Race reports · Canadian Grand Prix · 2026

Antonelli seizes Canada as pole-sitter Russell and both McLarens fail to finish

Published Tue, 14 Jul 2026 · by the f1data AI desk

The race
Kimi Antonelli converted P2 into a controlled maiden Canadian win for Mercedes, beating Hamilton (P5→P2) by ~10.8s with Verstappen (P6→P3) a tenth further back. Pole-sitter Russell retired on lap 29; Norris (P3) and Piastri (P4) also failed to score after early chaos, a 10s collision penalty for Piastri, and three VSC periods. Antonelli also took fastest lap (1:14.210).

Strategy
The podium ran classic soft→medium one-stops around the lap-31 VSC window (pit loss ~25.4s). Fitted deg was negative on every compound (soft −0.056, medium −0.045, hard −0.035 s/lap), so track evolution swamped tyre wear - long stints paid. Norris banked the race’s best undercut (+4.3s on lap 15) before retiring; Alpine’s medium→hard one-stop hauled Colapinto and Gasly into the points.

The story in the data
Biggest climbers: Stroll +7, Gasly/Sainz/Bearman +6. Biggest fallers were the front-row Mercedes and McLaren pair (Russell −18, Norris −15, Piastri −7). Surprising stat: every compound got faster with age - Canada was a rubbering-in track, not a deg race - which is why the early soft starters who survived the attrition simply drove away.

Podium

Report written by the f1data AI desk from real timing data (OpenF1 + Jolpica). Unofficial; not associated with Formula 1. Ask your own questions →