Russell wins as Piastri and Norris clash - 2025 Canadian GP results

George Russell took his first victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season as the McLaren drivers collided in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Russell was under pressure from Verstappen all day long, but the Mercedes driver put on a controlled performance to cross the finish line ahead of Verstappen, who had to settle for second.

Kimi Antonelli completed Mercedes’ best weekend of the year by scoring his first Formula 1 podium at 18 years of age.

The Italian had to resist intense pressure from championship leader Oscar Piastri, who he himself had to fend off the attacks of team-mate Lando Norris.

As they fought for fourth place on lap 66, Piastri and Norris clashed, the Briton hitting the wall on the start-finish straight as he attempted to pass his team-mate.

Norris had passed Piastri on the hairpin, but the Australian had recovered the position going into the final chicane. Norris had a better exit and used his DRS, but Piastri moved to the left to defend and Norris had no room left.

The Briton went onto the grass and into the wall, causing heavy damage to his car and being was forced to retire.

Norris admitted on the radio that it had been his fault, as there was no room when he attempted to pass Piastri.

The safety car was deployed as a result of the accident, and the race finished under yellow flags.

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished in fifth and sixth, very far from the leading cars.

Aston Martin‘s Fernando Alonso scored for the second race in a row with seventh place ahead of Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber), Esteban Ocon (Haas) and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.

Williams’ Alexander Albon retired for the second race in a row. Liam Lawson also DNFed as he was asked to retire to protect the engine.

Russell and Verstappen made equally good starts and so there was no drama at Turn 1, the Mercedes staying ahead of the Red Bull. Antonelli, meanwhile, moved into third at the Turn 3 chicane by overtaking Piastri.

The leading duo initially opened a small gap over the chasing pack as Verstappen put Russell under pressure, although the Briton was unperturbed and managed to stay clear of DRS range.

Instead, it was Verstappen who eventually came under pressure from Antonelli, the young Italian catching up to the Red Bull by lap 10.

On lap 12, Antonelli was right behind at the back straight, opened the DRS and looked set to pass, but Verstappen went straight into the pits for his first stop, switching to hard tyres.

Mercedes reacted to Verstappen’s undercut attempt by pitting Russell on the following lap, also switching to hards and emerging ahead of the Dutchman. Antonelli also pitted, allowing Piastri to lead the race from team-mate Norris, who had started the race on hard tyres.

Piastri pitted on lap 17, also moving from mediums to hards, Norris taking the lead from Leclerc, another hard-tyre starter.

Russell moved up to second on lap 27 by overtaking Leclerc, who pitted two laps later as Verstappen was right behind him. The Ferrari driver was given another set of hard tyres, and he complained on the radio that he didn’t understand the decision, later questioning the team’s choice as it meant he would need to pit again.

Norris made his stop on lap 30, returning to the race in fifth position, on medium tyres.

It meant Russell returned to the lead, the Mercedes driver enjoying a healthy gap of around four seconds over Verstappen.

Verstappen was the first of the leaders to pit for the second time on lap 38, fitting another set of hards. Antonelli pitted on the following lap and returned right behind the Red Bull.

Russell made his second stop with 26 laps to go, rejoining the race 3.5 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

The McLaren drivers pitted moments later as Piastri started to come under more pressure from Norris.

Leclerc pitted from the lead with 17 laps left to switch to mediums, but not before another complaint about Ferrari’s strategy.

The final stop helped Piastri pick up the pace, the Australian catching Antonelli with 15 laps to go as the top five were covered by around five seconds, with Norris right behind Piastri.

With four laps to go, however, the McLaren duo made contact, triggering a safety car that meant the race finished under yellow.

2025 Canadian GP results