The Kimi Antonelli driver took victory in the Canadá GP of Fórmula 1 this Sunday. The race took place at Circuito Gilles Villeneuve, located in the city of Montreal. Mercedes’s competitor took over the top of the table definitively after George Russell’s abandonment. His teammate suffered a mechanical failure in his car during lap 31. The result increased the young Italian’s advantage at the top of the drivers’ world championship for the 2026 season. The race presented weather instability in the opening moments. Isso forced teams to adapt tire choices quickly in the first few pit stops.
The break of George Russell and the consolidation of Mercedes in the lead
The Mercedes team demonstrated technical superiority throughout the weekend on the Canadian track. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were in a direct duel from the moment the red lights went out. The two drivers shared the front row of the starting grid. The internal dispute repeated the level of intensity recorded in the previous day’s sprint race. The British competitor led the race at different times in the first half of the event. The pace of both cars prevented direct opponents from approaching on the long straights of the circuit.
The racing landscape changed drastically when George Russell’s equipment developed structural problems. The pilot had to pull the vehicle over to the escape area in the intermediate sector. The failure ended the Briton’s participation prematurely. Kimi Antonelli inherited first place without facing immediate resistance. The Italian began to manage the wear of the rubber compounds with the free track in front of him. The advantage built exceeded the ten second mark in relation to second place. Precise driving guaranteed a smooth victory until the final flag.
Batalha tight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for the podium
The second position in the race went to Lewis Hamilton, who drove Ferrari’s car with defensive efficiency. The British veteran withstood the constant pressure applied by Max Verstappen in the final laps. The timed difference between the two competitors at the finish line was just half a second. The Red Bull pilot attempted several overtaking maneuvers in the movable wing activation zones. The final speed of the Italian team’s car prevented attacks before the braking zones.
Max Verstappen’s third place ended a period of four consecutive races off the podium in the 2026 championship. The Austrian team faced difficulties finding the ideal temperature for the intermediate tires in the initial phase of the race. The car’s pace improved considerably after the transition to dry compounds. Charles Leclerc completed the positive weekend for Ferrari. The Monegasque driver crossed the finish line in fourth position overall. The Maranello team scored important points in the constructors’ world championship table.
Desafios and punishment mark Gabriel Bortoleto’s run on Montreal
Driver Gabriel Bortoleto completed the Canadian stage in 13th place with the Audi car. The Brazilian started the race in 13th place on the starting grid using intermediate tires. The wet asphalt conditions hampered the vehicle’s traction in the first few laps. The competitor lost positions and reached 19th place before the first round of pit stops. The German team opted for a recovery strategy based on managing the wear of the rubber on a drying track.
The stewards of Federação Internacional and Automobilismo imposed a five-second penalty on the Brazilian. Gabriel Bortoleto exceeded the permitted speed limit while deploying the virtual safety car. The infraction occurred while track inspectors were removing debris left behind by other competitors’ accidents. The time penalty did not change the final position of the Audi driver. The distance built in relation to the Frenchman Esteban Ocon guaranteed the maintenance of 13th place after applying the time increase.
- Gabriel Bortoleto started the race in 13th position on the grid with intermediate compounds.
- The driver lost performance in the first laps and fell to 19th place.
- The Audi team switched to medium tires on lap 20.
- The stewards imposed a five-second penalty for violating the delta time.
- The Brazilian maintained his final position due to his 47-second advantage over Esteban Ocon.
The second half of the race allowed the Brasil representative to gradually advance. The attacks and breaks of opponents opened up space in the intermediate field. Gabriel Bortoleto performed precise overtaking in Circuito Gilles Villeneuve’s heavy braking zones. The driver crossed the finish line with two laps behind the race winner. The Audi team collected important data on the car’s aerodynamic behavior in mixed grip conditions.
Estratégias failures and retirements define the intermediate field
The McLaren team recorded a performance well below expectations in the Montreal stage. Base engineers adopted a conservative strategy based on the forecast of heavy rain. The precipitation did not reach the intensity calculated by the team’s meteorologists. The cars quickly lost performance in the opening laps. Australian Oscar Piastri retired from contention after colliding with Alexander Albon. The impact destroyed the front suspension components. Lando Norris also left the race due to a propulsion system failure.
The high abandonment rate benefited teams at the bottom of the league table. Alpine placed its two drivers in the Canadá GP scoring zone. Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly ran consistent races and avoided mistakes in the wet areas of the track. Williams faced a pointsless weekend with the double retirement of its competitors. Alexander Albon suffered irreparable damage in the crash with the McLaren. Carlos Sainz took the car back to the pits after identifying anomalies in the power unit.