Kimi Antonelli grabs a fourth straight win and extends his Championship lead, as his team mate George Russell gets grumpy as a race-ending, win-depriving DNF ruins his perfect weekend to that point. Talking of perfect, our 2026 Canadian F1 Grand Prix Result Summary is far from that. Always.
This 2026 Canadian Grand Prix Result, Laps that Matter summary, Review & Ratings gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.
READ MORE: 2026 Canadian GP Prix-view
READ MORE: 2026 Miami GP and 2026 Season Ratings
READ MORE: 2026 Miami GP Race Report
2026 Canadian F1 Grand Prix Result Race Summary
Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Here’s where we capture the laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.
Setting the scene – SPRINT RACE
The big talking point from the Sprint Race wasn’t the George Russell win but the incident between the Mercedes cars as Kimi Antonelli attempted to overtake his team mate. The younger Mercedes driver attempted the move at an awkward part of the circuit and was cut off by Russell. Kimi lost a few places and his mind temporarily and was told to calm down on radio. He eventually climbed back to third but was unable to get past Lando Norris who was equally pressuring George Russell towards the end. Notable result for Sergio Perez in 13th.
SPRINT RACE RESULT – RUS NOR ANT PIA LEC HAM VER LIN
Setting the scene – QUALIFYING
Mercedes dominance continues as George Russell gets the better of Kimi Antonelli. McLaren are looking second best and aren’t too far away in third and fourth. Lewis Hamilton is looking good, while Max Verstappen was unhappy with his car. Arvid Lindblad continued as best of the rest. Aston Martin’s worries continue qualifying 19th and 21st, and even sent their car out with the side section of tyre warmer still on one of their cars. Alex Albon qualified 18th, and in Practice crashed when he hit a groundhog.
GRID AFTER Q3 – RUS ANT NOR PIA HAM VER HAD LEC LIN COL
Setting the scene – RACEDAY
The umbrellas are up, the jumpers are on, it’s a cold, wet Canadian Grand Prix. It’s only 12 degrees which will be problem enough, but wet too? The question is how wet it is, wet enough for dry tyres or the wet inters? It looks like dry tyres after the teams try out inters on the reconnaissance lap. But then the umbrellas come out. It looks right in the middle which means multiple drivers and team could get this wrong. For our entertainment. Sky experts say it should be dry tyres.
TYRE CHOICES:
Dry Soft Tyres: Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Haas, Aston Martin, Alex Albon.
Dry Medium Tyres: Racing Bulls, Alpine.
Inters: McLaren, Audi, Cadillac, Carlos Sainz.
Lap 1 – The red lights go on………and fail to go off. One of the Mercedes budges a bit….and the lights eventually go off and only George Russell moves. So a malfunction there to start the Canadian Grand Prix. Is this a sign for one of those crazy races. Bad news and a shame for the well qualified Arvid Lindblad who has now stalled as the rest of the field goes off for another Formation Lap, he doesn’t start the race. McLarens discuss dry tyres but stay on inters, but there’s still a few spots of rain on the TV cameras.
And….there’s no red lights second time around as the marshalls took a long time to drag Lindblad’s car off the grid, so there’s another Formation Lap. More time for McLaren to change their mind on Inters.
Third time lucky…..Lando Norris makes a rapid start on his Inters and surges to the lead at the first corner. Oscar Piastri not so lucky as he gets stuck behind both Mercedes and a Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Anotnelli gets ahead of George Russell at the first corner complex through bigger elbows. Oscar Piastri is passed by Max Verstappen at the final chicane and dives into the pits for dry tyres, meanwhile Lando Norris stays out in the lead. No first lap antics anywhere as the drivers behave themselves in tricky conditions.
ORDER – NOR ANT RUS HAM VER LEC HAD COL LAW HUL
Lap 2 – Lando Norris removes himself from the lead and grabs some dry tyres, as do the rest of the field who started on wet Inter tyres. Norris rejoins in 14th while Oscar Piastri is 17th. Decent effort from Fernando Alonso who is up to 10th from 19th.
ORDER – ANT RUS HAM VER LEC HAD COL LAW BEA ALO
Lap 3 – The Mercedes fight for the lead, with Lewis Hamitlon looking fast behind, but not as fast as Max Verstappen who sets fastest lap.
