The Race Insider

The Sprint

Nine out of the eleven teams have introduced upgrade packages for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Mercedes and McLaren headline the grid with major updates, while Ferrari and Aston Martin were the only teams opting to keep the cars the same. Mercedes revealed their first major update of the 2026 season, featuring revisions to the front wing, floor, and corners, alongside a new clutch to improve race starts. McLaren brought the second stage of their major upgrade package, with a brand-new front wing, engine cover revisions, halo fairings, and updated suspension fairings to increase downforce. Red Bull focused heavily on reliability and setup configuration, bringing revised front wing flaps, modified floor edges, and updated front brake duct geometry for Montreal’s unique cooling demands. Haas has delivered their first significant upgrade package, featuring a new floor, a sidepod inlet, and an engine cover, while Alpine introduced a new floor and rear wing.

George Russell lines up ahead of Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, starting the sprint in a Mercedes 1-2. McLaren follows behind with Lando Norris sitting in fourth, and Oscar Piastri starting in fourth position. Behind them are the two prancing horses, with Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari lined up in 5th position and Charles Leclerc following close behind in 6th. Continuing an impressive rookie season start, Arvid Lindblad qualifies 9th for the sprint in his Racing Bull car, despite a difficult start to the weekend for Racing Bull’s other driver, Liam Lawson, who was forced to stop early in practice and miss sprint qualifying entirely. Following a crash in FP1, Esteban Ocon managed to qualify in 14th place, one spot ahead of his Haas teammate, Oliver Bearman, while Canadian driver, Lance Stroll starts the sprint in 17th position, at him home race. Four drivers start the race from the pitlane, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman and Valtteri Bottas, taking the opportunity to make changes to their car’s setups.

With new upgrades and heavy expectations as Mercedes lead both the drivers and constructors’ championships, all eyes are on the Mercedes drivers at the front of the grid. As the lights went out, both Russel and Antonelli maintained position on the opening lap, for the first time this season. During lap 5, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar’s unlucky streak continued as a reported engine problem doomed his session. After a trip to the pits for repairs during lap 9, Hadjar rejoined the race. No longer competitive enough to fight for points, the session turned into more practice for the Red Bull team, as they collected valuable data. At the front of the pack, Russell’s position was being challenged by his 19 year-old teammate, Kimi Antonelli, the current championship leader. Towards the end of lap five, Antonelli attempted to pass Russell. His attempt was unsuccessful as he ended up cutting the corner of turn 1 before going off the road again.

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Following the scruffle, Antonelli condemns Russell’s defence and complained that his teammate should be handed a penalty for forcing him off the track. As Norris capitalized on the young Italian’s mistakes, Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff was heard over the radio encouraging Kimi to focus on the driving and not “on the radio moaning.” With a confident Lewis Hamilton in Kimi’s mirrors, Antonelli was forced to focus on defending the Ferrari. As the only driver in the season so far to beat Mercedes, during the Miami sprint, Norris’s driving felt very determined as he continued his push towards Russell. However, after Albon pitted during lap 15, his outlap caused traffic that complicated things for an already stressed Russell. Blocking his path temporarily, George was quick to complain on the radio that the Williams driver was driving in the middle of the road. Meanwhile, in P4, Lewis Hamilton continued to defend his spot from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who was quick behind. Lewis, tied for most wins at the Canadian Grand Prix (Both Hamilton and Schumacher have taken home 7 wins from the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve), was racing around the track with a palpable confidence. Using all of the track during the entirety of the race, the 7 time world champion hit the wall at turn 13, while continuing to fiercely defend fourth place. Continuing his fight for more points, Antonelli ran wide again, forcing him to settle into third place, with the tail-end of Lando Norris’s McLaren and George Russell’s Mercedes taunting the championship leader.

The race concluded with George Russell in first, maintaining his qualifying position, followed by Lando Norris, and then Russell’s Mercedes teammate who was unable to maintain track position. McLaren’s second driver, Oscar Piastri followed behind, with the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton taking home 5th and 6th in the sprint, respectively. Max Verstappen’s unusual season continues as he rests in 7th place, followed by rookie Arvid Lindblad capping off the points in 8th place. Sergio Perez managed to pull the Cadillac into 11th place, a record finish for the American team’s inaugural season. However, following a 10 second penalty for forcing another car off the track, Perez finished in 14th place, one spot ahead of Nico Hülkenberg, who also suffered a 10 second time penalty for leaving the track. Home hero Lance Stroll finished the sprint in 16th place, a surprising result for the team, while teammate Fernando Alonso retired from the race.

Following the sprint, George Russell’s win narrowed Kimi Antonelli’s lead to 18 points after their on-track clash.

