Kimi Antonelli took another step forward in the title battle at the Canadian Grand Prix, as the Italian made it four Grand Prix wins on the bounce while on the other side of the Mercedes garage, team mate George Russell lost crucial ground after a retirement.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton enjoyed his best weekend with Ferrari to claim another podium, just ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who visited the rostrum for the first time in 2026.
With plenty of other talking points emerging throughout the event, here are all the key moments from the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix…
Mercedes intra-team drama as Antonelli extends points lead
Entering the weekend in Montreal, some onlookers had questioned whether the pressure would be on for George Russell to make up ground to team mate Kimi Antonelli, with the Italian’s three consecutive wins in China, Japan and Miami giving him a 20-point lead in the championship.
Russell brushed off these suggestions during media day, stating that he was treating the event as “just another race” – but regardless, the Briton looked to be on good form as the action got underway, claiming pole position in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying ahead of Antonelli.
A tense Sprint ensued for the Mercedes team as Antonelli fought Russell for the lead, resulting in the pair making contact and the Italian running onto the grass.
While Antonelli shared some angry messages over the team radio at the time, he later explained that a chat with Russell and team boss Toto Wolff had made it clear that “we’re free to race, but of course we need to race with respect”.
All eyes were on the front row come Sunday after Russell and Antonelli once again secured first and second on the grid. Fans were subsequently treated to a thrilling battle between the pair as they swapped positions multiple times.
However, the scrap was brought to a sudden halt on Lap 30 when Russell stopped on track due to a power unit issue on his car. The Briton appeared visibly furious as he stepped out, with his retirement from the race meaning that Antonelli would potentially stretch out his advantage even further in the title fight.
That would prove to be the case, as the teenager scored his fourth victory in a row, putting him 43 points clear of Russell at the top.
McLaren’s nightmare Sunday after strategy blunder
After an improvement in their fortunes last time out in Miami, McLaren had further reasons to be optimistic about their form as the Canadian Grand Prix weekend kicked off.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri claimed third and fourth respectively in Sprint Qualifying, with Norris ultimately gaining a position from there in the Sprint to finish second, while Piastri added to the points haul by maintaining P4.
The duo took the same grid slots for Sunday’s race as they had done in the 100km dash – but this time things did not work out so well. Amid mixed conditions prior to the race, both cars were fitted with intermediate tyres, but Piastri soon radioed in his concerns about them during the formation lap, given that the rain looked to have stopped.
Both drivers did eventually pit within the first two laps to swap to slicks – a move that was especially frustrating for Norris, who had enjoyed a stunning launch to shoot into the lead at Turn 1.
These pit stops dropped the pair back and each began their recovery drive through the field.
Piastri’s attempt was soon hindered when he unintentionally hit Williams’ Alex Albon after locking up at the hairpin – an incident that not only forced Albon to retire but also saw Piastri served with a 10-second time penalty.
Norris, meanwhile, had to make a second stop owing to a reliability concern following a trip across the grass, before later retiring after reporting a suspected gearbox issue.
With Piastri finishing outside of the points in P11, it brought to an end a miserable day for the team, one that has seen them lose ground to Ferrari in the battle for P2 in the Teams’ Championship.
Hamilton’s ‘happiest day’ but Leclerc’s ‘worst weekend’
Lewis Hamilton proved to be best of the rest in Montreal, as the seven-time World Champion finished second in Sunday’s race after a late overtake on Max Verstappen.
The Ferrari driver had looked in good form all weekend despite only starting P5 for both the Sprint and Grand Prix, with Hamilton describing Sunday as “the happiest day of my days at Ferrari so far” after the race.
He added: “It feels great to be able to put the Ferrari on the podium, and to get my first second place with the team as well in the main race, and this is my second podium as well. I’m just elated and so proud of the team for working so hard. I finally have the engineering team that I’ve been working towards.”
In contrast, team mate Charles Leclerc endured a torrid time in Canada despite finishing P4 on Sunday, claiming after the Saturday’s Sprint that it was the “worst weekend of my career” as he struggled to get on top of his SF-26.
Verstappen finally reaches the podium in 2026
Max Verstappen stood on the podium for the first time this season, occupying the final step in Canada after losing second-place to Hamilton’s Ferrari in the closing stages. The Red Bull driver had been best of the rest behind the battling Mercedes initially and inherited second after Russell’s retirement.
Verstappen’s charge to the podium was also helped by the McLarens of Norris and Piastri starting on the intermediate tyre for rain that never materialised, but the four-time World Champion was encouraged by the performance of his Red Bull, as team mate Isack Hadjar finished in P5.
“I think now the last two weekends we have been a lot closer,” said Verstappen. “Before we were fighting with the midfield, now we’re fighting close to the front so in that sense we made some really positive steps forward, but I also know we can do better and that’s what we’ll focus on.”
Another best-ever result for Colapinto in P6
Franco Colapinto has really found his stride since Alpine brought their upgrade package to the car. He bagged seventh last time out in Miami, which at the time was his best F1 result to date, but he didn’t take long to go one better, finishing sixth in Canada.
Having made Q3 and comfortably out-qualifying his team mate Pierre Gasly, Colapinto was riding high as the leading midfield runner in the early stages of the Grand Prix. He pitted under the VSC like most of the field, but nearly ended his race after hitting a wet patch and sliding along the wall, damaging his front wing.
Fortunately, he could continue, and drove well to manage the damage and come home sixth – a result that was all the more remarkable considering he missed all of FP1 with a PU issue and has been playing catch up ever since.
Gasly made it a double points finish for Alpine, as he fought back from a poor Qualifying performance to finish eighth, extending Alpine’s lead over Racing Bulls in the Teams’ standings.
Feeder series Formula 2 and F1 ACADEMY thrill in Canada
Alisha Palmowski had a very good weekend on F1 ACADEMY’s visit to Canada, winning both the Opening Race and the Feature Race for Red Bull.
She mastered the slippery, damp conditions to win from pole by over 10 seconds, and the British star has taken the lead in the championship with her efforts in Montreal. Aston Martin’s Mathilda Paatz won the Reverse Grid Race, and lies fifth in the standings.
Formula 2 was also in action this weekend, with Martinius Stenshorne winning his maiden Feature Race for Rodin Motorsport in equally tricky conditions. He had to work hard in a chaotic race that featured multiple Safety Cars, the Norwegian climbing through the field to lead home his team mate Alex Dunne in a 1-2.
Noel Leon took the win in the Sprint for Campos Racing and sits fifth in the standings – one place behind Stenshorne. Gabriele Mini leads the championship for MP Motorsport after winning the Feature Race last time out in Miami.
