George Russell won Mercedes’ first race of the 2025 Formula 1 season as McLaren team-mates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris clashed in the closing stages at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Russell fended off Max Verstappen throughout the grand prix while his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli took a maiden F1 podium in third.

The Brit had to wait almost six hours after taking the chequered flag for his victory to be officially confirmed, as a Red Bull protest was rejected after they had alleged that Russell had driven erratically under the Safety Car the race ended behind following the McLaren collision.

The big drama came in the battle for fourth as Piastri and Norris tangled as they went across the start line with four laps remaining, which saw the latter come off worse and retire from the race.

Norris apologised for his “stupid” move as he tried to overtake Piastri, who carried on and now leads the championship by 22 points from his McLaren team-mate and 43 points from Verstappen.

Charles Leclerc finished fifth ahead of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who carried damage for the majority of the 70 laps around Montreal.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso recorded his best result of the season in seventh, ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Carlos Sainz.

How Piastri, Norris came to blows

Norris started seventh after a disappointing qualifying and ran an alternative strategy where he started on the hards compared to the leaders on the mediums.

He enjoyed spells in the lead when Russell, Verstappen and Piastri pitted before dropping back after his own pit stop. It meant he had fresher tyres for the last stint though and set about chasing down his team-mate.

Piastri was unfortunate with traffic in the final 20 laps as he tried to overtake Antonelli to get onto the podium but did not have enough of an advantage to get by.

Instead, Norris closed in and dived down the inside of Piastri at the Turn 10 hairpin on Lap 66, then the pair went side by side at over 200mph down the back straight.

Piastri had the inside for the tricky last chicane but got a bad exit, so Norris looked for a gap that was not there on the inside approaching Turn 1, where the team-mates made contact at high speed.

Norris broke his front wing immediately and came to a halt, while Piastri continued and settled for fourth.

“No one to blame but myself, so I apologise to the whole team and to Oscar as well for attempting something probably a bit too silly,” Norris told Sky Sports F1.

“Glad I didn’t ruin in his race. In the end apologies to the team.”

Russell beats Verstappen with dominant drive

At the front, Russell and Verstappen were set for a big showdown two weeks on from their controversial clash at the Spanish Grand Prix.

A poor launch from Verstappen though meant Russell comfortably held the lead on the opening lap. Verstappen put a lot of pressure on Russell initially but faded away as the first stint went on.

In fact, Antonelli got closer to overtaking Verstappen before Red Bull pitted their driver early on Lap 12, which triggered the first round of pit stops.

Mercedes simply covered off Verstappen and did so again for the second pit stops, with Russell having enough speed to not face a serious attack from the reigning world champion.

“It’s amazing to be back on the top step,” said Russell.

“The last time for us was back in Vegas. I felt last year was a victory lost and probably got the victory today due to the incredible pole lap yesterday. Obviously so happy to see Kimi on the podium as well.

“Amazing day for the team. Thanks to everyone back at the factory for working to get us back fighting for victories. it feels good.”

Further back, Leclerc questioned Ferrari’s strategy as he copied Norris by starting on the hards and was keen to try a one-stop race. However, he ended up on the same strategy as the leaders and finished fifth.

Hamilton endured another disappointing Sunday in sixth after carrying damage since Lap 13 when he hit a groundhog. The damage cost him approximately half a second per lap and led to a lonely race.

Home driver Lance Stroll was given the only penalty of the race for forcing off Pierre Gasly at the final chicane.

Alex Albon retired with an engine problem, having become frustrated with his Williams team over strategy when he was running in the top 10, and Liam Lawson also retired.

Next up for the 2025 Formula 1 season is a return to Europe for the Austrian Grand Prix, which is live on Sky Sports F1 from June 27-29. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.