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Qualifying

Following the sprint race, the teams were back out on the track for the qualifying session. Even before the pit-lane lights turned green, Alonso was noted for an unsafe release as Colapinto, approaching from behind, had to slam on his breaks to avoid contact with the senior driver. Similar to the sprint, many drivers were challenged with staying on track as Hulkenberg, Bortoleto and Leclerc all made on mistake or another. At the end of Q1, Ocon, Albon, Alonso, Perez, Stroll and Bottas were knocked out, while the faster paces of Antonelli, Norris, Piastri, Hadjar, Hamilton and Leclerc paved the way for the rest of the grid. Several drivers complained of performance issues, such as Verstappen who stated that he couldn’t “get his front tyres in the window,” struggling to keep them in the optimal temperature range on the track, also commenting that his RB22 was lacking in straight-line speed. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Leclerc was also struggling, grappling for P9. Meanwhile, on fresh soft tyres, Antonelli’s lap times improved into a 1:13.076 time, putting him ahead of Norris. Mercedes teammate George Russell, nearly 0.6 seconds behind, went into the run-off zone of turn 1, still struggling with his car, which he complained “felt worse today than yesterday” earlier in the session. Bearman and Lawson continued the track-limits trend, with Bearman utilizing the run-off area at turn 8 and the final chicane, and Lawson cutting the corner at turn 14. In the final minute of Q2, however, Hadjar displaced Antonelli with a time of 1:12.975. In the 15 minutes of Q2, drivers Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Lawson, Gasly, Sainz and Bearman failed to advance. Towards the end of the session, Russell clinched pole position for Sunday’s race, with a time of 1:12.578. Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli holds second place, 0.68 second behind. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri clinch a McLaren second row, starting the Grand Prix in the same order as the earlier sprint. Following the papaya cars are Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, two of the most successful drivers on the current grid. Isack Hadjar in 7th and Charles Leclerc qualifying in 8th follow closely behind their teammates. The only 2026 rookie, Arvid Lindblad is close behind the monegasque driver, and Franco Colapinto rounds out the top 10. Home hero, Lance Stroll qualifies in 21st position and the Canadian Grand Prix, two places behind Fernando Alonso, while Valtteri Bottas sits at the end of the pack.

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The Race

Before the race started, Lance Stroll opted to start from the pit lane to change his power unit. Meanwhile, the teams struggled to choose between the intermediate and the slick tires as the Montreal track becomes increasingly cloaked in a layer of mist. Both of the McLarens opt for the intermediate tyres, a long with 5 other drivers along the grid, with other teams opting for either the mediums or the softs. The Mercedes at the front of the grid sit on the soft tyres as the formation lap is underway. As the cars line up on the grid, the start is abandoned by race control as Lindblad, the 2026 rookie, states that his car wouldn’t go into gear. Antonelli suffered from a false start, however he would not go on to be penalized as an extra formation lap begins, giving the Racing Bulls team time to push Lindblad’s car off the grid. As the cars line up once again, it is announced that a third formation lap will be underway, shortening the race from 70 laps, to a reduced 68 laps. For the final time, the cars line up and the lights go out. Immediately off the line, Norris overtakes both Mercedes, while Piastri dropped back into the grid. Piastri, who disapproved of the intermediate tyre gamble during the formation laps, went immediately to the pitlane to rid himself of the “mistake” of a tyre choice, as the track continued to dry. Amidst the first lap chaos, Antonelli also managed to pass his teammate, as he raced in second behind the reigning champion. The young Mercedes driver managed to lead in lap 3 as Lando Norris followed his teammate into the pits. After pitting, both McLarens dropped into the midfield, negating Norris’s excellent start as Hamilton and Verstappen follow the Mercedes, battling for first. By lap 5, all 7 drivers who started on the intermediate tyres have pitted, replacing them. By lap 6, the Mercedes team battle begins to pick up speed as Russell overtakes Antonelli for the lead after an unfortunately timed lockup. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen also begin a battle for third as Verstappen clinches third due to late braking. This prompts the 7 time world champion to complain on his radio, stating that he had no power. At the front, Russell builds a one-second lead from Antonelli, with Verstappen 2 seconds behind Kimi, followed by Hamilton and Leclerc. After making an early pitstop, Oliver Bearman found his way up to ninth, 33 seconds behind Russell. On lap 12, Kimi overtakes Russell, then Russell reclaims his position in wheel to wheel “yo-yo” racing. During lap 13, a yellow flag slows the grid as debris is being collected on track. Oscar Piastri is back in the pits to change his front wing, following his collision with William’s Alexander Albon, which resulted in the yellow flag. When Piastri emerges from the pit, he is almost a lap behind the leaders, continuing McLaren’s bad luck so far in the Grand Prix. The Mercedes drivers continue their scrap at the front, while Lando Norris comes in for a second early stop due to a “reliability problem.” After the contact with Piastri, it is revealed that Alex Albon joins Arvid Lindblad in the garage, retiring from the race. Oscar Piastri, found to be at fault for the crash with the Williams, was handed out a 10 second time penalty, effectively crushing the Australian driver’s hopes for points in this session. At the same time, the Mercedes lap Norris, with Max Verstappen five second behind the two silver arrows. Antonelli is back in the lead for lap 23, but Russell snatches it back after Antonelli locks up at the hairpin. Kimi makes a move, attempting to retake, almost making contact with his teammate. He narrowly gets the lead back, but is told to give the radio back. The 19 year-old driver complies, but not without complaint as he argues against the orders. “What’s the point?” he asks, claiming that he was ahead and that the position should be his. The tension between the Mercedes continues to build following their scrap in the sprint the day before. Then, Fernando Alonso pulls into the pit lane, and then retires despite reaching P10 earlier in the race.

