Kimi Antonelli en route to victory Sunday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. (Clive Mason/Getty Images for Merecedes F1 photo)

By Thomas Hughes, SWN Staff Writer

MONTREAL (May 24, 2026) – In what’s seeming to be an increasingly common pattern, Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ Kimi Antonelli won again in Formula One competition.

Aided by a retirement from his teammate George Russell on lap 30, the Italian cruised to a 10.768-second victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve over a pair of multi-time F-1 champions in Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.

Antonelli claimed his fourth consecutive victory Sunday in the Lenovo Canadian Grand Prix, extending his F-1 championship lead to 43 points in the process.

“We were pretty much on the limit and it was not easy today with the wind, very gusty,” Antonelli said. “Turn 10 was very difficult. I think one lap [Russell] locked up, then I went in front, and then I locked up, so it was very close. It was a shame for him to have the failure because it would have been a very cool battle but, yeah, we’ll take it.

“Another win and I’m very happy, and a massive thanks of course to the team.”

Russell appeared poised to challenge for the win after starting from pole position and leading a lengthy battle with Antonelli through the opening half of the race.

However, Russell’s day ended four laps shy of halfway when a power unit failure forced him to stop on track, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car and changing the complexion of the race.

Antonelli inherited the lead following the ensuing pit cycle and never looked back, crossing the finish line well ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen completed the podium in third, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top five.

“I think it’s definitely encouraging, given that this weekend, if you look, Mercedes brought a big upgrade,” Hamilton said of his runner-up result. “A lot of people brought upgrades here. We brought our big one in Miami, and the team is working really hard back at the factory. We’ve got hopefully some other bits coming along the way, and considering this is a real straight-line-speed circuit and we just managed to hold on and get this result, that definitely gives me high hopes for what’s ahead.

“We’ve got to keep pushing and keep trying to extract more.”

The race began under threatening skies at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, with teams split on tire strategy as intermittent rain created difficult conditions.

Additional drama struck before the green flag when Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad suffered a race-ending issue on the grid, necessitating an extra formation lap and reducing the race distance to 68 laps.

When the race finally started, Lando Norris made a lightning launch from third on the grid, sweeping past both Mercedes drivers to take the lead.

McLaren's gamble of starting the race on intermediate tires quickly unraveled, however, as both Norris and Oscar Piastri were forced into the pits within the opening laps to switch to slick tires.

The early stops dropped both drivers deep into the field and effectively ended their hopes of contending for victory. 

As the McLarens recovered, the focus shifted to the Mercedes duel at the front. Russell and Antonelli repeatedly exchanged positions through the first 30 laps, with several lockups and aggressive defensive moves keeping the battle alive.

Russell initially found a way past Antonelli, but the Italian repeatedly fought back, including a successful move on lap 22 before Russell reclaimed the lead two laps later.

Meanwhile, Verstappen settled into third place ahead of Hamilton, while Leclerc and Hadjar lurked just behind. Hamilton briefly complained about a lack of power over team radio but remained firmly in podium contention throughout the opening stint.

The race’s first major incident came on lap 13 when Piastri locked up while attempting to pass Haas’ Oliver Bearman and collided with Alex Albon.

The contact eliminated Albon from the race and eventually earned Piastri a 10-second time penalty. The incident added to what became a disastrous afternoon for McLaren.

Everything changed on lap 30. While defending the lead from Antonelli, Russell suddenly slowed with a mechanical issue before coming to a stop on track. Visibly frustrated, the Mercedes driver climbed from his car as a Virtual Safety Car was deployed.

Nearly the entire field took advantage of the caution period to pit; Antonelli emerged comfortably ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton. 

From there, Antonelli steadily built his advantage. Verstappen initially appeared secure in second, but Hamilton gradually closed the gap during the final stages. The Ferrari driver finally completed the move on lap 62, sweeping around the outside of Verstappen at turn one to move into second place.

Antonelli, however, was untouchable. The Italian stretched his lead beyond 10 seconds and cruised to the checkered flag, continuing a dominant run that has quickly transformed him into the championship favorite.

Hamilton, who ultimately finished second, ended with a season-best performance, as did Verstappen, who stood on the rostrum for the first time in 2026.

Behind the race’s frontrunners, Leclerc finished fourth despite a tense battle with Hadjar, who received both a 10-second penalty and a stop-and-go penalty during the race. Hadjar still managed to hold onto fifth place ahead of Alpine's Franco Colapinto, who recorded his second consecutive points finish in sixth.

Liam Lawson finished seventh for Racing Bulls after fending off Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, while Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Bearman completed the points-paying positions in ninth and 10th.

Piastri recovered to 11th but left Montreal empty-handed. 

McLaren's misery deepened when Norris retired later in the race with a gearbox problem. He was joined on the retirement list by Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Albon, Russell, and Lindblad.

What began as a tense battle between Mercedes teammates ultimately became another showcase for Antonelli. Russell had the pace to win, but reliability intervened, allowing the championship leader to secure a fourth straight victory and leave Canada with an even firmer grip on the title fight.

Antonelli leads the title with 131 points, 43 over Russell and 56 over Leclerc. 

“Of course, it was not really the way I wanted to win, because it was a close fight with George and I think would have gone all the way until the end,” Antonelli said. “… We’ve just got to keep maximizing and take every opportunity that presents.”

Hamilton and Norris switched spots in the title race, with Hamilton now 14 points ahead of the Briton. Verstappen sits seventh with 43 points thanks to his first podium finish of the season.

“To be honest, I was feeling better in Miami with the car, so I’m a little bit surprised with being on the podium here,” Verstappen said. “But you also have to look at it with George retiring, McLarens making a mess of the strategy. So, for me to be here, of course I’m very happy.”

Next, the cars head to Monaco for the 83rd running of the Monaco Grand Prix. The race is set for Sunday, June 7, at 9 a.m. ET, streaming on Apple TV in the United States.

The race was previously featured Memorial Day weekend in what was called “The Greatest Day in Motorsports” — with Monaco in the morning, the Indy 500 in the afternoon and NASCAR with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as the nightcap.

Now, the most prestigious race on the F-1 calendar sets up races in Spain and Austria to follow, keeping the series in Europe for a tripleheader stretch.

The finish:

Canadian Grand Prix (68 laps): 1. 12-Kimi Antonelli, 2. 44-Lewis Hamilton, 3. 3-Max Verstappen, 4. 16-Charles Leclerc, 5. 6-Isack Hadjar, 6. 43-Franco Colapinto, 7. 30-Liam Lawson, 8. 10-Pierre Gasly, 9. 55-Carlos Sainz, 10. 87-Oliver Bearman, 11. 81-Oscar Piastri, 12. 27-Nico Hulkenberg, 13. 5-Gabriel Bortoleto, 14. 31-Esteban Ocon, 15. 18-Lance Stroll, 16. 77-Valtteri Bottas. DNFs: 11-Sergio Perez, 1-Lando Norris, 63-George Russell, 14-Fernando Alonso, 23-Alexander Albon.