Kimi Antonelli has seized control of the 2026 drivers' championship, sitting on 131 points after his fourth straight win at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. George Russell retired with a power unit failure, leaving Lewis Hamilton second and Max Verstappen third and widening Antonelli's cushion to 43 points. The result reshapes the title race heading into the remainder of the season.

Kimi Antonelli left Montreal with more than a trophy. His win at the Canadian Grand Prix gave him a fourth consecutive victory and a commanding 131 points in the drivers' championship, the clearest sign yet that he is running the season on his terms.

The decisive moment arrived when George Russell, the one driver who could threaten Antonelli from inside the Mercedes garage, was forced to retire because of a power unit problem. With Russell out, Antonelli had no immediate intra-team rival and settled into a controlled run from the front. That control allowed him to manage pace and tyres without being forced into desperate moves.

Behind him, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fought for the remaining podium places. The pair established a race-long battle for second, with Hamilton holding that position at the flag and Verstappen finishing third. The contest between Hamilton and Verstappen shaped the middle stints of the race and set the tone for how the top teams defended points when the lead battle had already been decided.

Not all strategy calls paid off. Both McLaren cars chose to start on intermediate tyres early in the race.

Mastheads

That gamble didn't pay off as conditions and subsequent race developments left the team unable to convert the starts into points, resulting in a double non-score for McLaren in Montreal. The team will review that tyre call as it tries to recover lost ground.

The finishing order in Montreal produced a clear reshuffle at the top of the championship table. Antonelli, driving for Mercedes AMG Petronas, sits on 131 points. Russell, who retired from the race, remains on 88. Charles Leclerc is third on 75, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 72. Lando Norris is fifth with 58 and Oscar Piastri sixth with 48. Max Verstappen is seventh on 43. Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson round out the top 10 with 20, 18 and 16 points respectively.

Franco Colapinto now has 15 and Isack Hadjar 14 after their strong finishes in Montreal.

The weekend produced several positive stories away from the front. Isack Hadjar climbed back into the top six despite picking up two penalties during the race, showing pace and recovery under pressure. Franco Colapinto produced a surprise sixth place, a result that more than doubled his points tally for the season and marked a new high for the Alpine driver.

On the wins ledger, the standings listed after the race show Antonelli with four victories so far this season. George Russell is the only other driver to have taken a win, with one victory to his name. Constructors standings and the full race classification were updated after the Canadian Grand Prix, reflecting the impact of retirements and the mid-race strategy swings that decided who scored.

For Mercedes the day was a mix of triumph and warning. Antonelli's fourth straight win cements the team at the front of the drivers' battle, but Russell's power unit failure is a reminder that mechanical reliability still matters in a championship now defined by margins and missed chances.

McLaren will leave Montreal with questions about tyre choice and timing. Starting both cars on intermediates and failing to score accentuated the gap to the frontrunners, while Alpine and Red Bull found positives through opportunistic driving and recovery. That divergence in weekend outcomes will shape team conversations as the season moves on.

Related Articles

That 43-point cushion over Russell is the clearest number from Montreal, and the one every rival now has to chase.

This article was created with AI assistance.