Mercedes clinch double podium while Verstappen holds P2
It had been a solid start to the 2025 season for Mercedes, having put themselves into second place of the Teams’ Championship during the opening races thanks to several podium finishes for Russell and additional points results courtesy of rookie Antonelli.
However, their strong run took a bit of a hit during the European triple header, leading to them losing that P2 spot to Ferrari last time out in Spain. The Silver Arrows were in need of a good weekend in Canada – and that was exactly what they came away with.
After clinching pole position on Saturday, Russell put in a commanding drive on Sunday – in a race that featured different strategies across the field, as well as a late-race Safety Car following the aforementioned McLaren collision – to seal both his and Mercedes’ first win of the campaign.
READ MORE: ‘It’s amazing to be back on the top step’ – Russell jubilant after hard-fought victory in Canada
To make things even better, Antonelli enjoyed an eye-catching outing at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, the teenager overtaking Piastri at the start for P3 before maintaining that position later on, thus scoring his maiden podium in Formula 1.
Sandwiched between the Mercedes duo was Max Verstappen. The Red Bull man kept Russell honest during the opening laps of the race and further proved that he can never be discounted by again closing in on the leader as the Grand Prix reached its final stages.
While Russell managed to rebuild that gap – before the race ultimately ended under the Safety Car – Verstappen held onto second. A post-race protest by Red Bull against Russell – relating to allegations of driving erratically under the Safety Car and displaying unsportsmanlike behaviour – was rejected, meaning that the final result stands and Mercedes are once again in P2 of the Teams’ Championship.
