Antonelli wins in Canada as Russell's title challenge suffers setback
Kimi Antonelli’s fourth straight win in Montreal came after George Russell’s power unit failure, stretching the Mercedes teenager’s title lead to 43 points.
Kimi Antonelli turned the Canadian Grand Prix into the clearest marker yet of his championship surge, winning at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after George Russell stopped from the lead with a power unit failure. The Mercedes teenager’s fourth consecutive Formula 1 victory widened his advantage over Russell, with multiple reports putting the gap at 43 points after Montreal. Lewis Hamilton finished second for Ferrari, with Max Verstappen third.
For a race that had already been shaped by Mercedes tension, Russell’s retirement shifted the title picture sharply in Antonelli’s favour. The two drivers had been locked in a tight internal fight throughout the weekend, and the Canadian Grand Prix followed a tense Sprint on Saturday that Russell won after contact and frustration for Antonelli. What had looked like a close, volatile duel inside Mercedes instead became a result that underlined Antonelli’s momentum and Russell’s vulnerability.
Antonelli’s form now matters as much as Russell’s misfortune. Four straight wins are not the product of one lucky afternoon; they reflect a run of pace and consistency that has started to separate Antonelli from the rest of the field. In Montreal, the defining issue was not only Antonelli’s speed but Mercedes’ execution and reliability, with Russell losing the race through a mechanical failure while still leading. That made the team battle, rather than an outside challenge from Ferrari or Red Bull, the central storyline of the title race.
The victory was not clean in the way a driver prefers, and Antonelli made that clear afterward. He said it was “not really the way I wanted” to win, a reminder that the decisive moment came through Russell’s retirement rather than a straight strategic pass or late-race duel to the flag. Even so, the points swing was decisive. The Canadian Grand Prix, run over 68 laps in Montreal, may now be remembered as the moment the title race stopped looking theoretical and began to take shape around Antonelli.
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