So far, the Sprint weekend has not disappointed at the Canadian Grand Prix. After a close battle for Sprint pole, George Russell started from first place on Saturday. Kimi Antonelli attempted an attack around the outside into Turn 1, but made contact with his teammate and went wide. Over the radio, the young Italian was furious and even demanded a penalty for his teammate and championship rival. Mercedes team boss and CEO Toto Wolff also spoke to the youngster over team radio, telling him to focus on driving instead. Antonelli eventually finished third behind Russell and Lando Norris, meaning he now leads the Briton by 18 points in the drivers' standings.

After the Sprint, the two drivers did not agree on their Sprint battle. Russell suggested that "we know overtaking on the outside, there's a certain element of risk that comes with [that]. There are amazing overtakes when they come off, but the chances are quite slim. There was only one direction I was going and I was going to close the line because that's my right to do so." Antonelli then added: "I think if you're well alongside, you can overtake pretty much anywhere. I mean, obviously, there are corners that are more difficult, but I don't think there's never been an overtake around the outside in Turn 1, but I agree that obviously, he was defending his position."

Then in qualifying, the Mercedes drivers once again battled for pole position. For the second day in a row, just 0.068 seconds separated the two drivers, again in Russell’s favour. Norris finished third, hoping to capitalise on the Mercedes teammates’ battle. Oscar Piastri finished fourth ahead of two former F1 world champions, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

After Verstappen said during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend that he will stay in Formula 1 for the 2027 campaign, the Dutchman once again suggested that walking away could be on the cards if the power units are not adjusted for next year.

However, that now appears to be on shaky ground for two reasons. First, the cost of adjustment to the power units. For example, Audi finds it very difficult to justify spending millions again after doing so ahead of 2026. The second is the ADUO system, which could give teams that are lagging behind at the moment an advantage.

The Dutchman said to GPblog, among others, after qualifying on Saturday: "If it stays like this, it's going to be a long year next year, which I don't want. I can tell you if it stays like this, then let's see. It's just mentally not doable for me to stay like this. It's really not.”

The Red Bull Racing driver added: "There's a lot of other fun things out there. Let's stay on the positive side. We're still, I think, looking towards making those changes and of course some people that at the moment maybe have a bit of an advantage will try to be difficult about it. But if the FIA is strong and also from the FOM side, they just need to do it."

Starting fifth, the Ferrari driver is hoping for rain to give him a chance to challenge the Mercedes and McLaren drivers at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. After qualifying, the Briton explained: "I'm hoping it is [going to rain]. I hope that levels us out to the guys ahead and maybe gives us a bit of a chance to fight with them.”