2026 Canadian GP Sprint Race: Russell Wins After Antonelli Drama

2026 Canadian GP Sprint race began with George Russell leading the field away from pole; while his temmate Kimi Antonelli lined up alongside him on the front row.

From the opening laps; Mercedes set the tone at the front, Russell and Antonelli quickly pulled away from the pack, at the end of the third lap, the gap to third placed Lando Norris was three seconds.

However, for a while, the race settled into a quiet rhythm among the front runners.

The real turning point came on lap six when Antonelli launched his first serious attack on Russell, going into the first corner, Antonelli tried to go around the outside to overtake Russell, but the move ended in a trip through the gravel, refusing to back off, Antonelli tried again on the same lap, only to run wide once more.

The errors cost him dearly; allowing Russell to retake full control at the front, with Norris moving up into second place and Antonelli third.

That moment briefly opened the door for Lando Norris to close right in on the front-running Mercedes; the McLaren driver capitalised on the situation and suddenly found himself back in the fight.

Even after the incident, Antonelli insisted over team radio that he had been forced wide, while the team urged him to settle back into rhythm and continue the race and focus on Lando Norris.

As the stint developed, tyre management became increasingly important. Antonelli struggled to regain his early pace, while Lewis Hamilton began applying pressure from behind, engaging in a close fight for position over several laps.

Meanwhile, Norris remained glued to Russell’s rear wing, waiting for any opportunity to strike as the gap hovered under a second through lap 11.

With ten laps remaining; the front three were covered by just over a second, setting up a tense finish.

Norris stayed close to Russell, Antonelli remained in the mix just behind, and the fight for the victory was still wide open.

Behind them, Piastri battled with Hamilton for fourth; with Charles Leclerc just behind them.

In the closing laps, the pressure only intensified, with two laps to go, Norris continued to shadow Russell; while Antonelli stayed within range, waiting for another chance.

The final lap brought one last twist, Antonelli again attempted to challenge Norris into Turn 1, but once again ran wide into the gravel at the same corner that had already cost him earlier in the race, and that moment effectively ended his hopes of second place.

Behind them; positions also shifted late on as Hamilton slipped back to sixth after losing ground in the final exchanges, Piastri moved up into fourth, Leclerc completing the top five.

At the front, Russell held firm under pressure to take victory in the 2026 Canadian GP Sprint, leading home Lando Norris in second and Kimi Antonelli in third.

2026 Canadian GP: Sprint Race Results

Canadian Results so far:

FP1 Results
Sprint Qualifying Results