George Russell claims Canadian Grand Prix victory as McLaren drama steals spotlight
George Russell delivered a composed and confident drive to win the 2025 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, but his triumph was somewhat overshadowed by a dramatic late-race collision between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The intra-team clash resulted in Norris crashing out just three laps before the chequered flag, drawing attention away from what was a superb performance by the Mercedes driver.
The race at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve began with a strong start from Russell, who managed to fend off Max Verstappen into Turn 1 and take command of the race. Verstappen slotted into second but was under immediate threat from Piastri, only to lose out to the fast-starting Kimi Antonelli as they approached Turn 3. Behind them, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Norris jostled for position, with Charles Leclerc, Nico Hulkenberg, and Franco Colapinto rounding out the early top ten.
Chaos briefly unfolded mid-pack when Alex Albon skated through the grass at the Turn 8 chicane, rejoining unsafely and losing three positions. As the field settled, Verstappen began pressing Russell for the lead, staying within DRS range while Antonelli held off Piastri in a battle for third. The early laps saw drivers cautiously manage overheating tyres, with track temperatures soaring above 50°C.
By Lap 6, Verstappen’s initial pressure had eased as he slipped out of DRS range, and the leaders began spreading out. In the midfield, Isack Hadjar was glued to Colapinto’s rear wing, heading a DRS train back to 16th-placed Carlos Sainz. Alonso, meanwhile, struggled for pace and was passed by Norris on Lap 11 at the Turn 10 hairpin.
Verstappen, complaining of excessive degradation on his medium tyres, pitted on Lap 12. Mercedes immediately responded to cover the undercut, bringing Russell in on Lap 13. Antonelli stopped a lap later, but the slightly slower in-lap cost him track position to Verstappen.
Norris, who had started on hard tyres, overtook Hamilton on Lap 15 and was soon leading the race as other front-runners cycled through pit stops. Piastri pitted on Lap 16, promoting Norris to provisional race leader, while Leclerc ran second on a similar long stint strategy.
Russell, now third on track and the highest-placed driver to have pitted, began regaining ground. Hamilton’s own race took a hit when he rejoined from the pits behind traffic, costing him close to 10 seconds before clearing the queue on Lap 20.
Leclerc stopped on Lap 27 for another set of hards, leaving him frustrated by the tyre choice, while McLaren called Norris in for mediums to attempt a bold one-stop strategy. With more than 40 laps to go, it was a gamble that could go either way.
The strategy initially paid off as Norris reeled in Piastri, who was now running on hard tyres. However, both Ferraris struggled for pace—Charles Leclerc sixth, Lewis Hamilton seventh—after the Brit had suffered a loss of 20 points of downforce due to a collision with a groundhog on Lap 13.
Max Verstappen made his second stop on Lap 37 to fend off a charging Antonelli and rejoined in clean air ahead of the Ferrari SF-25 cars. Mercedes reacted by bringing in Antonelli, but the Italian emerged just behind Verstappen in a tight battle.
Russell was then brought in for his second stop, emerging still in the lead, 3.5s ahead of Verstappen. Piastri inherited the lead briefly before pitting on Lap 47, falling behind Antonelli once again.
Further back, Lance Stroll squeezed Pierre Gasly into the grass at the final chicane. Although Gasly continued without major issues, the stewards handed Stroll a 10-second penalty for forcing another driver off track.
Norris made his final stop at the end of Lap 47, rejoining in sixth, while Albon retired shortly after due to power unit issues, becoming the race’s first retirement. Logan Sargeant followed later as the second driver to exit the race due to mechanical trouble.
Leclerc pitted again on Lap 53, clearing the way for a four-car scrap involving Antonelli, Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen. With 15 laps to go, Russell led Verstappen by just over two seconds, while Antonelli, Piastri, and Norris were covered by a similar margin in the battle for third.
Piastri’s tyres were seven laps fresher than Antonelli’s, and he gradually closed in. But Norris, on a charge, had joined the battle. The McLaren pair began fighting each other hard, with Norris initially passing Piastri at Turn 10 but running wide and failing to hold the position.
On Lap 67, disaster struck. As they raced down the front straight, Norris attempted to squeeze through a narrowing gap to the left of Piastri, making contact with his teammate’s left-rear tyre. The collision ripped off Norris’ front wing and sent him into the pit wall, ending his race.
The incident brought out the Safety Car with just three laps to go. McLaren pitted Piastri for fresh tyres, but the race ended behind the Safety Car, confirming Russell as the Canadian Grand Prix winner. Verstappen secured second place, while Kimi Antonelli celebrated his first career Formula 1 podium with third.
Piastri managed to finish fourth, followed by Leclerc in fifth and Hamilton in sixth. Alonso, Hulkenberg, and Ocon rounded out the points-scoring positions after a turbulent and eventful race in Montreal.
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