McLaren‘s dominance was tossed to one side on Saturday as George Russell grabbed pole for Mercedes at the Canadian Grand Prix. He will be joined on the front row by Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen two weeks after their controversial on-track collision in Spain.
Drivers’ Championship leader Oscar Piastri had to settle for third, and it was even worse for McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who was way back in seventh. The qualifying grid was shuffled around after the FIA dished out two penalties to Red Bull-owned teams, and it’ll be all to play for when the red lights go out on Sunday. Follow Express Sport‘s live F1 updates below…
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George Russell is now being up front about Mercedes looking into the logistics of bringing Max Verstappen on board.
Russell said that he is not currently in talks with other teams about his Formula 1 future, because he wants to remain loyal to his team.
However, he also realizes that there is a chance that it will not be the other way around and that Toto Wolff will ultimately choose Verstappen.
The Briton said: “No, I’m not in talks with anyone else, nor with any teams that have shown interest. I’ve been very open about my intention to stay with Mercedes.
“That’s always been clear ,” begins Russell, who himself is attracting interest from Aston Martin . “And, you know, I’m loyal to Mercedes. They gave me the opportunity to come into Formula 1.
“There have been no hard feelings in all the conversations that have taken place, especially around Max, because, as I’ve said several times, why wouldn’t teams be interested in Max if everyone could, if every driver had a clean slate, no contracts for next year, then Max would be number one for every team. And that’s understandable.”
“When you’re Flavio Briatore and your title is executive advisor to Luca de Meo, the chief of Renault and then Luca de Meo, the chief of Renault decides that now is the time for him to not be the chief of Renault anymore and leave the company, then where does that leave Flavio Briatore?
“[He’s] executive advisor to no one at the moment. Team principal, would he like to appoint himself [as the] proper team principal? I don’t know, maybe.
“Who will the new CEO of the Renault group be, again, we don’t know, they will figure that out within the top of the French company.
“And then will that new CEO, Luca de Meo’s successor, A) want to continue with Formula 1, which is not a given, the new CEO can decide that they might not want to continue with Formula 1 completely.
“B) if they do, do they want to sell the team, I don’t know. Otmar Szafnauer is looking for a team to buy.
“C) does the new CEO want to keep Flavio Briatore on as an executive advisor? So, you can see some pretty big questions down here at the Alpine Formula 1 team at the moment.
Sky Sports F1 reporter Rachel Brookes has been forced to take down her comment sections on Instagram and X after receiving a barrage of abuse following an interview with Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Brookes, who often shares media pen interviews with fellow Sky F1 reporters Ted Kravitz and Craig Slater, had the challenge of discussing Verstappen’s crash with George Russell, with the Dutchman still frustrated, being fresh out of the cockpit.
The reigning world champion was hit with a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points for the incident. Verstappen was asked if the contact was intentional, to which he replied: “Does it matter?
When pressed further on it, the Red Bull racer fired back: “Yeah, OK. That’s great. I prefer to speak about the race rather than one single moment.
Read more HERE.
Martin Brundle has told Lando Norris how to bring himself back into championship contention. The Brit is now 22 points behind Oscar Piastri following an unfortunate incident in Montreal.
“Lando seems to have weekends which are utterly dominant, like Melbourne and Monaco, or it just all falls apart,” Brundle said. “It was one of those weekends, sadly for him. He made a mistake in his first lap in Q3, he got a lap in, and then had a scruffy final lap that puts him out of position on the grid. He sorts all that out and really drove well in the race, actually before the incident. He bided his time, pushed when he had to and effectively recovered himself.”
The Sky Sports F1 pundit then continued: “Lando won’t win a World Championship unless he can stop these weekends happening. It’s as simple as that. He’s got to bring his A-game pretty much all the time, like Max [Verstappen] does. Oscar’s much more solid in his delivery week in, week out, much more consistent.
“I find it really confusing, those two different levels of performance. He needs to park one and deliver the other one more often, but there’s a long way to go. It doesn’t mean he’s out of the championship at all. But when you look at the turnaround in points from the advantage he came away from Melbourne with, to what he’s got now, it’s a 45-point swing in that time.”
