers but Russell zooms ahead of him.
Lap 5/68: Norris goes over the chicane in 14th. He’s having an eventful race … Russell is half a second behind Antonelli at the front. Hamilton is keeping pace with them for now, with Verstappen in hot pursuit. Every driver who started on intermediates has changed them.
Lap 3/68: Antonelli leads from Russell, Hamilton third, Verstappen fourth. Both McLarens are down in the midfield after pitting. That rocket start from Norris was for nothing, though he is ahead of his teammate.
Lap 2/68: Antonelli also got ahead of Russell in that breathless start. He’s about to be leading as Norris is going to copy his teammate is pitting to change tyres. Lewis Hamilton is third.
Lap 1/68: Remarkable start from Norris who overtook both Mercedes at the start! His teammate Piastri dropped back, however. He’s going straight into the pits to change tyres.
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Lights out!
We are go in Montreal at the second time of asking. Lando Norris shoots into the lead!
We’re on the extra formation lap, which means we’ll have a 68-lap – rather than 70-lap – race. It looks reasonably dry on the track. Have McLaren made an error with the intermediates?
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Arvid Lindblad’s car is being pushed off the grid, unlucky for him. He won’t start in ninth.
Key event
An extra formation lap! The start was abandoned, I think there was a problem with Arvid Lindblad’s car – his car wouldn’t go into gear. Kimi Antonelli moved slowly off the line first but he won’t be penalised at all, as it’s an aborted start.
The formation lap is under way. Seven drivers are on intermediate tyres – including both McLarens – there’s plenty of tyre variety on the grid. The Mercedes are both on the soft compound.
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It actually looks pretty misty in Montreal. Headlights up to full beam, lads? We’re just minutes away from the start!
“It’s a really hard choice between the intermediates and the slicks,” Sergio Perez tells Martin. “It’s gonna be slidey,” adds Lando Norris with a wolfish grin.
“Slippery when wet,” says Max Verstappen, four-time F1 world champion and (possibly) Bon Jovi fan.
Martin Brundle is doing his grid walk in a gusty Montreal. The teams are pretty occupied in heating their tyres.
“It feels like his kind of day,” says Brundle as he walks past Verstappen’s car in sixth place. “Max tends to have a sixth sense about where the braking is.”
“One of the best tracks in the world,” assesses Lewis Hamilton, who loves the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and has a joint-record seven F1 wins here.
The rapid street circuit does tend to be popular with drivers, offering decent overtaking opportunities. Could be less popular today if it starts tipping it down, mind you.
Too early in the season for drivers’ championship standings? Perhaps. But here they are.
1) Kimi Antonelli 106pts
2) George Russell 88pts
3) Charles Leclerc 63pts
4) Lando Norris 58pts
5) Lewis Hamilton 54pts
6) Oscar Piastri 48pts
7) Max Verstappen 28pts
8) Oliver Bearman 17pts
George Russell is trying out the intermediates as the drivers in the warm-up test the best tyres for the conditions. It’s likely too dry for those right now, but there’s spots of rain about and it looks very chilly in Montreal.
“We had a meeting yesterday and it’s all good, everything is settled,” says a smiling Kimi Antonelli as he’s asked trackside about his flashpoint with George Russell during yesterday’s sprint race.
Toto Wolff will not want a repeat of Canada last year when two teammates – McLaren, not Mercedes – collided on the track.
“All the drivers will be nervous of this – it’s into the unknown,” says Martin Brundle on Sky, holding an umbrella above his head. “A magical mystery tour.” (All you need is wets?)
“This will be George and Kimi’s nightmare,” adds Jamie Chadwick of the conditions.
Call me Phil Connors because I’m bringing you the weather updates: it’s windy at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve but not raining. Yet. The start should be OK for just under an hour.
Pole to flag: all four races this season have been won by the pole-sitter (Russell first, Antonelli with the past three), though they’ve hardly been processions.
Good news for George … in theory. But that streak won’t last all season. Is today the day it changes? The weather could certainly add an element of chaos, especially as we don’t exactly know how these cars will behave in wet race conditions.
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The grid in Montreal
How they will line up on the Île Notre-Dame. Start time is still 9pm BST (4pm local), weather permitting.
1) George Russell (Mercedes)
2) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
3) Lando Norris (McLaren)
4) Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
6) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
8) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
9) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
10) Franco Colapinto (Alpine
11) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
12) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
13) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
14) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
15) Carlos Sainz (Williams)
16) Oliver Bearman (Haas)
17) Esteban Ocon (Audi)
18) Alex Albon (Williams)
19) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
20) Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
21) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
22) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
Weather update: it’s raining right now in Montreal, apparently. It may mean a delay in the race start or it could clear up and/or avoid the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Any news on start times as we get it!
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Preamble
Hold on, is that the sight of sparks flying in the Mercedes garage? Metaphorically, of course. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have played the roles “the gent” and “tenacious teen” for the first four races of this F1 season. But with it becoming increasingly clear that it’s likely to be a straight shootout between the teammates for the drivers’ title, we’ve seen the first flash of friction between the pair in Montreal.
A clash during the sprint race when Antonelli attempted to overtake Russell left the Italian fuming and Toto Wolff had to intervene, telling him to “stop the radio moaning”. Russell held on for victory, Lando Norris splitting the Mercs, though it’s a Russell-Antonelli front row for today’s race after the Briton pipped his teammate by six-hundredths of a second in qualifying.
Antonelli, the championship leader by 18 points, has won the last three races of a stop-start season. But Russell likes this track – it’s his third pole in a row here. Plus there’s a 60% chance of rain and a chasing pack including Norris and Oscar Piastri in third and fourth, Lewis Hamilton starting fifth and Max Verstappen rounding off the top six. Intriguing!
The Canadian GP is due to start at 9pm BST – feel free to email in with your thoughts, hopes and dreams.
