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Russell and Antonelli clash in the race - Mathieu Belanger/Reuters
George ⁠Russell won the Canadian Grand Prix sprint from pole position on Saturday – but riled his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the process.
Antonelli, who leads the Formula One standings, finished third but was complaining over the team radio that Russell had pushed him off after the pair almost collided when battling for the lead.
“That was very naughty. Not fair, he pushed me off,” the 19-year-old said. “That should be a penalty, I was alongside the mirror.”
Team principal Toto Wolff intervened and told Antonelli to “concentrate on the driving, please, not on the radio moaning”.
Russell’s second sprint victory of the season cut Antonelli’s lead in the drivers’ championship to 18 points.
Lando ⁠Norris, McLaren’s reigning world champion and the winner of the previous sprint in Miami, was second ⁠after 23 laps of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Canadian GP sprint race, top eight classification
- George Russell, Mercedes 8pts
- Lando Norris, McLaren +1.272sec 7pts
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +1.843sec 6pts
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren +9.797sec 5pts
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +9.929sec 4pts
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +10.545sec 3pts
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull +15.935sec 2pts
- Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +29.710sec 1pt
06:03pm
Main qualifying is at 9pm
We will be back just after 8pm with the build-up to that.
06:01pm
A bit of a mess for Mercedes to sort out in the debrief
Neither driver will believe they are wrong but it is important that they sort this out and start the race tomorrow on a better footing.
Toto Wolff has just spoken with Ted Kravitz on Sky Sports F1:
05:50pm
Updated driver standings after the sprint
Russell nibbles into Antonelli’s advantage. If he can win with Antonelli in second in tomorrow’s race then that gap is down to 11 from the 20 it was at the start of the weekend. Moreover he perhaps thinks he has shown the Italian who is boss in their clash in turn one.
05:43pm
Sounds like it was the turn-one incident that Antonelli was talking about
Not sure who was at fault, if anyone. It was not clear cut...
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Getty Images
This picture does not tell the whole story.
05:40pm
Russell on his victory
05:40pm
Antonelli on his battle with Russell
05:38pm
A perfunctory handshake between Russell and Antonelli
Hmmmm.
05:34pm
Toto Wolff speaks to Antonelli again on the radio
“Now is not the time to talk about this. We talk about this after and not on the radio,” he says.
05:33pm
Canadian GP sprint classification
Here is your top eight, point-scorers...
- RUS 8pts
- NOR 7pts
- ANT 6pts
- PIA 5pts
- LEC 4pts
- HAM 3pts
- VER 2pts
- LIN 1pt
05:32pm
GEORGE RUSSELL WINS!
A pole-to-flag victory but it was anything but simple...
05:32pm
FINAL LAP!
Antonelli tries it at turns one and two but runs over the grass again... he has to give the place back. Piastri has moved ahead of Hamilton and then Leclerc does the same. Perhaps there is some damage to the Ferrari...
Russell, it appears, is going to hold on and will reduce Antonelli’s advantage by two points. Every little helps...
05:31pm
Lap 22 of 23 - Russell leads Norris by 0.9sec
I think it will take a mistake to rearrange the top three... and Norris does that, locking up at the final hairpin.
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Clive Mason/Getty Images
Will Antonelli try a move in the chicane? No. But he will come again, I am sure...
05:29pm
Lap 21 of 23 - I think Russell has this...
Hamilton says he hit the wall in the last corner. Not too hard as he carries on... it was a fair clunk, but still an extreme glance. If such a thing exists.
No further investigation for Verstappen...
05:28pm
Lap 20 of 23 - Russell extends his lead
Not by a great deal. Nearly a second now, though.
Hulkenberg gets a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. A pointless penalty in some ways because he had no chance of finishing in the points. 05:27pm
Lap 19 of 23 - Lindblad looks safe in eighth
It will be one point for him. Hamilton under pressure from Piastri and Leclerc in the battle for fourth. Verstappen is 3.3sec off the back of that but has been noted for a yellow-flag infringement.
05:26pm
Lap 18 of 23 - This could be a fun finish
The top three have checked out and are pushing hard.
05:25pm
Lap 17 of 23 - Russell leads Norris by 0.5sec
Closer than he has been for a while... but the McLaren cannot get close enough to have a look. Albon is in danger of getting in the way when he gets lapped... it brings the top three much closer. One second between the three of them now.
