Kimi Antonelli Wins Record-Breaking Canadian GP as George Russell Retires From the Lead, Hamilton Shines for Ferrari

Kimi Antonelli made Formula 1 history on Sunday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, winning the Canadian Grand Prix to become the first driver in the sport’s history to win his opening four races consecutively. The 19-year-old Italian’s triumph was handed a dramatic boost when Mercedes teammate George Russell suffered a catastrophic power unit failure on lap 30 while leading the race, transforming what had been a tantalizing internal battle into an unexpected rout.

The victory extends Antonelli’s stranglehold on the 2026 World Drivers’ Championship. He now leads Russell by a mammoth 43 points — 131 to 88 — with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton third in the standings on 72 points after delivering his best result in the red overalls since joining the Scuderia.

Russell’s Cruel Exit Reshapes the Championship

The race had all the hallmarks of a classic Mercedes civil war in its opening stages. Russell and Antonelli swapped positions relentlessly across the first 30 laps, trading the lead on multiple occasions in front of the passionate Montreal crowd. Russell had appeared to be in command, having secured pole position in qualifying and dominated Saturday’s sprint race, but the cruelest of mechanical failures ended his weekend in an instant.

On lap 30, as Russell exited Turn 9 while leading, his Mercedes W16 simply switched off. Total power unit failure. No electronics. No proper braking. The car ground to a halt on the circuit, forcing the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car while the stricken machine was recovered.

“Everything turned off, all of a sudden as I went into the corner,” Russell told Sky F1 in disbelief. “The engine stopped, no electronics, no proper braking. A bit lost for words right now.”

Despite the gut-wrenching nature of the retirement, Russell spoke with measured frustration afterward. “I’m proud of my weekend, pole the sprint, won the sprint, pole in qualifying,” he said. “I was leading when I stopped. I had a good battle with Kimi. From my side, I don’t feel like there was anything more I could have done this weekend, so I’ll leave satisfied. Of course, I’m pretty damn frustrated with what’s happened but what more can I do.”

Chaos Before the Retirement — McLaren’s Disastrous Strategy

Sunday’s race at Montreal had begun in confusing fashion. Light drizzle ahead of the start prompted McLaren to commit both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to intermediate tyres, despite the circuit being predominantly dry. The decision proved catastrophic. As the additional formation laps cleared the track surface further — the result of Arvid Lindblad stalling on the grid before a lap had been completed — McLaren’s tyre call looked increasingly untenable.

Piastri pitted at the end of lap one. Norris followed a lap later. Both drivers were instantly buried deep in the midfield, their championship ambitions for the afternoon effectively over within the first few minutes of racing. Norris later retired with a mechanical issue of his own, while Piastri was further penalized ten seconds for striking Alexander Albon in a collision that also forced the Williams driver out of the race.

Fernando Alonso added his name to the growing retirement list on lap 27 with a reliability issue of his own, contributing to a total of six retirements on the day. Sergio Pérez, also a non-finisher, rounded out the cascade of exits.

Hamilton’s Ferrari Resurgence and the Battle for Second

With Antonelli cruising clear following the Virtual Safety Car restart, the real drama shifted to the battle for second between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Verstappen had moved ahead of Hamilton at the first corner on lap nine, with the seven-time world champion briefly complaining of a power deficit. But Hamilton refused to accept the position quietly.

Steadily reducing a gap that had swelled to several seconds, Hamilton closed on Verstappen in the closing laps, finally completing a spectacular overtake around the outside of Turn 1 on lap 62. He held the position to the checkered flag, sealing second place — his strongest result since joining Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season.

“These guys have welcomed me with open arms and it’s been pretty tough for the past year and a bit,” Hamilton said afterward. “So, to finally find our sweet spot and have a good weekend, it has been an amazing feeling to be back up here, especially with these guys being so quick and actually got to have a race with Max, which was great. I’m so happy. I love this track. I can’t wait to come back.”

Hamilton was equally bullish about Ferrari’s trajectory, noting that the team brought a significant upgrade package to Miami and that further developments are in the pipeline. Ferrari, he believes, is heading in the right direction. “Considering this is a real straight-line street circuit, and we just managed to hold on and get this result, that definitely gives me high hopes for what’s ahead. But we’ve got to keep pushing and keep trying to extract more.”

Antonelli’s Historic Dominance

The final podium — Antonelli, Hamilton, Verstappen — told its own story about the state of the 2026 championship. Verstappen, who enters the constructors’ standings battle far behind Mercedes, finished third on the road after being held at bay by Hamilton in the closing stages. Charles Leclerc rounded out the top four for Ferrari, with Isack Hadjar fifth for Red Bull despite collecting several time penalties during the race.

The top ten was completed by Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, and Oliver Bearman — a result that continued Alpine’s strong season, scoring points in both of its cars yet again.

As the paddock decamps toward Monaco, the championship picture is stark. Antonelli at 131 points has put himself in a position that few drivers his age have ever occupied in the sport’s history. He is four races in, four victories deep, and showing no signs of the pressure that has cracked more experienced rivals. Russell, 43 points back, must now hope Mercedes has resolved its reliability demons before the next race. For Hamilton, the result in Montreal offers genuine encouragement — and a reminder that the fight for the title, though distant, is not yet over.