In a dramatic Canadian GP marked by late race chaos, Mercedes emerged resurgent as McLaren’s race unravelled spectacularly after a collision between teammates Norris and Piastri.
Chaos and Brilliance at the Canadian GP: McLaren Collide, Mercedes Rise
George Russell won the 2025 Canadian GP following McLaren drama in the closing laps. Max Verstappen crossed the line in P2, with Kimi Antonelli behind him, achieving his first F1 podium since debuting in Australia. Yuki Tsunoda crossed the line in points, completing a smooth recovery drive. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s woes continued, while Lando Norris collided with Oscar Piastri, effectively ending the former’s race.
FP1
Max Verstappen led the way in FP1 of the Canadian GP, setting a 1:13.193 to top the timesheets at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The Red Bull driver bettered Alex Albon, whose Williams finished just 0.039s behind, with teammate Carlos Sainz securing third in an impressive outing for the British team.
Franco Colapinto spun his Alpine at Turn 2 and brought out brief yellow flags early on in the session. Moments later, Verstappen reported heavy steering, prompting Red Bull to monitor the issue.
Then came the first major incident. Having gone quickest early on, Charles Leclerc clocked up and crashed into the wall at Turn 4. His Ferrari ricocheted off one barrier into another, forcing a red flag and ending his session prematurely. The Monegasque was not hurt.
As the field resumed running, incidents continued. Russell and Norris ran wide, Hamilton spun at Turn 10, and Nico Hülkenberg narrowly avoided the Wall of Champions. Norris later had another off at Turn 10, struggling for grip on the C6 soft tyre. Only four drivers ran the C5 mediums during the hour.
Notably, there was a near miss between Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto before the red flag, when Albon inadvertently cut across the Kick Sauber, forcing action in a clear miscommunication.
Verstappen found further pace to reclaim the top spot from Leclerc’s earlier benchmark in the closing stages. Behind the top three came George Russell in fourth, with Hamilton and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar completing the top six. Norris, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly and the recovering Leclerc rounded out the top ten.
FP2
Russell topped the timesheets in FP2 at the Canadian GP, edging Norris and teammate Antonelli in a session filled with action and incident.
Before the green light, Ferrari confirmed that Leclerc would sit out the session following chassis damage sustained in his FP1 crash, leaving Hamilton as the sole representative for the Scuderia. The Briton was first onto the circuit, tasked with gathering valuable data to aid overnight adjustments.
Just minutes into the session, Stroll’s home race weekend suffered a fresh setback. The Canadian clipped the barrier and broke his suspension, forcing him to retire with a visibly dislodged front-left wheel.
Conditions continued to prove tricky. As rear grip remained elusive, drivers opted to test the C5 medium compound. Several struggled with the final chicane. Norris, Piastri, and Hamilton all overshot the corner and resorted to the run-off.
Midway through the session, Russell appeared in control. He found his rhythm early and opened up a five-tenth gap to Hamilton, running confidently on the medium tyres. Behind him, others tried to close in, but heavy traffic began to compromise laps across the board.
Colapinto, in particular, had a chaotic session. Despite enjoying a relatively clear track at one point, he could only manage 17th before spinning again. This was his second incident of the day. Later, he became the centre of more drama when both Lawson and Albon narrowly avoided contact with the Alpine in two separate moments.
As the surface rubbered in, Norris hooked up his strongest lap of the day to come within 0.028s of Russell’s 1:12.123 benchmark. However, Mercedes remained the standout team, with Antonelli slotting into third and reinforcing the team’s apparent step forward after recent struggles.
Albon impressed once again for Williams in fourth, setting his fastest time on the medium tyre, while Alonso completed the top five. Piastri, Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Lawson rounded out the top 10.
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FP3
Norris went fastest in FP3 at the Canadian GP, producing the fastest lap in the closing minutes to edge out Leclerc and Russell in a competitive Saturday session.
Teams used the final hour of running to hone their setups ahead of Qualifying. It was a vital chance for Leclerc and Stroll to regain lost ground after limited running on Friday.
As teams explored both soft and medium compounds, the early stages saw a mixed array of strategies. Leclerc laid down an early benchmark on mediums with a 1:12.843, briefly holding top spot before the session’s first major incident.
Piastri brought out the red flags after clipping the wall at the final chicane and picking up a puncture. Moments later, Hülkenberg spun at the same corner, grazing the wall in an unrelated incident. Both were forced to sit out the remainder of the session, watching from the garage as their teams assessed the damage.
Once running resumed, times quickly began to fall. Russell rose to the top on soft tyres with a 1:11.950, while Hamilton and Norris followed close behind on mediums. Verstappen, also on softs, reported a lack of brake feel but still slotted into the top five.
The final minutes saw a flurry of personal bests as drivers switched to softs for Qualifying simulations. Norris delivered a clean lap to set a time of 1:11.799, just 0.078s ahead of Leclerc and a further tenth clear of Russell. Hamilton secured fourth, followed by Verstappen, Alonso, and Antonelli.
Piastri took eighth, ahead of Sainz and Albon. Further down the order, Hadjar and Lawson flanked Gasly, with Stroll and the Haas pair of Bearman and Ocon behind. Colapinto managed 17th.
Hülkenberg and Bortoleto ended the hour in 18th and 19th, respectively, while Tsunoda propped up the timesheets after a red-flag infringement curtailed his running. This earned him a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race.
Qualifying
Q1
The first part of Qualifying at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve saw teams debate tyre strategy, balancing between the C6 soft and the C5 medium. Most drivers opted for softs, though Alonso, Antonelli, and the two Alpines chose the medium compound.
