George Russell claimed his fourth Formula One victory at this year’s Canadian Grand Prix which helped Mercedes catapult back up to second place in the constructors championship. Russell made good use of his pole position by defending his lead from Verstappen at the race start and then driving flawlessly throughout the duration of the race. Both Mercedes drivers opted for a two stop strategy which resulted in their first double podium of the season. While this monumental performance by Mercedes was given a lot of attention, the clash between the title fighters at McLaren produced the most shock around the circuit.
In the closing laps, Piastri was putting an immense amount of pressure on Antonelli who was in third place. As the race continued, Piastri couldn’t find an opportunity to pass the Mercedes driver which helped Lando Norris close the gap to his papaya teammate. In the blink of an eye, Piastri was no longer fighting the Italian rookie, but his teammate instead.
Lap after lap went by and it seemed like an impending collision was all but certain between the McLaren drivers. The two pilots were battling to maintain their position and Norris was getting ready to jump on any opportunity given to make a move. Then at the very end of lap 66, it happened. After exiting the hairpin in front of the grandstands, both Piastri and Norris had the DRS advantage, which led to a drag race down the main straightaway. Both drivers managed to get through straightaway and chicane unscathed but the race to turn one created mayhem. Norris dived to the inside thinking there was room to pass, but he misjudged the situation. Norris ended up hitting the rear of Piastri’s car which led to Norris crashing into the wall and out of the race. On the radio Norris held himself accountable for causing the collision which will ease any tension in the McLaren garage and make the situation easier to process. Norris is now 18 points behind his Australian teammate but with there still being 13 races left, not including sprint weekends, the season is far from over.
Due to the incident between the McLarens, the race ended under the safety car which saw Kimi Antonelli cross the line in third place. Antonelli is now the third youngest podium finisher in Formula One history behind four time world champion Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll. Antonelli had a stressful final stint with multiple papaya threats chasing after him. At first Antonelli was just trying to defend from Piastri but once he saw the McLaren struggle, Antonelli decided to set after Verstappen in hopes of attaining P2. But while he was pushing after the Dutchman, his front left tire began to degrade rapidly which ended up with both McLaren drivers catching up to him. Seeing both MCL38s in your mirrors is without a doubt a frightening sight so it’s safe to say that Antonelli was relieved to see the checkered flag and celebrate his maiden podium finish.
McLaren weren’t the only team that had a bumpy Canadian Grand Prix as Ferrari had to navigate some hurdles as well. During the race Leclerc and his pit wall were discussing which strategy call was the best decision to make. Over the radio Ferrari suggested going with the two stop strategy but Leclerc responded by saying he believed the one stop was the better option. Leclerc was then brought into the pits on lap 28 which signified that Ferrari opted for the two stop instead. Leclerc was perplexed as to why they made the call and he thought everyone was on the same page on going with the one stop. Miscommunications in the Ferrari radio has not been surprising this year and it continues to harm the team’s ability to extract everything out of the Grand Prix weekends. Ferrari will be hoping to get back to the drawing board and find a better way to make key decisions without the mix ups. Hamilton also had a bumpy race but not just metaphorically, but literally as well. During the race Hamilton hit a ground hog while approaching the heavy braking zone at turn ten. Fred Vasseur told the media that this incident caused Hamilton to lose 20 points of downforce which definitely affected Hamilton’s pace. After coming off of a great triple header Ferrari were hoping to bounce right back with a good result but they just couldn’t muster up any magic at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix.
Next up on the calendar is the Austrian Grand Prix, home of the Red Bull Ring. While this circuit is the shortest track measured by lap time, it’s one of the most technical on the schedule because just one slip up can ruin a qualifying run. Every team will be aiming to bring their A game and walk away with solid points.