George Russell left the Canadian Grand Prix beaming following what he called a “controlled” performance from him and his Mercedes team. The British driver’s grasp on victory never looked in doubt throughout the 70 lap race, but a safety car incident with Max Verstappen has left his win in jeopardy.
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Following the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris it was clear that the race would be finishing under safety car conditions. Russell would claim his fourth career victory with teammate Kimi Antonelli securing his first Formula 1 podium in third. Verstappen closes the championship gap to Norris as well now, to just 21 points ahead of Red Bull’s home race.
But the drama wasn’t over as on the penultimate lap, behind the safety car, Verstappen overtook Russell. Audibly frustrated, Verstappen took to his team radio claiming Russell brake tested him.
Unsurprisingly, Russell also took to the team radio, exclaiming “he overtook me,” something that is prohibited in the FIA guidelines and often results in a time penalty along with license points.
Following the race, it arose that Red Bull had lodged a formal protest against Russell’s race win. They argued the Mercedes driver had braked “unnecessarily and erratically” and pushed for a penalty to be given to Russell which would promote Verstappen to the top of the order.
Red Bull lodge protest and close championship gap
It was somewhat of a quiet race for Verstappen in his Red Bull. With both McLaren drivers struggling in qualifying Verstappen saw the race as a chance to close the championship gap up front.
Maintaining second-place off the line, the Dutchman pushed early in an attempt to take the race lead. With Russell’s Mercedes proving a stubborn opposition, Red Bull pulled Verstappen in to try and undercut Russell.
With the undercut unsuccessful, Verstappen spent the rest of the race hovering within two seconds of the Mercedes, unable to make a meaningful impression and put the British driver under pressure.
The safety car came at the perfect time for Verstappen, with a flying Antonelli behind, it cemented his second place. Verstappen closes the championship gap to the two McLaren’s to just 43 points as the season reaches its second European stint.
Caution would have been a key factor in Verstappen’s race, the Dutchman floating on the cusp of a race ban with 11 penalty points on his license.
The incident with Russell was not what Verstappen would have wanted: overtaking under the safety car often warrants penalty points on a driver’s license.
“It was tough out there,” said Verstappen post race.
“We had to drive quite a defensive race, but it worked for us, we kept the cars behind even though I never felt like I had the pace to fight for the win.”
Red Bull’s protest against Russell’s victory was quickly discarded after a few hours. The FIA perceived Russell’s periodic braking to be in accordance of the guidelines. This meant that Verstappen remained second in what was a “damage limitation” week for Red Bull.
Russell closes championship gap to Verstappen
Canada has always been a happy hunting ground for Mercedes and Russell having claimed pole and a podium last year.
So when Russell claimed pole with an incredible lap it seemed to be a repeat of the previous years race.
The Brit never looked in doubt throughout the 70 laps, controlling the race despite intermittent pressure from Verstappen. Holding the lead for the whole of the race, Russell claimed to be “really pleased” to get his first win of the season and close the championship gap.
“I felt good about that race,” said a delighted Russell. “I felt confident focused on myself and controlled it from start to finish.”
With Canada notoriously suiting Mercedes, Russell was quick to keep expectations of himself and the team grounded. “Just because we were good in Canada doesn’t mean we’ll be good elsewhere,” said Russell.
“I don’t want to get our hopes up, going to Austria next week. The tyres will be overheating a lot and we know that’s where we struggle.”
Double delight for Mercedes as “future world champion” Antonelli secures first podium
Kimi Antonelli, largely tipped to be a future world champion, produced a mature performance to claim his first F1 podium.
Having passed championship leader Oscar Piastri at the start of the race, Antonelli managed to hold his third place, despite coming under significant threat from the McLaren pair.
The Bologna born driver, at just 18 years and 294 days, became the third youngest podium sitter. The Italian admitted it was a weight that lifted following a difficult start to the season.
“It’s amazing,” said Antonelli. “It was very stressful with the McLaren’s coming back but super happy with the result.”
“Results like this are extremely helpful and give you a lot of confidence. There is still a lot of work to do but this result was needed.”