Andrea Stella has suggested that ‘the situation would have been different’ if Lando Norris did not immediately own the blame for his crash with Oscar Piastri in Canada
“It’s up to us as a team to show our full support to Lando,” Stella said after the crash. “The situation would be different if Lando would have not taken responsibility and apologised. This is just a result of a miscalculation, a misjudgement from a racing point of view, which obviously should not happen, but at the same time is part of racing.
“And we did appreciate the fact that Lando immediately owned the situation. He raised his hand. He took responsibility for the accident, and he apologised immediately to the team. He came to apologise to me as team principal in order to apologise to the entire team.
“Lando will have to show his character to overcome this kind of episode, make sure that he only takes the learnings, he only takes what will make him a stronger driver, and dismisses anything which will be a little bit of residual.”
Kimi Antonelli offered fans a peek into the stress he was experiencing behind the wheel during the Canadian Grand Prix. The Italian held off Oscar Piastri to seal his first-ever F1 podium.
“I was just hoping for the race to finish, to be honest,” Antonelli explained.. “I was even looking at the screen counting the laps because it was very stressful.
“In the last stint, I pushed a bit too hard behind Max and eventually degraded the front left. The last few laps were a struggle, especially seeing Oscar getting closer and closer in the DRS range. At one point, he even tried to attempt the overtake in turn one. It took a lot of effort.”
Pierre Gasly has given his verdict on the departure of Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo. He stepped down during the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.
“First of all, I think I need to have all the information,” the Frenchman said. “I have a very good relationship with Luca, he was the one that took me into the team, and I think he’s a very inspiring person. So obviously, first reaction is that I’m very sad to see him leave.
“I’m sure he’s got some good reasons, and I think at the end, for us as a team – even though not everything is great at the moment – there’s still a lot of positives happening at the factory. And for me, it’s important that we keep that momentum going into ’26, because the picture and the performance could be very different. And we need to keep that in mind.”
“We are a little bit on the back foot, but that’s more to do with the starting position than the actual pace, because the pace wasn’t too bad,” he said. “I’m frustrated that I didn’t put everything together, but apart from that, [nothing] really affects me.
“I think the team knows where I stand and knows what I want to do. That’s what matters most to me.”
Leclerc went on to add: “I would rather just focus on our work. We’re not here to try and prove anybody wrong. We’re just trying to do our job the best we possibly can, and we’ll be happy if we do it. We didn’t exactly do everything right this weekend, so I’m looking forward to the next race to try and turn that situation around.”
Kyle Kirkwood scored his third win of the season as IndyCar went racing under the lights at Worldwide Technology Raceway, also known as Gateway.
The American racer held off McLaren’s Pato O’Ward for back-to-back victories and his first on an oval, while Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen scored his first IndyCar podium in third, coming from 25th on the grid to do so.
There was disaster at every turn of the race at Team Penske, though. Will Power hit the wall after his right front tyre went down, while Josef Newgarden was taken out in a terrifying crash with rookie Louis Foster. Scott McLaughlin was later ruled out with a technical issue as his misery continued.
George Russell has offered a Mercedes contract update after scoring his first Grand Prix victory of the season. The Brit is out of contract at the end of the year and talks with Toto Wolff’s squad have been slow.
“It doesn’t hurt! It doesn’t hurt at all,” he said in Canada. “But, you know, as I’ve said many times, I’m not concerned at all about next year. I know I’m going to be on the grid next year.
“I feel that I’m driving better than ever. I still feel I’ve got more in the tank. I feel ready to fight for a world championship, and I think results like today, results like Bahrain this year when we got half a chance of a good result, we’re there to take it. I’m pretty relaxed. Just enjoying the moment, enjoying my racing, and just taking it week by week.”
“Montreal Grand Prix over and a great podium for Antonelli,” he said on Instagram. “He needed it after the last three races that were difficult, now he’ll get a little bit more confidence, that will be great for him.
“What could have been, should have been an exciting race, turned into a not-so-exciting race. Also, at the end of the race, the rules allow for a red flag so we can have a new start for a two-lap sprint, always exciting and they decided to have a boring safety car finish, too bad.
“It was mainly a race of attrition on the tyres basically, they were all massaging the tyres instead of pushing hard. Sainz got a point, a good recovery, but then the clash between the two McLaren drivers, [it was] easy to point the finger at Norris.
