Russell wins Canada Sprint after Mercedes teammates make contact

Russell is now 18 points behind his teammate in the standings after the Italian finished third behind Lando Norris as well.

After it was announced that four drivers, including Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas and Alexander Albon, would start from the pit lane, Lance Stroll also joined them after Aston Martin identified a front suspension issue on his car.

The Mercedes drivers got off to a reasonably good start, especially Russell, with the Briton able to keep the lead into the first corner. Hamilton was able to overtake Oscar Piastri into Turn 1, with no incidents further back in the field.

Within the first couple of laps, the two Mercedes cars were able to pull clear of Norris and Hamilton, with Antonelli trying to chase down Russell. The Italian attempted his first move on his teammate at Turn 1 on Lap 6, going around the outside, but Russell left him little room. The two made contact, which forced Antonelli off the track.

At Turn 7, Antonelli tried to dive down the inside of Russell but went long, losing a position to Norris in the process. As a result, the McLaren driver moved up into second place and was on the gearbox of Russell. The aforementioned incident left the Antonelli furious, demanding a penalty for his teammate. Team boss Toto Wolff then came on the radio to calm him down.

By Lap 15, Antonelli had caught up to Russell and Norris, while Hamilton lost ground and came under pressure from Piastri. On Lap 21, the Ferrari driver also made slight contact with the Wall of Champions, but it did not compromise his Sprint. On the final lap, Antonelli tried to make a move on Norris into Turn 1, but it did not pay off. Moreover, Hamilton also lost positions to Piastri and Leclerc.