2026 Canadian Grand Prix Sprint – Official F1 results (Montreal)
Mercedes' George Russell has won the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint race.
George Russell has won the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint, as sparks flew between the two Mercedes drivers in the early stages.
Russell held his nerve off the starting grid to maintain the lead, but wasn’t able to shake off the attentions of Antonelli in the early stages of the 23-lap race.
George Russell beats Lando Norris after Kimi Antonelli clash
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There were no problems for Mercedes off the starting grid as Russell held his lead over Antonelli, with Norris maintaining third place ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
But Russell was unable to shake off Antonelli and the championship leader lined up his teammate for a move down the pit straight.
Brazening it out around the outside of Turn 1, Russell firmly closed the door on his teammate as Antonelli was forced to concede by taking to the escape area and bouncing across the grass at Turn 2.
Moments later, Antonelli steamed up the inside of the Turn 7 chicane and bounced again across the grass, this time losing position to Norris.
The 19-year-old was clearly aggrieved by Russell’s actions, taking to team radio to label the move from Russell as “very naughty!”, and calling for a penalty for his teammate.
With race engineer Pete Bonnington pleading with his driver to keep calm, Antonelli’s continued angst saw team boss Toto Wolff intervene to command his driver to concentrate on driving rather than “moaning on the radio”.
At the halfway mark of the Sprint, Russell led by four-tenths of a second over Norris as the McLaren was clearly able to keep pace with the Mercedes, while a recovering Antonelli was a further second back.
With the top three appearing to have a slight edge on the pursuing Hamilton and Piastri, Charles Leclerc started to apply the pressure on the Australian, while Arvid Lindblad, having started on the hard tyre, occupied eighth place in the final points position.
The top three circulated nose-to-tail for the next half-dozen laps as Russell soaked up the pressure from Norris, with Antonelli breathing down the neck of the McLaren in front of him.
Despite Norris’ best efforts, he was unable to make a move on Russell, with the British driver withstanding the pressure to return to the top step of the podium.
A small error from Norris on the penultimate lap opened up an opportunity for Antonelli to make a move but, like his attempt on Russell, also ran wide as Norris moved back into second, with the Italian setting for third.
Piastri took fourth place after getting past Hamilton, while Leclerc missed out on the position by just a tenth of a second, with Hamilton taking sixth ahead of Verstappen and Lindblad.
FULL REPORT: Canadian Grand Prix: George Russell wins Sprint as ‘moaning’ Antonelli demands penalty
F1 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, Sprint Results
- 1. George Russell, Mercedes 23 Laps
- 2. Lando Norris, McLaren +1.272
- 3. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +1.843
- 4. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +9.797
- 5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +9.929
- 6. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +10.545
- 7. Max Verstappen, Red Bull +15.935
- 8. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +29.710
- 9. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +31.621
- 10. Carlos Sainz, Williams +36.793
- 11. Sergio Perez, Cadillac +60.402
- 12. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +61.344
- 13. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +61.814
- 14. Esteban Ocon, Haas +64.209
- 15. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +72.158
- 16. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1 Lap
- 17. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +1 Lap
- 18. Oliver Bearman, Haas +1 Lap
- 19. Alex Albon, Williams +1 Lap
- 20. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1 Lap
- 21. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls +1 Lap
- 22. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1 Lap
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