Montreal, QC – George Russell scored his first win of 2025 after driving a controlled race from pole in the F1 Canadian GP, crossing the line behind a safety car caused by a late accident involving the championship leaders from McLaren.
Up to that point, Russell seemed in complete control of the race and was able to manage the gap to the rest of the field.
“I made up for last year,” said Russell, who started on pole at the Canadian GP in 2024 but could not convert it into a win in changing conditions. “It’s amazing to be back on the top step. I felt last year was a victory lost and then today we got the victory due to the incredible pole lap yesterday. We did have high expectations coming into this weekend and it worked out.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, with Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli taking his first career podium for third. It also went into the books as Mercedes’ first win of 2025 and its first since Russell won in Las Vegas last year.
While he made it look relatively easy, Russell said that the team must temper its expectations heading into the summer because the cooler temperatures in Montreal definitely helped to get the win.
After starting on pole, with Verstappen next to him, many wondered if the clash between the duo from the Spanish GP two weeks ago would carry over to Montreal. It didn’t as Russell got away well and led easily into Turn 1.
Verstappen harried the Mercedes driver as much as possible but could not mount a sustained challenge and settled for second.
“It was quite a good race even though, in the first two stints, we were struggling quite a bit on the tires,” the four-time world champion said. “We did the best we could.
“We were doing quite an aggressive strategy and luckily, on that final stint, we managed to hang in there. Actually, the pace was a bit better on a lower fuel load. I think that was the maximum possible for us today.”
A late battle for third between Antonelli and the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris caused the late safety car after Norris tried to muscle his way past and ended up in the wall with three laps to go.
“All my fault,” Norris told the team on the radio. “Stupid of me.”
The accident not only saw Norris retire but also allowed teammate Piastri, who ended the day fourth, to extend his championship lead to 22 points, 198-176. McLaren still holds a vice grip on the constructors title, with its 374 points almost doubling second placed Mercedes, with 199.
The safety car also sealed rookie Antonelli’s first podium, who screamed “oh my god, oh my god, thank you guys” to his team after he crossed the finish line.
“It was so stressful, but I’m super happy,” he said. “I had a good start and I managed to jump into P3 and stayed there up at the front. The last stint, I pushed a bit too hard behind Max and I killed the front-left a bit and I struggled a little at the end, but really happy to bring the podium home.”
After qualifying 18th, Canadian Lance Stroll ended his home race exactly where he started as the last runner, moving up to 17th at the finish courtesy of Norris’ accident. Stroll started 17th due to grid penalties.
“I’m not so pleased with this weekend overall,” the Canadian said. “It was always going to be difficult starting the race from P17, but I also didn’t feel like the car had the pace today to make up any positions.”
Several drivers incurred grid penalties after qualifying, with Racing Bull driver Isack Hadjar getting a three-place sanction for impeding Williams driver Carlos Sainz, while Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda got a 10-place grid penalty for passing Piastri as he drove his damaged car back to the pits during a red flag brought out by the McLaren driver’s accident.
That pushed Tsunoda to last on the grid but he ended up starting 18th, just behind Stroll, after both Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly started from the pit lane due to post-qualifying car changes.
