George Russell won the Sprint race of the 2026 Canadian GP after holding off strong pressure from Lando Norris and his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, in a race marked by aggressive battles, radio complaints, and many position changes throughout the 23 laps contested in Montreal.
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The Sprint started with high expectations after Mercedes’ dominance in the Sprint qualifying. Russell and Antonelli formed the front row, while the two McLarens appeared right behind. The start, however, would be decisive under the new Formula 1 technical regulations, which have made car behavior at starts very unpredictable.
This time, Mercedes managed to avoid the problems that affected other teams in previous rounds. Russell and Antonelli had a very good start and quickly opened a gap over the rest of the pack. Behind them, Lewis Hamilton had an excellent start and overtook Oscar Piastri still on the first lap to take fourth place.
Meanwhile, the two Audis had a very poor start. Gabriel Bortoleto lost several positions in the first corners and continued dropping back in the early laps, even being overtaken by Liam Lawson, who had started from the pits. Hulkenberg also quickly lost pace after a mistake.
Up front, Antonelli began to pressure Russell from the third lap onwards. The young Italian showed much more pace and made several attempts on his teammate. The first stronger attempt came on lap 5, when he put the car side by side at turn 1 but ended up with no space. Shortly after, he attacked even more aggressively, touching wheels with Russell and running off the track.
The incident deeply angered Antonelli, who started complaining a lot on the radio, asking for a penalty for Russell. Mercedes tried to calm him down several times during the race, asking for focus on the result and fewer radio arguments. The tension increased even more when Antonelli made another mistake on lap 6 while attempting another overtake, running wide at turn 8 and allowing Norris to close in immediately.
From there, the race took on a new scenario. Norris began to pressure Antonelli and quickly entered the direct fight for victory. Meanwhile, Hamilton started to lose pace in the Ferrari and came under attack from Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
Another important moment in the Sprint involved Isack Hadjar. The Red Bull driver was having a good race behind Verstappen when he suddenly started losing power. Shortly after, he retired from the race.
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In the final laps, Russell faced intense pressure from Norris. The McLaren driver definitively joined the fight after Russell lost time encountering backmarkers, especially Alexander Albon. Even so, the Mercedes driver managed to maintain the lead and manage the gap until the checkered flag.
Behind them, Antonelli continued making mistakes. On the last lap, while attempting another aggressive move — this time on Norris — the Italian dived wide at turn 1, ran straight off, and lost position to the McLaren driver. The episode exactly repeated the type of error he had already made earlier during the Sprint.
Russell won the Sprint, followed by Norris and Antonelli. Piastri finished fourth after overtaking Hamilton in the final laps, while Leclerc also passed the seven-time world champion to close out the top 5. Hamilton dropped to sixth, Verstappen was only seventh, and Arvid Lindblad completed the points zone in eighth.
Bortoleto originally finished in 13th position, one behind his starting position, after a race heavily compromised by a poor start and lack of pace from Audi. However, a 10-second penalty for Sergio Pérez for pushing another driver off the track promoted the Brazilian to 12th at the end of the Sprint.
The Sprint reinforced Mercedes’ favoritism for the rest of the weekend in Montreal but also showed that McLaren and Ferrari remain close in race pace. As for Antonelli, despite the podium, he left the race clearly frustrated after losing positions due to his own mistakes and aggressive battles against Russell.
Formula 1 returns this Saturday (23) at 5 p.m. Brasília time with Qualifying, which sets the starting grid for the Canadian GP. Follow live and in real time on F1Mania.net.
Check the result of the Sprint race valid for the 2026 Canadian GP:
1) George Russell (Mercedes)
2) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes)
3) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes)
5) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
7) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford)
8) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford)
9) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes)
10) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes)
11) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford)
12) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
13) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari)
14) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari)
15) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
16) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda)
17) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari)
18) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari)
19) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes)
20) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes)
21) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford)
OUT) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda)
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