Lap 4 – Lando Norris nearly puts it into the wall to compound the McLaren strategy error. He saves it this time. The only advantage for McLaren is due to taking the wet tyre they don’t have to take another type of dry tyre. It does mean going an entire race on those tyre though.
Lap 6 – George Russell dives past Kimi Antonelli into the final chicane, and Kimi locks up, loses control for a millisecond and almost crashes into his team mate and the wall, but saves it on both counts. But not first place, that’s now George Russell.
ORDER – RUS ANT HAM VER LEC HAD COL LAW BEA GAS
Lap 10 – Max Verstappen passes Lewis Hamilton for third at the beginning of lap 10, not long later Lewis Hamilton is on the radio to Ferrari asking for more power. The Mercedes are about four second up the road. Down the field Lando Norris is making light work of the midfield and is up to 11th. Piastri is 13th behind him.
Lap 12 – Kimi Anotnelli gets past George Russell into the hairpin and Russell goes deep into the hairpin, but Russell zooms past into the final chicane. The Mercedes drivers fight very close for the rest of lap 13, with hopes (for them) that they play nice.
Lap 13 – Oscar Piastri is into the pits again and looks like he is getting a nose job. He comes out of the pits just in front of the Mercedes, so effectively a lap down now, which officially becomes a lap down a lap later. The damage caused by a clash with Alex Albon for which it looks like Piastri’s fault. A penalty may be forthcoming to complete a miserable race. Alex Albon’s race is pretty miserable too, he is out from the damage.
Lap 16 – The Mercedes are still dicing for the lead, not far apart and behaving for now. They are going so hard at it that Max Verstappen can’t catch up, and the Red Bull has Lewis Hamilton on his tail.
ORDER – RUS ANT VER HAM LEC HAD COL LAW GAS BEA
Lap 17 – Lando Norris loses a top ten spot for an unscheduled pit stop, the team calling him in for a technical issue. Not exactly sure what that is, but it costs him a pit stop and new set of tyres. Further ahead the Mercedes are still battling for the lead and this one is close. Russell runs a bit wide at the hairpin and they run a few centimetres apart down the back straight, it comes down to who brakes last and it seems to be both, but Antonelli backs off on entry to the final chicane and accepts second, for now.
Lap 20 – Stewards investigations galore, Nico Hulkenberg for pit lane speeding, Hulkenberg again with Liam Lawson for a starting issue, and Oscar Piastri is probably being discussed too. And penalty confirmed a few laps later.
Lap 22 – George Russell runs a little wide at the hairpin again and this time Kimi Antonelli takes full advantage and powers past his team down the back straight, using a lapped backmarker as a side nuisance for Russell to attack back. Further back Lewis Hamilton cuts a chicane at pace trying to catch Verstappen.
ORDER – ANT RUS VER HAM LEC HAD COL LAW GAS BEA
Lap 24 – Kimi Antonelli goes deep into the hairpin and George Russell passes him on the exit. The two Mercedes then race each other down the back straight, and they are very close, Kimi Antonelli out brakes George Riussell slightly but Kimi has to dive across the final chicane for safety, temporarily takes the lead and gives it back. They are at it again the next lap and George Russell keeps the position again. How long will they be so polite for? Probably not long. Max Verstappen is six seconds behind but may benefit.
Lap 30 – George Russell bounces over the grass at the midway chicane and his car comes to a complete stop. He is out of the Canadian Grand Prix and Kimi Antonelli retakes the lead. Sad for George Russell and fans of the Mercedes racing each other. His car comes to stop at an awkward spot and the Virtual Safety Car is called. Replays show the Mercedes of George Russell had a car issue before the chicane cutting.
ORDER – ANT VER HAM LEC HAD COL LAW GAS BEA SAI
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR ACTIVATED
All the top cars pit for new tyres. Charles Leclerc loses a place to Isack Hadjar.
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR ENDS
Lap 33 – Races resumes with Kimi Antonelli leading Max Verstappen by five seconds. Lewis Hamilton another eight behind the Red Bull.
