MONTREAL — George Russell claimed the first victory of the season for Mercedes, but the story of the day was the collision between McLaren teammates Sunday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Russell started the Canadian Grand Prix from the pole and took the lead from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen early in the running.
But as the race progressed, different strategies emerged throughout the pack, with some opting for a two-stop plan while others tried to nurse their Pirelli tires on a one-stop.
Most of the frontrunners executed a two-stop strategy, setting up for a thrilling finale as the gaps among the top five cars closed as the laps clicked off.
While Russell was leading Verstappen, point leader Oscar Piastri in a McLaren, was trying to catch Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli for third. However, Piastri’s teammate was close behind in fourth.
The spirited battle between teammates ended when Norris hit the back of Piastri’s car. Norris parked along the side of the race and apologized to the team for the incident over his radio.
With the Safety Car on the track because of Norris’ stricken car, Russell crossed the line to seal his fourth Grand Prix victory.
It was Mercedes first victory since Russell won in Las Vegas last November.
“It’s amazing to be back on the top step, obviously the last time for us was back in Vegas,” Russell said.. “I thought last year for us was a victory lost, and then obviously we got the victory today probably due to the incredible pole lap yesterday.
“So happy to see Kimi on the podium as well so it’s an amazing day for the team — thanks to everybody back at the factory who’s been working so hard to get us back fighting for victories. It feels good.”
Verstappen finished second, while Antonelli made it a double podium for Mercedes by taking third.
“Today we definitely maximized everything that we had available,” Verstappen said. “We drove quite a defensive race today and it was quite tough out there. The tire degradation was quite high and in the first two stints we were going through the tires quite quickly. We were quite aggressive with our strategy to stay ahead and during the last pit stop I thought it might be difficult to make it to the end.
“The last stint helped us a bit with the lighter fuel load and we were a bit more kind on the tires which was positive. If you look at the whole race this was the maximum result possible. We didn’t really have the pace to fight upfront and had a bit too much degradation to be in the fight for the win, so I’m happy to be P2.”
Piastri salvaged solid points by finishing fourth.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Fernando Alonso added to his points tally by claiming seventh for Aston Martin, while Nico Hulkenberg bolstered Sauber’s total by finishing eighth.