“He realised too late that Piastri was moving towards the left because he had his nose in the gearbox of Piastri, he didn’t realise it and Piastri was edging gradually towards the left. He’s not supposed to be doing that, it was a little bit nasty, so there will be some talks later inside the team.”
Oscar Piastri has publicly backed team-mate Lando Norris, describing the Brit as a ‘very good guy’ and a positive character in the paddock after he apologised for a late crash in Montreal.
“I felt a bit of a touch, and obviously it was an unusual place to have an incident,” Piastri said after the race. “Lando apologising says I guess says a little bit, and he is a very good guy.
“I think it is in his character, in his personality, to say exactly what he thinks, and if that’s detrimental to himself, if it is about himself, then it doesn’t matter for him. I think that is a great quality, it is good for the whole team going forward so that we can have these conversations and go racing like this, and have things not go the way we want, and get through them.
“Everything will stay the same. If it had been a crash in a corner, clearly we got it wrong and were too aggressive, then that is one thing, but it was a bit of an unfortunate incident on a straight. So for me, I don’t think it will change anything, and I think that is the way it should be because ultimately, we’re both trying to fight for a world championship.”
Lando Norris has been slapped with a penalty after the Canadian GP.
After crashing out of the race in a blow to his title hopes, he has been given a five-second time penalty for causing the collision with Oscar Piastri.
However, he will breathe a sigh of relief after not picking up any penalty points…
George Russell was accused of driving erratically behind the safety car by Red Bull, in addition to ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’.
However, those protests were thrown out and the Brit was allowed to keep his victory.
Seven other drivers escaped punishment after being placed under investigation for alleged safety car infringements.
Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll were the seven drivers in question.
Ocon was also accused of erratic driving in the pit lane but no further action was taken.
Oliver Bearman was noted for a potentially unsafe rejoin at Turn 14 but was also spared a post-race penalty.
Lando Norris, meanwhile, was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Piastri but it did not affect his finishing position.
Kimi Antonelli was one of seven drivers under investigation following the Canadian GP.
Antonelli, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll were all noted for a safety car infringement.
However, they have all been handed warnings rather than punishments.
George Russell‘s victory at the Canadian Grand Prix has been confirmed after Red Bull lodged two protests.
The protests made against Russell were rejected by the stewards – one for erratic driving behind the safety car.
Red Bull also argued that Russell had committed ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ by complaining over the radio that Verstappen had overtaken him.
Speaking after the race, Christian Horner suggested that Russell may have exceeded the maximum distance of 10 car lengths behind the safety car.
However, there was no specific mention of that allegation in the document provided by the stewards.
It has been an extremely busy one overnight after a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix.
There were several investigations overnight, which we will provide you with the latest news from straight away.
Christian Horner has explained the reasoning behind Red Bull‘s protests at the Canadian Grand Prix. The team are heading to the stewards to contest George Russell‘s victory in Montreal.
“Two protests that we’ve put to the stewards, that we’ve asked them to have a look at,” he said. “Firstly relating to the erratic driving behind the Safety Car, where George very heavily braked, obviously looking in his mirror for Max.
“Then the second one is very clearly the distance that was left behind the Safety Car that was well in excess, I think at least three times in excess, of the permitted distance.
“It’s within our right to obviously protest that, so we’ve lodged the protest, it’s with the stewards now, and we’ll see what they say.”
Don’t go to bed just yet!
Red Bull have launched a protest into George Russell‘s victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, and representatives have been called to the stewards.
This could get tasty…
Follow the updates from this story here…
Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo resigned from his position during the Canadian Grand Prix. This will be another unwelcome development for the Alpine team in a chaotic 2025 campaign.
“For five years, Luca de Meo has worked to put Renault Group back where it belongs, Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of the board of directors, explained.
“Under his leadership, our company has returned to a sound footing, with a magnificent product range and a return to growth. As well as being an exceptional captain of industry, Luca de Meo is also a creative, committed and passionate man.
“Today, the whole company joins me in thanking him for all these years and all the collective challenges he has successfully met. On a personal level, I will always remember the quality of our relationship during this adventure, which will remain unforgettable.
