Kimi Antonelli and George Russell fought a ruthless duel at the Canadian Grand Prix – before the technology decided in Antonelli’s favor.
Kimi Antonelli won the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday and significantly extended his lead in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship. The Mercedes driver won in Montreal ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari, +10.768 seconds) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull, +11.276 seconds), it was his fourth victory in a row.
As in previous races, the Mercedes were superior to the competition. Antonelli fought a close duel with his teammate George Russell for the first 30 of 68 laps until the Brit had to retire with engine failure while in the lead.
The only German driver, Nico Hülkenberg, finished 12th in the Audi.
Tire poker before the start of the race
Before the start, drizzle caused unrest and choosing tires was a tricky matter on wet roads. In contrast to much of the competition, McLaren relied on intermediates – and quickly regretted it.
Lando Norris made a surprisingly big impression at the start, jumping from third place past both Mercedes to the front of the field. But it was only a snapshot, on the third lap Norris came into the pits to switch to slicks – like all the drivers who started on intermediates. The messed up racing day ended for Norris with a defect on lap 40.
Exciting duel between Antonelli and Russell
The race was primarily driven by the team-internal Mercedes duel at the front. Antonelli and Russell attacked each other constantly and relentlessly, both also making small driving mistakes, which added to the tension. They even touched each other on the 24th lap, and the Mercedes crew must have taken their breath away several times. “I would have liked them to take out a little bit, but that didn’t happen,” said team boss Toto Wolff.
Antonelli and Russell had already clashed in the sprint race, and the spectators were able to follow the dispute on the team radio.
Russell after failure: “Pretty frustrated”
The duel in the race came to an abrupt end when Russell suddenly had to stop on lap 30 because his engine was apparently damaged. Annoyed, he threw his head on the road and left the track. In an interview with “Sky” he later said that he was “pretty frustrated” about his early exit.
Russell said about the duel with Antonelli: “It was great, I loved it. It was hard, tight – that’s what racing is all about.” Antonelli also later spoke of one “fun duel”.
Hamilton concedes to Verstappen
So the path was clear for Antonelli. His pursuer Verstappen kept up well, but continued to lose and was never within striking distance. Instead, Lewis Hamilton was approaching in the Ferrari in the rearview mirror – and on lap 62, the record world champion passed with a courageous maneuver.
The now 41-year-old had achieved the first of his 105 Grand Prix victories in Canada in 2007 and immediately warmly hugged his mother, who was there, as had been the case with his third place in China. “Having finally found the right place here is an incredible feeling for me”said Hamilton. The Briton is on the rise, also emotionally after a difficult first year at Ferrari.
Verstappen was still able to celebrate his first podium finish this year. “I had a few cool duels. Fighting at the front again is always more fun,” said the Dutchman.
Antonelli already has a decent lead
Further ahead, the 19-year-old Italian Antonelli confidently took home the victory and extended his lead over the unlucky Russell to 43 points.
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