F1 GP Canada 2026, Sprint Race: Russell triumphs but the battle with Antonelli explodes, Norris 2nd! – LIVE

F1 Montreal, race hub: all the useful links

To best follow the live broadcast of the Sprint Race of the F1 Canada GP, here are all the useful links for the race weekend in Montreal, the fifth round of the 2026 World Championship:

Read more Drivers «scared» at the idea of being able to race in the wet in Canada

• TV schedules – The weekend program
• Weather – What the weather is like in Montreal
• Preview – The weekend themes
• LIVE – The session commentary
• Starting grid – The lineup at the start
• Results – The session standings
• Last year – How it went in 2025
• Calendar – All the 2026 F1 rounds
• Drivers’ standings – After Miami
• Constructors’ standings – After Miami

Click here to add Formula Passion as a preferred source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

F1, live commentary of the Sprint Race of the Canada GP

18:38 – The broadcast also showed the replay of what happened to Hamilton: Lewis defended on the inside before the final chicane, but Piastri had the better line and took the position, with Leclerc then using better traction to overtake his teammate.

18:37 – The top three drivers are in parc fermé and there seems to be coldness between Antonelli and Russell, who appears to deliberately ignore his teammate after a quick handshake.

18:35 – Antonelli is still furious over the radio: “If we have to race like this, then we should know it!“. Not surprisingly, Wolff replies directly: “Kimi, we will talk about it but enough with these radio messages!“.

18:34 – The final standings of this entertaining and eventful Sprint Race of the Canada GP:

18:33 – Negative moment instead for Hamilton, who just as Antonelli was attacking Norris lost the position to Piastri and was also overtaken by teammate Leclerc. The checkered flag waves meanwhile for George Russell, who thus wins his second Sprint Race of the season.

18:32 – Attention! Antonelli tries an outside attack at turn 1 on Norris but goes wide and is forced again to cut the first chicane! Kimi then took the “little asphalt path” and gave up the position to both Russell and Norris, so there should be no penalties for him…

18:31 – The penultimate lap of the race begins with the leading trio continuing to run in a train. Antonelli tries to show himself but Norris defends well!

18:30 – Attention! Hamilton hit the wall with his right rear while trying to defend against Piastri’s attacks! For now, however, the English driver, very lucky, does not seem to have damage and indeed continues in fourth place ahead of Piastri: but now he has to work hard to defend the position.

18:29 – Ten-second penalty for Hulkenberg, guilty of gaining ground by cutting the track. Fernando Alonso retires while Pierre Gasly stops at the pits to change tires (and switch to Softs).

18:28 – The standings as we are in lap 20/23:

18:27 – Antonelli is still very fast in turn 10, the hairpin that leads onto the long straight of the third sector. Then, however, he cannot really get close to Norris despite the overtaking mode (which Norris also has, being less than a second behind Russell).

18:25 – The fight at the top between Russell, Norris and Antonelli has somewhat stabilized, as they proceed in a train without ever attacking or showing themselves. We are in lap 18/23.

18:24 – Some drivers have also stopped at the pits: Hadjar returned to the track after a couple of laps stopped in the pits due to an engine problem, while Albon and Alonso changed tires switching respectively to new Softs and used Hards.

18:23 – Also watch out for Piastri, who has closed in a lot on Hamilton, bringing Leclerc with him. Now, in the fight for fourth place, Lewis seems a bit more struggling with the tires: did the Englishman perhaps ask too much in the first laps and is now in difficulty?

18:22 – The standings as we are in lap 15/23 and 8 laps to go:

18:20 – Watching the replays, there is not much to say about the second incident between Antonelli and Russell: Kimi arrived much faster braking and thus went wide in the corner, which is why he cut the chicane, but without contact or incorrect maneuvers by George. Instead, for the first incident, Kimi has reason to complain more on a “political” than “sporting” level, since Russell’s maneuver seems aggressive but not unfair.

18:19 – Russell is a bit more sneaky, lacking the pace to shake off Norris and constantly losing to his teammate as well (in the last lap, for example, he left half a second on the track). So the battle for the podium zone is still to be decided.

18:18 – And indeed there is another fastest lap for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is again catching up to Norris for second place. 1:14.380 for the Italian Mercedes driver, who evidently got distracted for a few laps after those close moments with teammate Russell.

18:17 – A rather hectic race thanks to the skirmishes between the two Mercedes drivers. Now Russell seems to have regained some rhythm with Norris 8 tenths behind, while Antonelli has removed Hamilton from the “overtake mode” zone.