“It also gives me the opportunity to warmly thank the Group’s employees who have worked alongside us to turn around this emblematic company of which we are so proud.”
Oscar Piastri abstained from blaming Lando Norris following a crash late in the Canadian Grand Prix. The Australian was lucky to avoid significant damage, while his team-mate was taken out of the race as a result of the contact.
“Obviously, it’s not ideal for anyone, but I haven’t actually seen the incident, so I don’t know what exactly happened,” he said.
“But if Lando has taken full responsibility then that’s how it goes I guess. Just a bit of a tricky race in general and not an ideal finish.”
Norris made no attempt to absolve himself of the blame, either. “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,” he told Sky Sports F1. “Glad I didn’t ruin his race. In the end, apologies to the team.”
George Russell wins the Canadian Grand Prix, holding off Max Verstappen. His rookie team-mate, Kimi Antonelli, finished on the podium as well, becoming the third-youngest in F1 history.
Oscar Piastri finished fourth, but not before contact with team-mate Lando Norris, who failed to finish the race.
Find the full results here
George Russell is currently controlling the Canadian Grand Prix with a 4.5 second advantage over Max Verstappen. Kimi Antonelli runs third, tracking for his first F1 podium finish.
1. George Russell
2. Max Verstappen
3. Kimi Antonelli
4. Oscar Piastri
5. Lando Norris
6. Charles Leclerc
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Esteban Ocon
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Carlos Sainz
“We’ve progressed coming into it, so that was a positive,” he said after qualifying. “More often than not… [in qualifying] there’s been something wrong with the car.
“Like the floor’s not working, or the rear wing’s stopped working. There’s always been something that meant that we were down on downforce or something. On one side of history, I’ve had great times here, it’s a great circuit. Lots can happen. So for that, I’m open-minded. The fundamental baseline of our car is not as good as the guys up ahead today, it’s quite far off. But I’m still hopeful our race pace can be good. The podium is still a goal.”
Oscar Piastri has opted against using McLaren’s new suspension at the Canadian Grand Prix, passing up the opportunity to deploy the upgraded part in Montreal.
He will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from third on the grid, behind George Russell and Max Verstappen, but ahead of team-mate and closest title rival, Lando Norris.
“I’m obviously not going to get into too much detail on it, but I could have run it if I wanted to, and I didn’t,” the Australian explained in Canada.
“It changes some things – some things are better, some things are worse. It’s not [that] simple: it’s not an ‘upgrade’, it’s a different part. So I had the option to run it but chose not to. I’ve been happy with how the car’s been so far this year and, again, just wanted to keep consistency.”
Chloe Chambers has delivered her first win of the 2025 F1 Academy season, holding off Ella Lloyd, who produced three consecutive P2 finishes in Montreal.
Doriane Pin rounded off the podium to retain the championship lead.
F1 Academy Montreal race three results
1. Chloe Chambers
2. Ella Lloyd
3. Doriane Pin
4. Tina Hausmann
5. Chloe Chong
6. Maya Weug
7. Alisha Palmowski
8. Alba Larson
9. Joanna Ciconte
10. Emma Felbermayr
Alpine driver Gasly qualified on the backrow due to a mistake on his final Q1 lap.
But he’ll instead start from the pits after having changed made to his car.
And Lawson, who was due to start 20th, will do the same.
Remember Robert Kubica? Of course you do.
Well the 40-year-old Pole, who drove for BMW Sauber, Renault, Williams and Alfa Romeo in F1 has just won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Ferrari.
Kubica joins Fernando Alonso as the only two drivers to have won Le Mans and an F1 race this century.
Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson are the winning drivers for the #83 AF Corse team.
ROBERT KUBICA wins his FIRST LE MANS!! ud83cudfc6ud83cuddebud83cuddf7
He makes history as the FIRST Polish driver to win the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
What. a. drive.#WEC #LeMans24 #Ferrari @AFCorse pic.twitter.com/bmQn4f3jlF
Red Bull were away and clear of the chasing pack in the straight-line speed charts from Canadian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
Max Verstappen was the fastest car through the speed trap located just before the final chicane, with Yuki Tsunoda not far behind.
George Russell was more than 6km/h slower but he still managed to put his Mercedes on pole.
