Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris crashed four laps from the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, with the Brit running into the back of his team-mate on the start-finish straight. Out front, George Russell held off Max Verstappen for victory with rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli on the podium.
Much of the pre-race talk regarded potential Turn One fireworks between Russell and Verstappen, but the Red Bull racer wasn’t within range of the Brit after an even launch for both drivers. Behind them, Kimi Antonelli shuffled out championship leader Piastri following an exhilarating opening lap battle.
After hounding Russell during the opening stint, Verstappen started to fall back into the clutches of Antonelli. The Italian teenager was preparing a move into the final chicane, before the Red Bull driver darted into the pit lane. When the cycle finished, he had retained P2 with relative comfort.
Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc both started on the hards and considered one-stop strategies before backing out, while Lewis Hamilton wrestled with a loss of “20 points” of downforce from lap 13 onwards.
As the laps ticked through and the field made their second stops, the order remained largely unchanged, but the top five cars started to compress, setting up a grandstand finish. Most notably, it brought the two McLaren drivers together with Norris hounding his title rival for fourth place.
The flashpoint occurred on lap 67 as, having briefly got his nose in front at Turn 10, Norris attempted an opportune move on his team-mate into Turn One. The gap, however, was not there, and the Brit collided with the rear of Piastri’s MCL38, giving him terminal damage.
Canadian Grand Prix results
1. George Russell (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)