George Russell left the Canadian Formula 1 GP without the victory that seemed within his reach, but received public praise from Mercedes after a weekend considered exemplary. For Bradley Lord, the team’s deputy director, the Briton delivered a performance worthy of victory but was hindered by circumstances beyond his control.
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The assessment reinforces the feeling of frustration within the team, which saw one of its cars win the race while the other retired, still in contention for the top positions. The result cost Russell important points in a championship that promises to be increasingly competitive throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season.
In Montreal, both Mercedes drivers were protagonists. Russell and Kimi Antonelli engaged in an intense battle during the Sprint race, won by the Briton, and again fought for positions in the main GP. However, the fight ended prematurely when Russell had to retire on lap 30, and Antonelli won.
Besides losing the chance to fight for victory, the British driver also missed out on a significant number of points. The retirement could have important consequences in the championship standings, especially considering the balance among the main contenders this season.
During an appearance on the Silver Arrows Radio podcast, Lord commented on the conflicting emotions experienced by Mercedes after the Canadian race. According to him, celebrating a win while another team car retires is not a simple situation: “It’s always a strange feeling when one car wins the race and the other retires through no fault of the driver. It’s very hard to feel complete joy when you see so many points slipping away,” said the director.
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Lord made a point of emphasizing that Russell was not responsible for the final result. In the Mercedes representative’s view, the Briton’s performance throughout the weekend fully justified a victory at the Canadian GP.
“It was absolutely not George’s fault. He drove brilliantly all weekend,” he said. The director also recalled that Russell accumulated impressive results throughout the event, showing speed and consistency in all decisive sessions.
Besides the Sprint win, Russell secured two pole positions during the weekend, for the Sprint and the GP, something that, for Lord, further reinforces the quality of his performance: “I think he would have been a very deserving winner of the GP as well, after the performance he had by securing two pole positions and winning the Sprint,” concluded the director, lamenting the outcome of a GP that could have ended with Russell on the top step of the podium.
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