05:24pm
Lap 16 of 23 - Top eight and gaps
- RUS
- NOR +0.7
- ANT +1.5
- HAM +4.0
- PIA +4.9
- LEC +5.8
- VER +8.2
- LIN +19.4
Momentary yellow flags, not sure for what reason.
05:23pm
Lap 15 of 23 - Has Russell got enough?
Norris has not yet been close enough to try a move or even have a look. Hamilton has Piastri close behind him now, having dropped off the back of the podium spots.
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Steven Tee/LAT Images
05:21pm
Lap 14 of 23 - Russell just clinging on here
This pace might be enough. Might. But it will come down to energy management as much as anything else.
05:20pm
Lap 13 of 23 - Russell leads Norris by 0.6sec
Antonelli has come back and is just 1.1sec behind Norris with Hamilton a further 1.8sec behind. A three-horse race at the moment. 10 laps to go, which may feel long for Russell. I think in clean air, Norris would be the faster car. But he now has Antonelli close behind him...
Still, encouraging from McLaren. Mercedes had mega pace early in the race but that advantage has deserted them.
05:19pm
Lap 12 of 23 - Not sure Russell has this sewn up
Far from it as Norris, Antonelli and Hamilton all look to have decent pace.
05:17pm
Lap 11 of 23 - Hadjar went into the garage
Presumably to retire but no, he returns to the track a lap or two later and now two laps down.
Hamilton has dropped back from Antonelli and now has Piastri in his rear-view mirrors.
05:16pm
Lap 10 of 23 - Hamilton had a look at turn one...
...but it was only a look. He then drops back a bit. I still haven’t seen a proper replay of the incident between Russell and Antonelli, but I am not sure it was clean cut in one direction or the other.
05:15pm
Lap 9 of 23 - Russell leads Norris by 0.7sec
The Mercedes cars are no longer the fastest cars on the track. Have their medium tyres gone off? It looks like it...
05:14pm
Lap 8 of 23 - Norris harrying Russell
Antonelli has dropped back a bit and has Hamilton in his mirrors...
05:13pm
Lap 7 of 23 - Top 8
- RUS
- NOR +0.7
- ANT +1.9
- HAM +2.4
- PIA +3.2
- LEC +4.5
- VER +5.5
- LIN +10.1
Antonelli has been told to focus on the race and not on his moaning, first by his race engineer and then by Toto Wolff. He should consider himself told. Keep your head on your shoulders.
Russell’s lead has come down since that incident.
05:11pm
Lap 6 of 23 - It’s bold from Antonelli!
He tries to go around the outside of Russell at turn one, which becomes the inside of turn three and he has to run off the track and over the grass... Russell keeps the lead.
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Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Antonelli again skips the chicane and it’s more dramatic this time... he loses more time and second place to Norris.
“That was very naughty,” he says on the team radio. We didn’t actually see what happened later in the lap but he is clearly referring to whatever Russell did.
“That should be a penalty, I was alongside the mirror,” he repeats.
05:10pm
Lap 5 of 23 - Antonelli closing in on Russell
Antonelli tries to make a move in the final chicane but Russell fends him off... will he come again?
05:09pm
Lap 4 of 23 - Antonelli closing in on Russell
An upgraded Mercedes looks have left the others behind. Norris now 2.7sec behind Antonelli after just four completed race laps... in other words nearly 0.7sec per lap.
Hadjar has an engine problem, he reports and has dropped down to 13th...
05:07pm
Lap 3 of 23 - Russell leads Antonelli
Top eight:
- RUS
- ANT
- NOR
- HAM
- PIA
- LEC
- VER
- HAD
Lindblad in ninth, 0.7sec behind Hadjar as they contend for the final point. The Mercedes cars more than half a second faster than the McLarens, roughly... a big gap.
05:06pm
Lap 2 of 23 - Antonelli within a second of Russell
They haven’t yet left the McLarens for dust... yet. I am not sure the orange cars will be troubling the silver ones in this race. Leclerc is closing in on Piastri for fifth.
Stroll has been note for a starting procedure infringement. He started from the pit lane. 05:04pm
The Canadian GP sprint race is under way!
