Antonelli Seizes 43-Point Edge After Canada Swing

Andrea Kimi Antonelli left the Canadian Grand Prix with a commanding 43-point championship lead after turning a Mercedes weekend that began with George Russell winning the sprint into another decisive title gain on Sunday.

Russell had looked to be rebuilding momentum in Montreal when he won the sprint in 28:50.951, beating Lando Norris by 1.272 seconds, with Antonelli another 1.843 seconds back in third. But Motorsport official Laurence Barrett reported that the main race reversed Mercedes’ fortunes completely. Russell retired with power-unit trouble after battling at the front, and Antonelli took over the lead and controlled the race to claim a fourth straight Grand Prix victory.

That reversal defined the weekend because Antonelli had arrived in Canada already on a three-race winning streak. He added his first sprint podium of the season on Saturday after fighting Russell, then underlined his pace again by setting the fastest lap on the final lap of Sunday’s race.

Russell’s retirement carried the heaviest title cost. After climbing from the car, he was quoted by Barrett as saying, “It seems like someone doesn’t want me to fight for the title.” Barrett also reported that Russell threw his headrest onto the track in frustration.

The damage was magnified by missed opportunities around Antonelli. McLaren took second in the sprint with Norris and fourth with Oscar Piastri, but neither converted that into race points. Norris retired on Sunday with a gearbox problem, while Piastri dropped out of the points after a 10-second penalty following contact with Alex Albon.

Barrett wrote that Antonelli’s win and Russell’s DNF stretched the gap between the Mercedes pair to 43 points, giving the Italian firm control of the title fight. A separate points summary underlined just how strong that run has been: across the Miami and Canada weekends, with 66 points available, Antonelli scored 59, more than any other driver, while Russell managed 25 after his Canada retirement.