18:15 – Beyond the radio complaints, Antonelli seems to have lost some performance after that excursion, including a jump on the grass, in turns 8 and 9. The Italian driver is now under attack from Lewis Hamilton, who wants to try to take third place. The standings as we are in lap 10/23:

18:14 – Toto Wolff also intervenes over the radio to ask Kimi to “stay focused on driving and not complain over the radio“.

Read more FaSTLAne 2030, the new strategic plan of Stellantis

18:13 – Antonelli is furious! Over the radio Bono asks him to focus on Norris to try to regain second position, but Kimi says over the radio “I don’t care, he pushed me out and must get a penalty“!

18:12 – And there was another skirmish between the two, a few corners later! Russell again pushed Antonelli in turn 8, forcing him to cut the chicane sharply, jumping on the grass! And indeed Norris took second position!

18:11 – Contact at turn 1 between Antonelli and Russell! Kimi was on the outside, forced the braking and the teammate pushed him out to cut the first corner, regaining the position!

18:10 – Isack Hadjar loses ground, reporting an engine problem, while Kimi Antonelli goes wide braking towards the last chicane to try to snatch first place from Russell!

18:09 – Fast lap for Antonelli, who is glued to the teammate’s exhaust (4 tenths gap). The standings as lap 5/23 has just started:

18:08 – Hamilton, like Antonelli on Russell, is on Norris’s tail trying to secure a mini-podium. Leclerc is a bit sneaky behind Piastri, followed by Verstappen and Hadjar.

18:07 – Stroll is under investigation for breaking the starting procedure. Meanwhile, Antonelli is still on Russell’s tail, less than a second gap. The two Mercedes have however made some gap: in less than three laps, Norris is already 3 seconds behind the leader.

18:06 – Hulkenberg went wide with locked wheels in the chicane of turns 8 and 9 during the first lap, losing more ground: now the Audi driver has slipped to 15th, behind Alonso.

18:04 – Regular start without incidents with Russell ahead of everyone, followed by Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Hadjar, Linbblad and Sainz in the top 10. Lance Stroll is also in the race but is much slower than the others.

18:03 – The five lights go out and… The Sprint Race of the 2026 Canada GP starts! This time the start of the two Mercedes is good, maintaining the first two positions in the same order as on the grid! Good start for Hamilton, who passed Piastri and is fourth!

18:00 – The formation lap of the 2026 Canada GP sprint race starts, with the two Mercedes drivers starting very aggressively, almost as if it were the start of the race.

17:59 – Actually, the Canadian driver is in the car, but in the pit lane: perhaps the Aston Martin mechanics are still trying to get him to start the race, but from the pit lane.

17:57 – And here are the tires at the start of the Sprint Race: Medium tires for everyone (new for the drivers in the top ten positions, used for the others and for the two Mercedes), except Lindblad who goes with new Hards, and Perez and Bottas who choose new Softs. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin is pushed off the starting grid, so he will not take part in this first race of the weekend.

17:54 – Just over five minutes to the start of the formation lap: soon we will find out the tires at the start of the 23-lap Sprint Race, which will last about half an hour, suspension permitting. We also remind that stopping at the pits will not be mandatory, so drivers can finish the short race with the same tires used at the start.

17:51 – Otherwise: it should not rain today in Montreal, but the sky is a bit cloudy and certainly looks less blue and spring-like than it was on the beautiful day yesterday. 32 degrees on the asphalt, 20 in the air.

17:48 – There is important news regarding the starting grid because many have changed setups under parc fermé conditions and will therefore be forced to start from the pit lane: it will be a pit lane start that is not even like a traffic light in the city center at rush hour, because in the lane (in this order) we will have Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon.

17:45 – Good afternoon dear Formula fans! We are live to tell you about the first race of the weekend, which will last 23 laps and will award 8 points to the winner, 7 to the second place and so on, down to a single point for eighth at the checkered flag. Are you ready? 15 minutes, then the formation lap and the lights out.

F1 Canada GP, the Sprint Race live

Good evening to all of you, dear readers of FormulaPassion.it. We are live to tell you about the Sprint Race that awards the first points of the weekend of the F1 Canada GP: it starts at 18:00 with the formation lap and the scheduled laps are 23. Certainly a good way to get an idea of the balance of power on track, waiting for qualifying and the actual GP.

In Friday evening’s sprint qualifying, the fastest was George Russell, who beat teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli who however secured an all-silver front row for Mercedes. Then the two McLarens, the two Ferraris and the two Red Bulls. Will these be the balance of power also in the first race of the weekend or will there be surprises? Find out with us at FP, following and commenting live the Sprint Race of the F1 Canada GP.

Read more Stellantis and Wayve together for autonomous driving