Despite some early struggles George Russell managed to secure pole for the 2026 F1 Canadian GP again, ahead of team mate Kimi Antonelli.
The weather however, was not the same as earlier in the weekend, as rain significantly wet the track during the day. This prompted both McLarens to start on intermediates, opposed to the Mercedes drivers staring on slicks. Interestingly, a few drivers also opted for the medium tyre.
The formation lap did not show any significant water on track, so the start would prove which team was right. The starting grid saw one change ahead of the race, as Lance Stroll changed his setup and was therefore forced to start from pit lane.
Lindblad stalling causes formation lap chaos
With the red lights turning on, Arvid Lindblad signaled he had an issue, causing an additional formation lap to be started. The marshalls however were unable to recover Lindblad’s car in time, meaning another extra formation lap was started.
At lights out it was Lando Norris with the best start, grabbing the lead, while team mate Oscar Piastri falls prey to Lewis Hamilton. Towards the end of the lap Max Verstappen triest to overtake Piastri, who bails out and goes into the pits.
Piastri comes back out on medium slicks, with both Audi’s plummeting down the order on their intermediates. This does provide some action in the midfield, but also shows the intermediate was the wrong gamble.
Norris stops a lap later and hands the lead over to Antonelli who immediately is attacked by Russell, who wisely backs off. Back on track on mediums, Norris overshoots turn 3, but can keep his car out of the wall. He is warned of the tricky conditions however.
Mercedes battle it out between themselves
As Antonelli is harvesting on the straight, Russell uses overtake to pass his team mate. The Italian youngster then locks his brakes and almost takes out the Briton but manages to take the escape road.
It takes a few moments for Antonelli to recollect himself, but he manages to get back close to the lead. Behind them Verstappen manages to have a late lunge at Hamilton for the final podium position.
In the midfield Norris is knocking on the door of the points, and when Ollie Bearman locks up, both Norris and Pierre Gasly can get by. Gasly also has to let Norris goe at the end of the pit straight.\
Suddenly Antonelli is back in the lead on the main straight due to his team mate locking up into the hairpin, but Russell immediately re-overtakes. The two continue to battle into turns 1 and 2.
The timing tower in the meantime shows Alex Albon dropping down the order and Piastri pitting. Replay reveals Piastri trying to overtake the Williams driver, but fails to do so without contact. This eliminates Albon, and causes Piastri to pit.
McLaren’s struggles aren’t over yet as Norris has to box for ‘reliability reasons’, dropping him back to 14th. All this while the two Mercedes drivers keep fighting and Nico Hülkenberg is under investigation for speeding in the pit lane.
Mistake-mayhem at the hairpin
Russell again locks up in the hairpin, but this time Antonelli cannot capitalise. With Verstappen and Hamilton more than five seconds behind, this will be for the lead.
And while Hamilton closes in on his arch nemesis, the focus remains at the front as Antonelli again attacks Russell. The initial attempt into turn 1 fails, but at the end of the lap Russell again makes a mistake in the hairpin, This time Antonelli manages to pass his team mate, and immediately tries to make a gap to him.
Piastri in the meantime is given a 10-second time penalty for clobbering Albon, adding insult to injury for the Ozzy.
Antonelli apparently felt sorry for Russell as he locks up into the hairpin as well. This gives Russell the chance to get back, and the Mercedes duo goes side-by-side into the chicane. And because two into one doesn’t fit, both drivers cut the corner. Antonelli is then summoned by his team to give the position back, to the youngster’s dismay.
While all of this happened, Verstappen has managed to create a five-second.gap to Hamilton. Charles Leclerc is 2 seconds further back, ahead of Isack Hadjar in sixth.
Big blow for Russell’s championship hopes
Halfway through lap 30 Russell suddenly goes straight in turn 8 and immediately stops to retire. He throws his headrest out and is clearly frustrated by his car cocking out on him. Replay shows his power unit giving up the ghost just ahead of the braking zone.
The resulting Virtual Safety Car prompts everyone to pit for new tyres, causing Hadjar to overtake Leclerc. The gap between them is small however, and after the VSC is lifted, the Ferrari driver is immediately on the attack. Hadjar defends strongly on the straight, forcing Leclerc to take to the grass. A defensive move too much for the stewards, who penalise him with a 10-second time penalty.
A few places further back Norris overtakes Gasly for eight, trying to recuperate some of his positions lost.
Hadjar and Leclerc keep battling it out at the meantime, as both lock up into the hairpin. The order remains the same for now, but next time around Leclerc manages to capitalise on a mistake by Hadjar.
Norris is the next driver to retire, as his gearbox refuses additional service en route to the hairpin.
The bottom step of the podium is currently for Hamilton, who has the fastest lap and is closing in on Verstappen, with about 25 laps left to go.
Leclerc suffering in silence
Sergio Pérez is suddenly shown with a broken suspension. Replays show that his right front simply breaks off while braking for pit lane. Whatever the reason, the 2026 F1 Canadian GP is starting to come a race of attrition, as just 16 cars are still in competition.
Carbon fibre from Peréz’s Cadillac forces race control to deploy another VSC and to close the pit entry. This gives a brave marshall the time to fetch the pieces and dive gracefully back behind the wall.
Hamilton comes on the radio being all excited to fight for second, which he should be as he has managed to halve the gap to Verstappen. His team mate is less happy on the radio, as he asks his engineer to stop talking until the last lap or when something critical happens.
Verstappen gets a bit of a relief with yet another VSC, forcing Hamilton to keep his distance. It also gives the opportunity to Piastri and Hadjar to cheaply take their penalties. When the VSC ends Leclerc manages to almost spin his car coming out of the chicane, but he saves it at the end.
Hamilton and Verstappen slug it out for P2
Hamilton quickly closes the gap to Verstappen and with 12 laps to go, the fight is on. Verstappen almost puts his car in the Wall of Champions, but Hamilton cannot find a way past yet. It gives Hamilton reason to complain for more power, as he is just a little to far away with 10 laps to go.
Antonelli in the meantime has little to fear. He is almost nine seconds clear of second place, and his Mercedes power unit is doing what it is intended to do.
With seven laps to go Hamilton capitalises on Verstappen harvesting into turn 1, overtaking the Dutchman for second place. Verstappen’s team mate in the meantime is given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a yellow flag infringement, but given his advantage over Franco Colapinto he remains in fifth.
Verstappen does not give up, and neither does Gasly further back, as he tries to overtake Lawson in the final chicane. Both fail to make the corner and go straight ahead. A lap later Gasly tries again, but fails, despite both making the corner.
Piastri locks up in the final chicane as the field starts the final lap. He is lapped by the fighting duo of Hamilton and Verstappen, who keep pushing until the finish line. Nothing changes however, meaning that Antonelli wins the 2026 F1 Canadian GP. Behind him Hamilton and Verstappen cross the line. Fourth is Leclerc from Hadjar and Colapinto. Lawson manages to fend of Gasly for seventh. Sainz finishes ninth, with Bearman completing the top 10.
