George Russell capped his 2025 Canadian GP victory on Sunday by getting the fastest lap of the race with a 1.14.119 around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Mercedes man converted his pole position with relative ease, keeping Max Verstappen at bay.
This is the first victory of the season for Russell and Mercedes, and it was made even sweeter by teammate Kimi Antonelli securing P3 and becoming the third-youngest driver to sit on the podium in F1 history.
A mix of strategies from various drivers in the top six meant that Russell spent large parts of the race not actually in P1, but it was always clear that he was the net leader. In the final stint, there was a spell where Verstappen almost got within DRS range of the Mercedes, but Russell soon found his feet again and rebuilt the advantage to almost three seconds.
The final few laps of the race in Montreal proved to be incredibly easy for the British driver as a crash involving the two McLaren‘s resulted in the contest ending behind the safety car.
Antonelli showed wisdom beyind his years to get ahead of Oscar Piastri on Lap 1, having started the race behind the Australian. That move proved to be pivotal as the Italian was then able to keep the McLaren at bay for the rest of the race, especially once Lando Norris had started to battle with his own teammate.
As Russell said to the press after the race, there was a lot of happiness in the paddock that Antonelli had secured what will presumably the first podium of many in his Formula 1 career.
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
“I’m so happy to see Kimi [Antonelli] on the podium as well, it’s an amazing day for the team. Thanks to everybody back at the factory who have been working so hard to get us back fighting for victories and it feels good,” Russell said.
A rare bad day for McLaren
The 2025 F1 season has almost felt like a dream for McLaren so far, with both of their drivers securing big points almost every weekend. It has always been clear, though, that at some point they would find themselves battling for position in close proximity.
As Norris made his way up behind Piastri towards the end of the race, McLaren had the choice of releasing him to attack Antonelli, or letting their drivers race. They chose the latter, and that battle came to cost the team plenty of points at the very end of Lap 66.
Norris had made his way past Piastri at the hairpin but they ended up side-by-side down the back straight before holding position through the chicane. Norris got a great run on his teammate, but proved too impatient as he tried to move up the inside when the space simply didn’t exist.
There was contact between his front wing and the rear-left of Piastri‘s car, and that led to the Englishman’s McLaren munching it’s own front wing and forcing Norris into the wall. He was quick to apologise on the radio and take the blame, but that is 10 points lost in his battle with Piastri for the World Championship.
