Kimi Antonelli claimed his fourth win of the season in rain-soaked Montréal, extending his championship lead to 43 points as Russell retired from pole — and Lewis Hamilton hunted down Max Verstappen in a late-race battle for second.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve delivered Formula 1's first wet race of the 2026 season — and with it, a dramatically reshuffled running order. George Russell had claimed pole position on Saturday, but his race ended inside the first few laps when a power unit failure brought his Mercedes to a halt, handing the effective lead to Antonelli.
Antonelli, starting from second on the grid, moved into the lead the moment Russell retired and managed the variable conditions with the same composure he had shown all season. His fourth victory in five rounds — with the only race he didn't win being the season opener, which he finished second — put the championship beyond doubt as the dominant narrative of the early 2026 season.
Lewis Hamilton provided one of the afternoon's most compelling moments with a late-race pass on Max Verstappen that settled the battle for second. Hamilton, who told his engineer he was "loving" hunting down the four-time champion, executed the move at the chicane with precision and held on over the final laps to finish 10.768 seconds behind Antonelli. Verstappen crossed the line just half a second back.
For Red Bull, third place was their best result of the season. The wet conditions appeared to suit the RB22 more than the dry, offering the first real glimpse that the car might have more potential than the early flyaway rounds had suggested.
McLaren's afternoon was defined by controversy rather than performance. Oscar Piastri, who had been running in points-scoring position, criticised his team's tyre strategy publicly after the race, saying the call had made them "look like idiots." Team principal Andrea Stella defended the decision, but the result had undeniably not gone to plan.
The weekend's strangest subplot involved George Russell, who received a suspended fine from the stewards for throwing an item from his car during the race — an unusual infraction that added a strange footnote to what had already been a difficult afternoon for the championship's second-placed driver.
Canada was the clearest statement yet of Antonelli's championship credentials. His 43-point lead over Russell — who had now suffered a costly retirement — was substantial enough to make the Italian the strong favourite. Hamilton's consistency for Ferrari kept the Scuderia firmly in the constructors' picture, while Red Bull's first podium of the season hinted at improvement to come.
Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix driving for Mercedes. Race time: 1:28:15.758 over 70 laps.
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) — 1:28:15.758; 2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +10.768s; 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +11.276s.
George Russell (Mercedes) took pole position at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal.
