George Russell wins Canada Sprint race ahead of Lando Norris as Mercedes drivers tussle

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George Russell secured victory at the 2026 Canadian Sprint race after a battle with his Mercedes teammate, which saw Kimi Antonelli lose out to Lando Norris.

Ahead of the Sprint race, it was confirmed that Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon would all start from the pit lane, before Valtteri Bottas was also added to the list shortly afterwards. But the drama did not stop there.

On the grid, disaster struck for hometown hero Lance Stroll when Aston Martin discovered an issue with the front suspension on his car. The team scrambled to repair it before the start, initially appearing unlikely to make the race. In the end, however, they managed to get the Canadian out of the garage — although Stroll was later noted for a start infringement.

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When the lights went out, Mercedes finally managed to hold station at the front for the first time this season. Kimi Antonelli came under immediate pressure from Lando Norris but defended superbly to keep the McLaren behind in the opening corners.

Lewis Hamilton also made a lightning getaway, sweeping past Oscar Piastri through the opening sequence to climb into fourth place.

Further back, Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto became embroiled in a fierce scrap into Turn 8, with the Audi forced across the grass and tumbling down the order as a result.

In the early laps, Antonelli looked every bit as rapid as he had been throughout the weekend, applying relentless pressure to teammate George Russell. The young Italian stayed glued to the back of the Mercedes ahead, forcing Russell into a mistake at the hairpin after the Brit ran wide.

That opened the door for Antonelli to attack with the pair running side-by-side down the back straight before making contact at Turn 1, forcing the Italian across the grass.

Their battle reignited again at Turn 8, where Antonelli was forced over the grass for a second time. The fight ultimately allowed Norris to capitalise and snatch second place.

Antonelli was far from happy over team radio, branding the move “naughty” before calling for Russell to be penalised for the earlier contact. The 19-year old championship leader was very angry on the radio, before being scolded by Toto Wolff, who warned: “Kimi, concentrate on the driving please, not on the radio moaning,”

While the all-Mercedes duel was captivating at the front, Isack Hadjar’s race was beginning to unravel. The Red Bull driver suddenly suffered a loss of power, causing him to tumble down the order from eighth place.

After briefly returning to the pit lane, Red Bull worked quickly to repair Hadjar’s car and send the Frenchman back out onto the circuit, although he rejoined almost a lap down on the leaders.

At the front, Norris immediately began hunting down Russell, rapidly cutting the gap to just three-tenths of a second by the halfway stage of the race. However, while the McLaren driver closed in on the Mercedes ahead, Antonelli started to drift back into the one second range of the leaders.

In the closing stages Hamilton reported he hit the wall, with replays showing a heavy shunt into the Wall of Champions, which caused damage to the Ferrari and left him vulnerable to the cars behind.

The seven-time world champion was unable to fend off Piastri for long, before later losing another position to Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

On the penultimate lap, Norris made a costly mistake at the hairpin, briefly leaving the door open for Antonelli. The Mercedes driver surged alongside on the main straight and momentarily edged ahead, only to brake too late into Turn 1, allowing Norris to reclaim the position immediately.

The stewards handed out two penalties in the closing stages of the race. Hulkenberg received a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, before Sergio Perez was handed an identical punishment for forcing another driver off the circuit.