Canada - Race

After yesterday's surprise pole from George Russell, the scene was set for a race that could see a winner who didn't come from either McLaren or Red Bull. That was, of course, provided that the British driver would be able to keep the cars of his opponents behind him for the full 70 laps of the race. 

Russell had a good launch off the line, as did his teammate, Kimi Antonelli. The young Italian quickly moved past Oscar Piastri and found himself in third. This was the only change in the front of the field.  Further down the back, Alex Albon began the race on the wrong foot as he fell three places after a fight with Isack Hadjar. 

Very little happened in the opening laps of the race. The action picked up slightly on lap 11. It was then that Lando Norris managed to overtake Alonso to find himself in P6, and Antonelli almost found a way past Verstappen. Just as the Mercedes was about to catch the Red Bull, Verstappen dove into the pit lane, denying the Brit the pleasure of the overtake. Russell pitted a lap later and kept his lead over the Red Bull. This made Antonelli the temporary race leader until lap 15, during which he changed his tires and fell back behind Verstappen 

Soon enough, most of the top contenders changed their tires. The only two who waited longer were Norris and Charles Leclerc, both of whom began the race on hards. The Ferrari driver was called into the pits on lap 28, despite him claiming that the tires were good and that he would be able to pull off a possible one-stop. Norris followed his lead a lap later. 

At the halfway point of the race, Russell was still the leader, with Verstappen and Antonelli making up the rest of the top three. They were followed by the two McLarens and two Ferraris. The order was kept relatively unchanged after the second wave of pit stops. 

The race wasn't going that well for some of the midfielders and backmarkers. On lap 49, Albon brought out a temporary yellow flag as his car stopped due to a mechanical failure. He wasn't the only power unit-related retirement. A few laps later, Liam Lawson was told to box and retire his RB. Lance Stroll, the home hero, did finish the race, unlike the previous two, but he crossed the finish line last, having been given a 10-second penalty for an incident involving him and Pierre Gasly. 

With only a handful of laps to go, the top five cars were all very close together. The biggest fight seemed to be brewing between the two McLarens, fighting for the World Championship. Norris began trying to attack his teammate on lap 63, but his big attempt came three laps later. It was then that he managed to temporarily move past Piastri on Canada's famous hairpin. Piastri wasn't going to give the position back easily. He fought with Norris on the following straight and reclaimed the P4. 

But Norris wasn't done quite yet. As the two found themselves on the start/finish straight, he tried to squeeze between Piastri and the wall, only to make contact with his teammate and end his race prematurely. The accident brought out a safety car that stayed on track until the end of the race, ensuring Russell's first win of the season. Verstappen had to settle for second, while the young Antonelli stood on the Formula One podium for the first time in his career.

Order of the grid:

1. George Russell

2. Max Verstappen

3. Kimi Antonelli

4. Oscar Piastri

5. Charles Leclerc

6. Lewis Hamilton

7. Fernando Alonso

8. Nico Hulkenberg

9. Esteban Ocon

10. Carlos Sainz

11. Oliver Bearman

12. Yuki Tsunoda

13. Franco Colapinto

14. Gabriel Bortoleto

15. Pierre Gasly 

16. Isack Hadjar

17. Lance Stroll 

DNF: Lando Norris, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon