Furious Kimi Antonelli loses out to George Russell in F1 Canadian GP Sprint
Furious, Antonelli protested that Russell “pushed me off,” forcing Toto Wolff to tell him to focus on his driving and not “moaning”.
24 May 2026
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

At the start, Mercedes appeared to confirm eradication of its issues off the grid, as Russell got away brilliantly, with Antonelli fending off Norris into Turn 1. With Piastri bunched up as a result, Hamilton swooped around the outside on the exit of Turn 2 to nab fourth place from the Australian. By Lap 3, the Mercedes were around three seconds ahead of Norris, with Antonelli approximately half a megajoule up on Russell.

Antonelli was now bringing his teammate’s lead down by two tenths, and with a mistake at the hairpin, Russell gave Antonelli an inroad to attack, which he did at the final chicane. Fended off, the Italian tried once more into Turn 1, and having the inside line into 2, braked late and was forced to take to the grass.

Avoiding him upon returning to the tarmac, Russell held the lead, but the drama was not done then. Antonelli kept trying, and lost it at Turn 8, skidding onto the grass and then losing second to Norris. Furious, Antonelli protested that Russell “pushed me off,” forcing Toto Wolff to tell him to focus on his driving and not “moaning”.

“Pushed me off”;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...canada-sprint/


Canadian GP: Sprint Results
Full results from the Sprint Race for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
24 May 2026
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe

Results: Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, Sprint
Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time / Retired
1 63 George Russell Mercedes 23 28:50.951
2 1 Lando Norris McLaren 23 +1.272s
3 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 23 +1.843s
4 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 23 +9.797s
5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 23 +9.929s
6 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 23 +10.545s
7 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 23 +15.935s
8 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 23 +29.710s
9 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 23 +31.621s
10 55 Carlos Sainz Williams 23 +36.793s

‘Canadian Grand Prix, Sprint’;

https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2026-c...-race-results/


Canadian GP: Russell wins fiery Sprint as Mercedes drivers clash
23/05/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

George Russell turned pole position in Saturday's Sprint event in Montreal into a polished victory, delivering a cool, controlled drive for Mercedes despite a fiery intra-team battle in the opening laps of the race. Behind him, Kimi Antonelli looked eager to turn up the heat, but the Italian rookie quickly learned that chasing a teammate at the limit can come at a cost.

Antonelli didn’t wait long to make things interesting. On lap five, he launched himself at Russell around the outside of Turn 1, only to be firmly rebuffed as the Mercedes leader gave him absolutely nothing to work with. The result was messy: grass, dust, and a bruised sense of optimism. Unbowed, Antonelli tried again at Turn 8, braking a fraction too late and skating across the turf once more. That misstep cost him dearly, dropping him behind Norris.

His radio complaint about Russell’s defense added spice to the drama, though the replay told a more familiar story of a driver simply pushing a little too far. From there, Antonelli regrouped and began reeling Norris back in, while briefly fending off Hamilton in a growing midfield skirmish. On the final lap, he went for one last, ambitious lunge around the outside of Turn 1 – but Norris kept his cool and shut the door. The podium stayed frozen: Russell, Norris, Antonelli.

‘Russell wins fiery Sprint as Mercedes drivers’;

https://f1i.com/news/564864-canadian...ers-clash.html


George Russell wins F1 Canadian GP sprint as Mercedes fight has first flashpoint
George Russell wins the Canadian Grand Prix sprint after clashing with Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
23/05/2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

For the first time this season, the Mercedes pair made contact as Russell and Antonelli duelled for the lead during the early stages of the first-ever sprint race to be held in Montreal. Antonelli was forced to take to the grass after trying to go around the outside of Russell at Turn 1 on the sixth lap after the pair made light contact.

The skirmish continued at the Turn 8/9 chicane, with Antonelli once again taking to the grass after locking up as he unsuccessfully attempted to pass Russell with a dive down the inside. Antonelli lost momentum as he recovered onto the track and lost a position to McLaren’s Lando Norris, before complaining on several occasions that Russell had not played fair in his defence.

“That was very naughty,” the Italian teenager bemoaned, before adding “that should be a penalty, I was alongside the mirror.” Antonelli’s repeated radio complaints led to an intervention from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who told his driver to “concentrate on the driving, not the radio moaning”.

“That was very naughty”;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109592...rst-flashpoint


George Russell expresses relief after controversial Kimi Antonelli fight
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli briefly shook hands after their fraught battle during the sprint in Montreal.
23 May 2026
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

The Mercedes pair started the 24-lap race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve alongside each other on the front row, with the Briton holding onto the lead from pole. However, a few laps in, Antonelli launched an audacious move around the outside of the sister W17 into Turn 1. Russell appeared to push him wide, and the Italian was furious with what he perceived to be forced onto the grass.

The 19-year-old immediately took to team radio, calling for his team-mate to be punished for the "naughty" move. Later on the same lap, an error saw Antonelli cut across the grass again, this time losing his second place to Lando Norris, but his complaints would not end there, with team principal Toto Wolff having to tell his driver to focus on the race.

When asked for his take on the incident, Russell chose not to address it head-on, instead sharing his relief that they ultimately avoided coming to blows. "Yeah, it was a cool race," the 28-year-old said after the sprint in Montreal. "I was just talking with Lando, it's definitely very difficult to get a gap around here, and it felt quite easy to follow; the slipstream was quite, quite powerful with the overtake mode.”

‘Russell chose not to address it head-on’;

https://racingnews365.com/george-rus...ntonelli-fight


Russell resists Antonelli in Canadian GP F1 sprint race
23/05/2026
Montreal (AFP)
France 24

Pre-season title favourite George Russell delivered a consummate lights-to-flag drive to win Saturday's sprint race at the Canadian Grand Prix and trim his angry team-mate Kimi Antonelli's championship lead. The incident came on lap six when Antonelli, 19, tried a move around the outside of Turn One, but Russell defended stoutly forcing the Italian to run off with a muscular defence of his leading position.

"That was very naughty," said Antonelli, who accused Russell of pushing him off. "That should be a penalty. I was alongside the mirror." His experienced race engineer Peter Bonnington told him to calm down and concentrate, but Antonelli was still fuming after the race.

"If we race like that, it is good to know," said the teenager before Wolff told him: "Kimi, we don't talk about this on the radio –- we do it internally. l need to review on that because I was quite well alongside him at turn one," said Antonelli. "But it was a good battle."

"If we race like that, it is good to know";

https://www.france24.com/en/live-new...f1-sprint-race