ORDER – ANT VER HAM HAD LEC COL LAW GAS NOR SAI
Lap 35 – Isack Hadjar and Charles Leclerc racing hard for 4th place. Hadjar almost puts Leclerc onto the grass (and into the wall) down the back straight at plenty km per hour. Hadjar might be in trouble for that. Or injured next time it happens.
Lap 39 – Hadjar and Leclerc are still going at it, with Hadjar on the edge of fairness in defence. Further ahead Antonelli is extending his lead over Max Verstappen to seven seconds.
Lap 40 – Leclerc finally gets past Hadjar for fourth, and unscathed. Meanwhile further back, Lando Norris retires with mechanical failure.
Lap 42 – Kimi Antonelli’s lead is reduced to just under five second, but the Mercedes looks in no trouble.
ORDER – ANT VER HAM LEC HAD COL LAW GAS SAI BEA
Lap 43 – Sergio Perez retires with damage. Not sure if it self-inflicted or not yet. But Perez does have a history of the former here in a another F1 life. Isack Hadjar is under investigation for “changing direction”. He’s already been passed by Leclerc so slap on the wrist seems likely. Nope, ten second penalty. Ouch. Although, slam dunk for the stewards as Franco Colapinto is 40 seconds behind.
Lap 46 – Virtual Safety Car has been called for we presume debris on track, and for Sergio Perez’s exploding front suspension.
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR ACTIVATED AND ENDS
Lap 50 – Lewis Hamilton is looking a bit more lively now, and is starting to catch Max Verstappen, which is our last hope for some late race action.
ORDER – ANT VER HAM LEC HAD COL LAW GAS SAI BEA
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR ACTIVATED
Lap 53 – Isack Hadjar pits for his ten second penalty and new tyres, mainly to give himself something fun to do in the late laps. Oscar Piastri is thinking the same with a penalty/tyre change combo. Replays during the VSC shows Charles Leclerc nearly binning it into the wall at the final chicane. Isack Hadjar might have another penalty to come for Yellow Flag infringement currently under investigation.
ORDER – ANT VER HAM LEC HAD COL LAW GAS SAI BEA
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR ENDS
Lap 55 – Race resumes with Lewis Hamilton right on Max Verstappen’s tail and looking to steal second place. They are 6.5 second behind Kimi Antonelli.
Lap 58 – The Verstappen-Hamilton battle continues but the Ferrari just can’t get close enough to the Red Bull. Hamilton requests more power on the radio, which is something of all of us wish we could do.
Lap 62 – Lewis Hamilton passes Max Verstappen in an amazing move around the outside of turn one. He powers ahead giving Max Verstappen nothing to work with. Looks like they can race each other normally these days, unlike their Championship years.
Lap 64 – Max Verstappen is now repaying the favour to Lewis Hamitlon and is on his tail. Further back Pierre Gasly is attempting some late race joy but stealing Liam Lawson’s 7th place. In between Isack Hadjar gets a Stop/Go penalty. Further back Oscar Piastri is still in the race and trying to take 12th from Gabriel Bortoleto.
Lap 64 – Oscar Piastri has got ahead of both Audis and is now 11th. Half a minute behind 10th placed Ollie Bearman.
FINAL LAP – The battle for second headlines the last lap, but further ahead Kimi Antonelli cruises to a fourth straight win and a nice extending of his Championship lead. Charles Leclerc claims fourth despite an off weekend, and Isack Hadjar somehow finishes fifth despite so many penalties. Franco Colapinto gets best of the rest again. Liam Lwason hangs on in his battle with Pierre Gasly.
FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – ANT HAM VER LEC HAD COL LAW GAS SAI BEA
Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).
These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. 5 points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.
THE GREAT-EST – KIMI ANTONELLI
Another win, and extending his Championship lead over his team mate. He also laid down a marker for the season to let George Russell know he won’t be pushed around too much in 2026. He got a bit lucky with the Russell DNF, but Championship need luck, and his turn for bad luck will come.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
MAX VERSTAPPEN – Was unhappy with his car throughout parts of the weekend, but good strategy, and good driving in the race secures a second place.
LEWIS HAMILTON – Showed glimpses of his old pace around a track he liked back in the day. Was the better of the Ferrari drivers all weekend.
FRANCO COLAPINTO – Another solid point scoring drive showing what he can do with a decent car and when he doesn’t crash.