Sainz led the pack out, while Verstappen briefly stayed in the garage before quickly going top with a 1:12.273
That time, however, was soon bettered as others improved. Alonso momentarily took P1 before a red flag interrupted the session, caused by Albon’s engine cover flying off along the straight, scattering debris and halting progress. Before the incident, both Albon and Sainz had found themselves in the drop zone.
Once running resumed, it was a frantic dash to avoid elimination. Norris surged to the top with a 1:11.826, followed closely by Piastri. Albon recovered well, but Sainz could not follow suit. A wide moment on his final lap left him in P17, and his frustration was only heightened after a run-in with Hadjar, who was later investigated for impeding
OUT: Bortoleto (P16), Sainz (P17), Stroll (P18), Lawson (P19), Gasly (P20).
Q2
Verstappen headed out first in Q2, running mediums while nearly the entire field chose softs. His initial lap time of 1:11.638 put him narrowly ahead of Norris, Piastri, and the Ferrari pair. However, Russell soon went quicker, setting a 1:11.570 to top the times once more.
The final moments brought more tension. Tsunoda was stuck in traffic and clashed with Russell at the pit exit and Leclerc on track, drawing attention from the stewards. Continuing his unlucky streak, the Red Bull driver finished the session in P11. A 10-place grid penalty from FP3 saw him start the Grand Prix from the back.
OUT: Tsunoda (P11), Colapinto (P12), Hülkenberg (P13), Bearman (P14), Ocon (P15).
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Q3
In Q3 of the Canadian GP, Norris ran wide at the final corner and lost his opening lap to track limits. Piastri laid down the first lap time, but Verstappen quickly went faster with a 1:11.248.
Russell slotted into P3 with his first run, ahead of Antonelli, while Norris recovered on his second effort to move up the order. Leclerc looked like he might improve but fell away in Sector 2, while others prepared for their final flying laps.
Piastri briefly reclaimed provisional pole, but Verstappen bettered his attempt, only for Russell to deliver an impressive final sector. The Briton set a time of 1:10.899, securing pole by 0.160s.
Antonelli made it two Mercedes in the top four, while Hamilton took fifth ahead of Alonso. Norris and Leclerc both completed messy sessions and ended up seventh and eighth, respectively.
Hadjar finished ninth but faces a three-place grid drop for impeding Sainz in Q1. Albon, who overcame early drama, rounded out the top 10.
Top 10: Russell, Verstappen, Piastri, Antonelli, Hamilton, Alonso, Norris, Leclerc, Hadjar*, Albon
*Penalty applied post-session
Grand Prix
Russell claimed his fourth F1 victory at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in a tense race, bringing his Mercedes home ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli after a late-race safety car neutralised the closing laps. The final drama came at the Canadian GP when McLaren teammates Piastri and Norris collided with three laps to go.
Opening Laps
From pole, Russell led cleanly into Turn 1, with Verstappen settling into second and Antonelli heading past Piastri for third at Turn 3. Behind them, Albon lost ground after running wide at the Turn 8-9 chicane, dropping to P12, while Hülkenberg climbed into the top ten.
Norris and Leclerc were the only drivers to start on hard tyres, with the rest of the field opting for mediums. By lap 5, Russell and Verstappen had pulled clear, with Antonelli unable to keep pace. Verstappen briefly pressured the leader before dropping out of DRS range as tyre wear became the focus across the grid.
Verstappen was the first front-runner to pit on lap 12, switching to hards, prompting immediate responses from Russell and Antonelli. Piastri inherited track position but soon pitted on lap 15. At the front, Norris and Leclerc continued on their long opening stints.
By lap 20, Russell had retaken the lead, maintaining a two-second buffer over Verstappen. Meanwhile, Albon struggled with a recurring power unit issue and fell down the order before his first stop on lap 23.
Mid-Race
Russell extended his lead over Verstappen to three seconds, with Antonelli still holding third. Behind Norris’s long stint on hard tyres had propelled him into the top five. Elsewhere, Hamilton struggled in seventh with damage picked up earlier in the race.
Verstappen pitted again on lap 37, rejoining just ahead of Hamilton. Antonelli nearly jumped him during his own stop one lap later. Russell stopped shortly after, suffering a slightly slow stop, but still emerged ahead, albeit with his lead trimmed.
The McLarens began to close in. By lap 42, Norris had halved his deficit to Piastri, setting up a potential battle as Russell resumed in fourth, just behind the pair and Leclerc.
Closing Laps
With 15 laps to go, the top five, Leclerc, Russell, Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen, were covered by fewer than six seconds. Russell moved back into the lead as Leclerc’s one-stop strategy began to falter, while Verstappen edged closer.
Further back, chaos broke out. Stroll clashed with Gasly at the hairpin and was handed a 10-second penalty. Albon retired shortly after with another power unit issue. Yellow flags were briefly out, but the race remained green.
Tensions soon rose. Norris, now the fastest man on track, was close to being within the DRS range of Piastri. On lap 67, the battle caused chaos. Norris misjudged a move down the pit straight, clipped the rear of Piastri’s car, and crashed into the wall. His race was over. Piastri survived the contact, but the incident brought out the safety car.
The battle has been brewing, and it finally came to a head at the Canadian GP, leaving many to wonder how McLaren will respond.
Russell pushed to the finish line to take the win. Verstappen crossed the line just 0.228s behind, while Antonelli completed an excellent day for Mercedes with his first career podium in third.
Piastri recovered to fourth, followed by Leclerc and Alonso. Hülkenberg claimed seventh, with Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Ocon rounding out the top 10.
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
Recording Date: 15.06.2025
