After an exciting leg in Europe, Formula One made a quick detour to North America for the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2025 at the iconic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. George Russell took pole position in qualifying ahead of Max Verstappen, repeating the starting order from last year’s race, where the duo had set identical lap times. This time, Russell was hoping to convert his first pole position of the season into his first win of the season.
Russell had an excellent start from pole, eliminating any chance for Verstappen to challenge on the short run into the first corner. Directly behind, Kimi Antonelli stuck on the inside of Oscar Piastri in turn two, promoting himself to P3 under braking for the first chicane.
There was some drama further back between Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto. The Argentine was fighting with Albon on the opening lap for P9. Coming to the second chicane, Albon attempted to start alongside the Alpine, but ran out of space. Albon was lucky to avoid any obvious damage when bouncing over the grass. Nico Hulkenberg was the biggest winner from the battle, picking up both positions to take P9 in his Sauber.
Back at the front, the leading pair pulled away from the rest of the field in the opening laps. Verstappen was pressuring the leading Mercedes, but fell out of DRS range six laps into the race. He quickly fell into Antonelli’s grasp. The Mercedes rookie was going to overtake the Dutchman into the final chicane on lap 12, but Verstappen dove into the pit lane.
Mercedes had to cover off the undercut threat from Red Bull, calling Russell to the pits the following lap. Antonelli did the same a lap later, but rejoined the race behind Verstappen. After a couple of laps in the lead, Piastri also pitted for hard tyres.
This unleashed Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc into the lead of the race. After a disappointing qualifying on Saturday, both drivers opted to try a different strategy, starting the race on the hard tyres to extend their stints with the possibility of a one-stop strategy.
Leclerc was the first to pit shortly after being overtaken by Russell in the net race lead. This was clearly not the strategy Leclerc had hoped for, expressing his unhappiness over the team radio. Putting on a second set of hard tyres locked him into the two-stop strategy. Norris pitted for mediums two laps later.
Before long, the second pit stops started. Verstappen again led the way into the pit lane, taking a second set of hard tyres on lap 38. Mercedes responded by pitting Antonelli the following lap. He exited the pit lane alongside Verstappen, but could not challenge for the position. The team didn’t immediately pit Russell, extending his stint by a few more laps to give him fresher tyres for the final stint.
Piastri pitted on lap 45, followed by his teammate on lap 47. Leclerc finally made his second pit stop on lap 53, settling for a distant P6. This allowed the top five drivers to tighten up in the closing laps.
As the laps ticked down, the battle for the bottom step of the podium intensified, especially between the two McLaren teammates. It bubbled over on lap 66. Norris attempted to overtake his teammate with a brave lunge on the inside of Piastri. He was momentarily ahead, but Piastri had better traction out of the corner, bringing the two drivers side-by-side down the back straight. Norris was slightly ahead on the run down to the final chicane, but Piastri took the position with later braking. Norris found himself with more pace down the main straight, moving to the left side of the circuit. But the gap wasn’t there, and he ran into the back of the leading McLaren.
This was a critical mistake from Norris in his title fight, leaving crucial points on the table. Norris immediately accepted blame for the incident over the team radio. The safety car was deployed to clean up the stricken McLaren of Norris, bringing the race to an end.
George Russell took the checkered flag to earn his first win of the season. Max Verstappen finished in P2 ahead of Kimi Antonelli, who collected his first career podium in Montreal. A P4 finish extends Oscar Piastri’s World Championship lead over his teammate.
Formula One will now return to Europe for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in two weeks. The race will be held on June 29.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70 | 1:31:52.688 | 25 |  | |
| 2 | 70 | +0.228 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 70 | +1.014 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 70 | +2.109 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 70 | +3.442 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 70 | +10.713 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 70 | +10.972 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 70 | +15.364 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 69 | +1 Lap | 2 | ||
| 10 | 69 | +1 Lap | 1 | ||
| 11 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 12 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 13 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 14 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 15 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 16 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 17 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| DNF | 66 | ||||
| DNF | 53 | ||||
| DNF | 46 |
| 1 | O. Piastri | 198 |  | |
| 2 | L. Norris | 176 | -22 | |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | 155 | -43 | |
| 4 | G. Russell | 136 | -62 | |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 104 | -94 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 374 | | |
| 2 | Mercedes | 199 | -175 |  |
| 3 | Ferrari | 183 | -191 |  |
| 4 | Red Bull | 162 | -212 | |
| 5 | Williams | 55 | -319 | |
