The 2026 Canadian Grand Prix was a case where Formula 1 saw chaos, high-pressure stakes, and an intriguing turn of events in the title battle. From cold conditions to inclement weather, Montreal provided an opportunity to gamble, while reliability woes and driver errors made up a new outlook in the championship battle. For instance, the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix was the place where budding racing star Kimi Antonelli got another fourth consecutive win that extended his championship lead. In contrast, some of his competitors such as George Russell and McLaren got punished for their mistakes on the track after a challenging weekend.
The race took many different turns. Mercedes had been leading initially, Ferrari managed to show its true potential, and McLaren’s tyre gamble fell flat on its face instantly. Some racers took advantage of attrition, while others suffered from penalties, mechanical breakdowns, or bad strategy. Overall, despite having raced only five rounds, Canada can be considered a decisive moment of the 2026 F1 season.
Winners: Antonelli, Hamilton and Colapinto Shine in Montreal
The biggest victor turned out to be Kimi Antonelli, who won the race and gained a massive 43-point advantage in the championship race over his rival Russell. Antonelli was battling furiously with Russell until he managed to take over the leading position by lap 30 due to Russell’s power failure. The teenager’s fourth consecutive grand prix victory is evidence that he is well on his way from being a promising rookie to becoming a genuine championship contender. Moreover, he displayed better composure after the intense sprint race earlier in the day, where he had problems with his teammate Russell. As for Lewis Hamilton, the Englishman had yet another impressive performance behind the wheel of the Ferrari F1-20 car. Hamilton managed to recover after a slow start to the race, when he lost time to Verstappen. Hamilton managed to reduce the gap thanks to some perfect pit stop work and then overtook his rival at turn 1 to claim the second position.
Another major success story came from Franco Colapinto. The Alpine driver finished sixth after another clean and disciplined race. He stayed out of trouble, managed difficult tyre conditions and collected the best finish of his Formula 1 career. Liam Lawson also impressed with seventh place after a difficult weekend that included limited practice running and tyre temperature struggles during the race.
Losers: Russell, McLaren and Albon Leave Canada Frustrated
The most disappointing outcome for the weekend occurred to George Russell. Following his win in the sprint race, and starting from pole, Russell was able to make the move to limit the progress of Antonelli. Unfortunately for Russell, however, his engine failure while in the lead gave Mercedes teammate Antonelli a significant championship lead. Russell appeared clearly frustrated with the outcome straight away upon retirement. He is now up against a steep challenge regardless of pace shown throughout the weekend. McLaren experienced a disappointing afternoon following a gamble on intermediates at the beginning due to dry track conditions. Both drivers quickly fell back on the track. Oscar Piastri would go on to serve a ten-second penalty for contact with Alex Albon while Lando Norris retired due to a reported gearbox problem after running through the gravel.
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Albon’s weekend also collapsed after multiple setbacks. A collision with a groundhog during practice damaged his car and reduced valuable track time. Then, while running competitively in the race, he was hit by Piastri at the hairpin and forced to retire. Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc struggled with brake and tyre issues before finishing a distant fourth, while Audi lost possible points after both drivers started on the wrong tyres in cold conditions.