Here is how the top 10 shaped up…
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 336.1km/h
2. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 336.0km/h
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 333.1km/h
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 333.1km/h
5. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 333.0km/h
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 333.0km/h
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 333.0km/h
8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 332.6km/h
9. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 332.0km/h
10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 331.6km/h
Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg irked McLaren by recommending that Lando Norris see a sports psychologist, according to The Daily Mail.
Rosberg made the remark while filling in for Martin Brundle on co-commentary duties for Sky Sports in Spain two weeks ago.
“It was in the head at the end,” he said after watching Norris’ qualifying lap. “[Oscar] Piastri is so solid. He always delivers, no mistakes, whereas Lando is a bit the opposite.”
Senior figures at McLaren reportedly feel as though Rosberg is trying to ‘make a name for himself’ as a pundit by making outlandish comments.
The Canadian Grand Prix is scheduled to get underway at 7pm (BST) in Montreal this evening.
UK viewers can watch all the action on Sky Sports F1, with race build-up starting at 5.30pm.
Sky customers can also tune into the action via the app on a mobile phone, a laptop or a tablet.
Russell will start the race on pole, with Verstappen next to him on the front row.
A collision between the two drivers in Spain last time out landed Verstappen with more penalty points and left him just one away from a one-race suspension.
But Russell does not think Verstappen is the kind of character to let that threat deter him from his usual aggressive driving style.
The Brit said: “Max is one of the best drivers. There’s no reason for him to race any differently, and I’m not sitting here thinking he’s going to give us more room. If anything, probably the opposite to try and prove a point.
“So I’ll be keeping an eye [out], but ultimately, we’re all here to win.”
Max Verstappen is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the Canadian Grand Prix today.
George Russell is starting on pole but punters can still get a good price on the Mercedes star.
Here is how the market is shaping up, with odds courtesy of Betway…
Max Verstappen – 13/8
Oscar Piastri – 15/8
George Russell – 3/1
Lando Norris – 15/2
Lewis Hamilton – 33/1
Kimi Antonelli – 40/1
Charles Leclerc – 50/1
Fernando Alonso – 100/1
1. George Russell (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
7. Lando Norris (McLaren)
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
9. Alex Albon (Williams)
10. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
12. Isack Hadjar* (Racing Bulls)
13. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
14. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
15. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
16. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
18. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
19. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
20. Yuki Tsunoda** (Red Bull)
* = three-place grid penalty
** = 10-place grid penalty
They were the exact words Stella used when discussing McLaren‘s chances at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Oscar Piastri qualifying third and Lando Norris seventh.
“In terms of race pace, we should be a bit more comfortable,” said Stella. “But let’s see, I think this weekend could be one of damage limitation.”
Kravitz replied: “Damage limitation? I never like to hear that from any team, but interesting that it’s coming from you.”
Max Verstappen was in no mood to discuss his controversial collision with George Russell in Spain and the race-ban threat that came with it during a press conference at the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Verstappen needs to watch his step in Montreal as one more penalty point would see him barred from the next race.
But he objected to shedding any more light on the issue.
“I don’t need to hear it again,” said the Dutchman. “It’s really p***ing me off.
“You’re speaking about it on Thursday… It’s such a waste of time. It’s very childish. That’s why I also don’t want to say too much because it’s really annoying, this world that we live in.”
The FIA have slapped Isack Hadjar with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Carlos Sainz in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying.
Racing Bulls star Hadjar got through to Q3 but will be forced to settle for 12th place on the grid for Sunday’s race.
The decision follows an even sterner punishment for Yuki Tsunoda of partner team Red Bull.
The Japanese driver will start at the very back of the grid after being handed a whopping 10-place penalty for a red flag infringement during FP3.
The Brit has struggled to adapt to life with his new team in his first year since ditching Mercedes.
And he put on another middle-of-the-road showing in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday, leaving his car fifth on the grid.
Afterwards, he said: “I don’t feel at one with the car – I haven’t all year. I don’t know if I will this year.”
Hello and welcome to Express Sport‘s F1 LIVE!
We’ve got you covered with all the latest Canadian Grand Prix build-up, plus updates from the race itself later today.
Stay tuned for updates, which are just around the corner…
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