George Russell secured his second sprint win of the season, holding off his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in a close battle at the Montreal sprint race. Russell started from pole position and defended against Antonelli through a close battle on lap six of 23. The two Mercedes started the race with another 1-2, and Russell was strong off the line with Antonelli holding close through the opening laps.
Things got intense at the end of lap five when Antonelli went to overtake his teammate. In turns 12/13, Antonelli toured the grass while trying to overtake Russell, but recovered. Lap six marked the first time that the Mercedes drivers battled outright for the lead during their 2026 championship battle.
Then, as the duo battled into turn 1, Antonelli went wide, truly into the grass this time, and the two made contact, pushing Antonelli off the track again. Russell held onto the lead, but Antonelli held close. After the long straight and before the hairpin of the same lap, Russell pushed Antonelli wide, and the championship leader had an issue with it. “That was very naughty,” Antonelli radioed.
After the race, when Antonelli radioed again to complain about the battle up front with his teammate, team boss Toto Wolff replied, reminding him that such complaints are to be discussed internally and off the radio. Lando Norris took the opportunity to drive through to second, looking for his second Sprint win, but never had the pace to truly reign in Russell, with Antonelli charging from third.
Antonelli held the fastest laps throughout the final dozen laps as he tried to regain second before settling for the last step on the podium behind Norris. Lewis Hamilton was running fifth and challenging Oscar Piastri for third on the penultimate lap before falling to his teammate Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen finished seventh, and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindbald took the final point-paying position, recording points for the second time through three sprints and six Grand Prix.
Further down the field, Cadillac had its best campaign of its inaugural season, with Sergio Perez finishing 11th. Victoria Beaver is a nomadic sports writer who spends her time hopping between race tracks and hippie farms. She’s covered every corner of motorsports that will let her in from 410 Sprints to NASCAR to Supercross.
Source: roadandtrack.com