LIAM LAWSON – Despite being outqualified and overshadowed by his team mate in the Sprint, a solid 7th place is a good return.
ARVID LINDBLAD – A DNF before the start started (for real) was disappointing, but his Sprint Race and Qualifying form was worth a shout as a rookie.
THE GRAPE-EST – GEORGE RUSSELL
A toss up between him and Oscar Piastri but George Russell lost more than the McLaren. A race win and a bundle more points in the Championship to his team mate. That’s after dominating the weekend until his the race and his car broke.
DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS
OSCAR PIASTRI – Behind, but only just, of his team mate all weekend. Both McLarens started on the incorrect wet tyre but Lando Norris made the most of it by taking the lead from 3rd on the grid while Piastri lost a place from 4th. He then compounded his early pit stop for dry tyres and lower than expected position in the midfield by crashing into Alex Albon, needing another pitstop and earning a ten second penalty.
LANDO NORRIS – Similar to Oscar Piastri with the wrong tyres to start with, but Norris made the most of it taking the lead. And he didn’t end another car’s race. And his Sprint Race seconds was good too. A main race DNF and bad strategy means his weekend overall is a bit of a fail.
ALEX ALBON – Hit a groundhog on Friday and crashed. Not a great Sprint Race, poor qualifying, and hit by Oscar Piastri in a race-ending shunt. Not a good weekend by any measure.
CHARLES LECLERC – Second best of the Ferrari drivers all weekend, weekend summed up when he told his team not to talk to him over the radio late in the race.
ASTON MARTIN – Still terrible, barely better than Cadillac, who have way more excuses.
VALTTERI BOTTAS – Worst of the Cadillac drivers all weekend, nearly a minute behind Lance Stroll in the race.
Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?
We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.
PRE RACE ACTION (FP, QUAL, SPRINT, OFF TRACK etc) – 3 / 5
The Canadian Grand Prix always looks cool in its island setting in the middle of a river right next to the CBD of Montreal. The Sprint Race was interesting enough with a potential flashpoint between the Mercedes drivers. Qualifying is a little more boring Mercedes 1-2.
ON TRACK ACTION (RACE) – 8 / 10
A couple of false starts kept it interesting early, as did the choice of dry/wet tyres. McLaren and others got it wrong which made the first few laps very interesting. Of course the Mercedes intra-team battle was the highlight and the headline act. Some good midfield racing for a while. More DNFs and Virtual Safety Cars than usual to make things semi-interesting.
ANY SURPRISES? – 4 / 5
The damp track and potential of more rain or Safety Cars made it a surprising start to the point of having cars on three different compounds of tyres, two dry and one wet. Mercedes out in front wasn’t as surprising. But the sudden retirement of George Russell while leading most certainly was.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 4 / 5
DNFs can be big game changers in a Championship battle and George Russell suffers one here, allowing his team mate to extend the lead. A long way to go, but Kimi has the momentum at the moment.
ENDING – 2 / 5
The Verstappen-Hamilton battle was as good as it got over the last ten laps or so, as Kimi Antonelli had things under control at the front of the race. A few midfield scraps on insets on the TV screen later in the race. Just a shame we couldn’t get a late race sprinkle of rain.
OVERALL RATING – 21 / 30
Not a bad race, just a shame that it wasn’t wetter. But that didn’t stop McLaren ruining their race by wrong tyre choice. The front running Mercedes battle was good fun, as were the spot battles throughout the rest of the race. Canada usually provides a good race, and 2026 was another box ticker.
2026 F1 Season Preview Gear
In case you haven’t got enough with the above. Here’s the best of 2026 in advance……
2026 F1 Season Bold Predictions
Captain Hindsight’s 2026 F1 Season Obvious Sensible Predictions
The F1 Donkey’s 2026 F1 Season Opinion and Season Predictions
2026 F1 Season Verdict by AI Grek Norman
2026 F1 Car Liveries Rated
2026 F1 Season Ratings & Season Results Predictions
PLUS
2026 Chinese Grand Prix Prix-view
F! Donkey’s Australian Grand Prix Bold Predictions
AND
The Gurgler’s 2025 Stats Review & Driver of the Season
