Sprint complete. Russell wins but Mercedes teammates collide!
George Russell converts sprint pole into victory at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, but not without controversy. Russell and Antonelli made contact while battling for the lead, sending the championship leader off track and dropping him to third behind Norris. Antonelli was furios on team radio. The intra-team tension is real, and this sprint race just made it personal.
Russell controlled the 23 lap sprint from lights to flag, but the real story was the contact between the Mercedes teammates. Antonelli called it “naughty” on the radio and screamed “HE PUSHED ME OFF!” as the team desperatly tried to calm him down. Read the full breakdown with video here. Elsewhere, Colapinto produced a stunning drive from P13 to P9 for Alpine, and Lawson recovered from dead last to P12 after missing sprint qualifying entirely. At the other end, Hadjar’s nightmare weekend continued, dropping from P8 all the way to P21. For the full build up to this race, check out our FP1 red flags article and sprint qualifying report.
Sprint Race Classification
Sprint Race · 23 Laps · Circuit Gilles Villeneuve · Saturday May 23
1 Russell Mercedes Winner
2 Norris McLaren 7 pts
3 Antonelli Mercedes 6 pts
4 Piastri McLaren 5 pts
5 Leclerc Ferrari 4 pts
6 Hamilton Ferrari 3 pts
7 Verstappen Red Bull 2 pts
8 Lindblad Racing Bulls 1 pt
9 Colapinto Alpine
10 Sainz Williams
11 Perez Cadillac
12 Lawson Racing Bulls
13 Bortoleto Audi
14 Ocon Haas
15 Hulkenberg Audi
16 Stroll Aston Martin
17 Bottas Cadillac
18 Bearman Haas
19 Albon Williams
20 Gasly Alpine
21 Hadjar Red Bull
22 Alonso Aston Martin
Key Moments
CONTACTRussell and Antonelli Make Contact
The defining moment of the sprint. Russell and Antonelli battled for the lead and made contact, sending Antonelli off track and dropping him behind Norris into third place. Antonelli was furios on the radio, calling the move “naughty” before shouting “I DON’T CARE, HE PUSHED ME OFF!” as the team tried to calm him down. 19 years old, championship leader, and convinced his own teammate just played dirty. The full breakdown and video is in our
dedicated article.
RACENorris Inherits P2
Norris didn’t need to make a move, P2 came to him. After the Russell-Antonelli contact sent Kimi wide, Norris slotted into second place behind the race leader. A free gift of seven championship points for McLaren.
LAP 1Leclerc passes Hamilton
Leclerc jumped his Ferrari teammate in the opening corners, moving from P6 to P5. Hamilton dropped a spot in what was otherwise a solid opening lap for both Ferrari cars.
RACEHadjar’s Disaster: P8 to P21
Isack Hadjar had a weekend to forget. Starting P8 on the grid, the Red Bull driver dropped all the way to P21 by the chequered flag. Only Alonso finished behind him. A massive setback after what looked like a promissing qualifying performance.
RACEColapinto’s Charge: P13 to P9
Franco Colapinto produced one of the best drives of the sprint, gaining four positions from his starting slot to finish P9 for Alpine. A great result for the Argentine on a circuit that’s notoriously hard to overtake on.
RACELawson Recovery Drive: P22 to P12
After missing sprint qualifying completly due to the FP1 hydraulic failure, Lawson started dead last and fought his way up to P12. Ten positions gained in 23 laps, good damage limitation after the worst possible start to the weekend.
Points Scored
Russell’s sprint win closes the championship gap to Antonelli from 20 points to 18. The gap would only have been 19 had Antonelli held P2, so the contact that dropped him to third cost Antonelli an extra point. More importantly though, the damage might be psychological. Russell has now won two of the three sprints this season (China and Canada), and the relationship between the Mercedes teammates just got a lot more complicated. For Norris, seven points is a strong haul. Lindblad picks up his first ever sprint point in just his fifth F1 weekend, an impressive acheivement for the 18 year old rookie.
Starting Grid
The grid featured a remarkable team-by-team formation, with every manufacturer pairing their cars in consecutive positions. Mercedes led from McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, with Lindblad and Sainz completing the top 10. Lawson and Albon started from the back after missing sprint qualifying entirely due to FP1 damage.
1 Russell Mercedes
2 Antonelli Mercedes
3 Norris McLaren
4 Piastri McLaren
5 Hamilton Ferrari
6 Leclerc Ferrari
7 Verstappen Red Bull
8 Hadjar Red Bull
9 Lindblad Racing Bulls
10 Sainz Williams
11 Hulkenberg Audi
12 Bortoleto Audi
13 Colapinto Alpine
14 Ocon Haas
15 Bearman Haas
16 Alonso Aston Martin
17 Perez Cadillac
18 Stroll Aston Martin
19 Gasly Alpine
20 Bottas Cadillac
21 Albon Williams
22 Lawson Racing Bulls
Looking Ahead to Qualifying
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Qualifying at 16:00 Local
The main event qualifying session is later today (20:00 GMT, 22:00 CEST). This one sets the grid for Sunday’s 70 lap Canadian Grand Prix. A very different proposition to the sprint.
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Championship Gap: 18 Points
Antonelli still leads but the gap is down from 20 to 18. Sunday’s race offers 25 points for the winner. Russell has all the momentum heading into the main event.
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What Happend to Hadjar?
Dropping from P8 to P21 is a catastrophic sprint for the Red Bull driver. Something clearly went very wrong. Expect questions from the media and the team ahead of qualifying.
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Lawson’s Recovery
P22 to P12 in 23 laps. Lawson showed real racecraft today after a disasterous Friday. If Racing Bulls can give him a clean qualifying, points on Sunday are realistic.
Russell has dominated this weekend so far. Sprint pole, sprint win, and the momentum firmly on his side heading into qualifying and Sunday’s grand prix. But the contact with Antonelli has added a completly new dimension to this weekend. How Toto Wolff manages two drivers who are clearly not on speaking terms right now will define not just Sunday’s race, but potentially the rest of the championship. Stay tuned for our qualifying coverage.