Five red lights out and it’s a fine, aggressive start from Russell. Antonelli is under threat from the McLarens but gets into the first turn in second. Hamilton gets Piastri at the first few turns and is up into fourth. It’s a short run down to the first braking zone so Mercedes were always likely to keep the lead, despite not being the best starters on the grid.
Russell leads Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen and Hadjar.
Antonelli is harrying Russell into the final chicane...
05:01pm
The formation lap is go
Most drivers on the mediums except for Lindblad on the hards (?), Perez, Stroll and Bottas on the softs. Conditions look decent if not scorching.
04:59pm
Starting grid
- RUS
- ANT
- NOR
- PIA
- HAM
- LEC
- VER
- HAD
- LIN
- SAI
- HUL
- BOR
- COL
- OCO
- ALO
- PER
- LAW
PIT LANE: STR, BEA, GAS, BOT, ALB
Yet to be confirmed whether Stroll can and will start from the pit lane.
04:53pm
Russell on his hopes
“McLaren have been making great starts recently but I’ll control what I can control,” he tells Sky Sports F1.
04:46pm
Where might Mercedes’ biggest threat come from?
Assuming they do not take out each other (so far so good on that front), the Ferraris have been quick starters this year but McLaren look to have the better race pace at the moment. That said, in what is a no-stop race, it will be hard for McLaren to disrupt Mercedes unless they get ahead. And it will be hard for Ferrari to get ahead from where they are...
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Bradley Collyer/PA
04:35pm
Constructor standings
A fine turnaround from Alpine, though a poor weekend from them so far. Gasly starts 19th and Colapinto 13th. Points are only a distant possibility from there.
04:33pm
The pit lane is open
Slight drama from Lewis Hamilton, who locks up and goes straight over the chicane before the final hairpin. Nothing substantial, though, he will have flat-spotted those tyres.
04:28pm
How fast has each team been in qualifying so far?
Some large gaps out there, as you would expect at the start of a new regulation set. Yet this is fairly encouraging I would say. Let’s hope all the gaps close in the coming months.
04:22pm
Current driver standings
Mercedes clearly strong favourites but there is a long way to go yet and there is plenty of scope for McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull to close the gap and even catch them up with all the hoo-ha about there regulations.
04:19pm
An important weekend for George Russell
They all are, really, but he needs to stop the rot and reduce the deficit to Antonelli, who has won the last three grands prix. Some of that is down to bad luck on the part of Russell, but Antonelli is looking a much stronger contender than most thought at the start of the season. 20 points is the gap at the moment.
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Mario Renzi/Getty Images
As much as reducing the gap, though, Russell needs to lay down a marker to his team-mate in Montreal, ideally beating him in all four of the competitive sessions.
04:09pm
Sprint qualifying classification
03:53pm
Good afternoon
Welcome to our coverage for the sprint race for the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix. The season so far had a stop-start feel to it. The first three rounds took place as scheduled but then the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races were cancelled, owing to the conflict in the Middle East. That made it a lengthy wait for the Miami Grand Prix, which became the fourth race of the season and that was three weeks ago. The races do come thick and fast from here, though, with 18 in the next 28 weeks. Buckle up, I guess?
Did what we saw in sprint qualifying yesterday evening change much of the prevailing order so far this season? Not really – not at the front in any case. It was another Mercedes lockout of the front row and George Russell was ahead of championship leader and team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Not by a great deal.
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George Russell needs to get himself back in the title fight - Shutterstock/Cristobel Herrera-Ulashkevic
Their closest challengers were the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, both around 0.32sec off Russell’s fastest time. Significant, yes, but not enormous. It again underlines the progress the defending double champions have made after a poor start to the year in Australia and China.
Lewis Hamilton, who won his first race on this track in his debut season 19 years ago, put in a reasonable showing for Ferrari. He was just under a tenth ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. The Noah’s arc look of the grid continued with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar’s Red Bulls in seventh and eighth.
There was some encouragement for some of the slower teams so far in 2026, too. Carlos Sainz made it into the top 10 for Williams, Fernando Alonso made it into SQ2 before he crashed his Aston Martin and Sergio Perez will start 16th for Cadillac, their best showing in any form of qualifying this year.
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