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Then, the Mercedes battle comes to a climax as George Russell goes off track, slows down and parks his car on the side of the track. Virtual safety car conditions lead to many cars pitting, including Antonelli, while George Russell angrily throws his headrest down, storms past the barriers and throws his gloves on the ground. His furiosity is obvious as the dramatic stop is labelled a mechanical issue, bringing an abrupt stop to the Mercedes battle. The halt for Russell, in addition to ending his race, ended his 38-race streak without a retirement. At the same time, Hadjar makes defensive moves against the quickly approaching Leclerc, dangerously risking a crash. His moves are awarded with a 10 second penalty, whilst Hamilton is gaining on Verstappen. On lap 39, Charles Leclerc succeeds in overtaking Isack Hadjar for fourth place, one spot behind his teammate. Another dramatic retirement during lap 40 worsened McLaren’s already horrible race. “Something’s broken,” Lando Norris proclaims as he drives into the pit once again to end his race, after clawing back into the points despite earlier setbacks. He later recalls that “Everything turned off all of a sudden,” describing a lack of engine power and electronics. By this point, all three 2019 rookies have retired. During lap 43, Cadillac’s Sergio “Checo” Perez drives into the pit, after his broken suspension jeopardized his entire race, with a tyre pointing in the wrong direction. Perez’s issue closes the pit lane entry. His retirement brings the tally up to 6 retirements, leaving last place for the driver in 16th. By lap 50, Hamilton’s gap to Verstappen has been closed to 2.5 seconds as the Ferrari driver pulls his car to close the gap, while Verstappen struggles with tyre performance due to the cold temperatures on the track. Antonelli’s gap stays steady at 6.5 seconds. A virtual safety car, allowing Hadjar and Piastri to fulfill their 10-second penalties in the pit lane. 10 laps before the end, the battle for second intensifies as Hamilton lunges to try to pass Verstappen. Due to the 2nd place fight, Antonelli is able to extend his lead to 9 seconds, cruising towards victory. Lewis Hamilton is very late on the brakes during lap 62, overtaking Verstappen for second place, forcing Verstappen to hunt down the red car ahead. Hadjar is weighed down with another penalty, a stop-and-go this time, but it should not effect his final position. The race ends with Kimi Antonelli crossing the finish line for his fourth win in a row, following his maiden victory. Hamilton follows for second, making it his best finish in Ferrari, and Max Verstappen snatches his first podium of the 2026 season in third place.

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Further back in the grid, Colapinto celebrates his best ever race result, crossing the line in 6th place, 2 places ahead of his Alpine teammate. Despite a difficult weekend, Hadjar finished in P5, awarding 10 points to the Red Bull junior team. Additionally, following a challenging weekend at Miami, both Audi cars completed the entire race, finishing in 12th and 13th. Lance Stroll, the Canadian home race hero, managed a 15th place finish.

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Race Results

Rank	Driver	Team	Time
1	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	(1:28:15.758)
2	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	(+10.768s)
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	(+11.276s)
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	(+44.151s)
5	Isack Hadjar	Red Bulls	(+1 lap)
6	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	(+1 lap)
7	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	(+1 lap)
8	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	(+1 lap)
9	Carlos Sainz	Williams	(+1 lap)
10	Oliver Bearman	Haas	(+1 lap)
11	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	(+2 laps)
12	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	(+2 laps)
13	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	(+2 laps)
14	Esteban Ocon	Haas	(+2 laps)
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	(+4 laps)
16	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	(+4 laps)
17	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	DNF
18	Lando Norris	McLaren	DNF
19	George Russell	Mercedes	DNF
20	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	DNF
21	Alexander Albon	Williams	DNF
22	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	DNS