MONTREAL — George Russell claimed victory at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix for Mercedes, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had a collision that led to Norris retiring from the race.
The crash happened as Piastri and Norris were closing in on Kimi Antonelli, who was in third place late in the race. On lap 67 out of 70, Norris miscalculated while trying to overtake Piastri, hitting his teammate’s left rear wheel and damaging his own front wing.
He then collided with the pit wall and had to pull over. This meant the race concluded under the safety car, confirming Russell’s win.
To achieve this victory, Russell made an excellent start from pole position, despite all eyes being on Verstappen before the race due to concerns about a possible ban if he caused an incident.
However, the first lap went smoothly for the leaders. Behind them, Antonelli passed Piastri, while Norris struggled to move up after a disappointing qualifying session.
Verstappen challenged Russell fiercely at the beginning, but Russell eventually pulled ahead. Antonelli showed enough speed to put pressure on Verstappen for second place before the Dutch driver made his pit stop.
When Mercedes called in Russell and then Antonelli to counter Verstappen, it forced the leaders into a two-stop strategy on one of the hottest days of the event in Montreal. Piastri, who was further back at that point, also followed this strategy.
Norris started on hard tires with a different plan and extended his first stint, briefly taking the lead and seeming like he might attempt a one-stop strategy before completing a short middle stint on medium tires, which led to a disappointing end for him.
Russell maintained his lead over Verstappen during their second stops while navigating through plenty of lapped cars. Antonelli got close to overtaking Verstappen before their second pit stops and almost succeeded right after his final stop.
Charles Leclerc finished fifth behind Piastri while waiting in line behind the safety car; he had used a similar strategy as Norris. Lewis Hamilton took sixth place after damaging his car early by hitting one of the track’s groundhogs. Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Carlos Sainz completed the top 10, while Liam Lawson and Alex Albon both retired due to engine problems.
