Canadian Grand Prix 2026: Antonelli Does It Again

What a race. If you were lucky enough to stay up for the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday night, you got one of the most entertaining 68 laps of the season so far, and arguably the most dramatic finish to a title battle since the whole Antonelli versus Russell story started taking shape.

The Mercedes soap opera rolls on

From the moment the lights went out, it was clear this was going to be a scrap. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell had already been at each other's throats in the sprint on Saturday, and Sunday was more of the same. They traded the lead back and forth like neither of them had been told what team orders meant. There were lock-ups, run-offs, near misses, and at one point the team had to step in and warn them both to keep it clean or be told to hold position. Remarkable stuff for a team trying to win a constructors' title.

 Then, on lap 30, it all went sideways for Russell. Power unit gone, race over, helmet thrown, fists on the bodywork. You felt for him genuinely. He was in the lead, looked like he had the pace, and the championship gap to Antonelli now stands at 43 points. That is close to two full wins. Russell said afterwards that it feels like the pressure is off him now, which is either a healthy mindset or a very good piece of spin, depending on how you look at it.

Hamilton reminds everyone what he is

The subplot of the race was Lewis Hamilton doing what Lewis Hamilton does when everything clicks. He has had a rough few months at Ferrari, admitted himself that the simulator work was not translating to the track, and went to Montreal without having beaten Leclerc in any session across the previous two race weekends.

On Sunday, he was a different driver. He spent the second half of the race reeling in Verstappen, chipping away lap after lap, and on lap 62 he went around the outside into Turn 1 to take second. Clean, calculated, brilliant. He is 41 years old and he is still pulling moves like that on a four-time world champion.

There has also been some noise about his future at Ferrari and whether he will be there beyond 2027. He addressed it on Thursday in fairly emphatic terms, and then went and backed it up on the track. Sometimes that is the best answer.

McLaren's nightmare

Hard not to feel slightly sorry for McLaren, and also slightly baffled. Both cars started on intermediates on what was essentially a drying circuit. Norris got a brilliant launch and led briefly, but by lap two they were both in the pits swapping to slicks. From there it unravelled completely. Piastri collected Albon and got a penalty. Norris stopped later with a suspected gearbox failure. Neither scored a point.

Team principal Andrea Stella was measured in his explanation afterwards and made a fair point that the decision looked right when it was made, and the track dried faster than expected after two aborted starts. He is not wrong, but it does not make the result any easier to stomach if you follow McLaren.

The rest of the field

Further down the order there was plenty going on. Verstappen's third place was his first podium of the season, which tells you something about how difficult 2026 has been for Red Bull. He has already made noises about quitting if things do not improve, so a rostrum finish will at least have taken the edge off. His young team-mate Isack Hadjar came home fifth despite picking up a stop-and-go penalty for a yellow flag infringement, which was either impressive or a sign of how much pace the Red Bull had on the day, possibly both. Franco Colapinto continued to quietly get on with things for Alpine in sixth, and Liam Lawson held off Pierre Gasly to take seventh for Racing Bulls. Carlos Sainz added ninth for Williams, and Ollie Bearman grabbed the final point for Haas, which he admitted afterwards his team probably did not deserve given where they qualified. Fernando Alonso retired with a seat problem, which is one of the stranger retirements you will see all season.

Looking ahead

Monaco is next, in two weeks' time. Ferrari are expected to suit the circuit well, and Leclerc on home soil is always a different proposition. After Canada, Hamilton will fancy his chances of pushing him hard. Antonelli just needs to keep doing what he is doing, which right now looks suspiciously like everything.