George Russell took a commanding win at the Canadian Grand Prix 2025, putting in one of his best performances in Formula 1. The British Mercedes driver started from pole position and held off attacks from Max Verstappen, who crossed the line just two tenths of a second behind. A tactical, mistake-free and cold-blooded race marked Russell’s first win of the year and put him firmly in the championship hunt.
The decisive moment came with three laps to go, when an incident between the McLarens caused a safety car to freeze the positions. Russell had been leading the race until that point, and took advantage of the neutralisation to close the race without any problems. Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded off the podium with an impressive third place, the first of his young career, consolidating Mercedes’ momentum with both drivers in the top three.Russell shines in Montreal and returns Mercedes to victory.
Clash between McLarens
Disaster struck at McLaren’s home track when their two drivers, in the middle of a fight for fourth place, collided at Turn 8. Lando Norris tried to overtake Oscar Piastri on the outside, but there was not enough room and the two drivers touched. Norris’ car was damaged and out of the race, while Piastri was able to continue and finish fourth.
Norris acknowledged his responsibility as soon as he got out of the car: “It was my fault, no doubt. I shouldn’t have tried there“. The incident not only deprived the team of a possible double podium finish, but also further heated up the internal Woking situation. Piastri extends his World Championship lead to 22 points over Norris and consolidates his position as championship leader. The team confirmed that they will analyse the clash internally to avoid a repeat of such a costly mistake.
Hamilton runs over a groundhog, Red Bull launches another protest
The race in Montreal left some unusual and controversial moments. Lewis Hamilton experienced one of the most unexpected episodes of the weekend when he accidentally ran over a groundhog in the middle of the track. The impact damaged the floor of his Ferrari, compromising the car’s aerodynamics. Despite the mishap, the Briton managed to finish in sixth position, although he could not hide his frustration at what had happened and at not having been able to fight higher up the field.
Red Bull, meanwhile, lodged a new protest, this time against George Russell, alleging that the Mercedes driver had made improper manoeuvres during the safety car period. According to the Austrian team, Russell allegedly braked sharply to hurt Verstappen. However, after reviewing the data, the stewards dismissed the complaint, fully validating the Briton’s victory. It is the second failed protest from the Milton Keynes-based team so far this season.
