George Russell gave Mercedes their first victory of the season with a thrilling win at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. The 27-year-old Brit held off a late charge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, crossing the line just 0.228 seconds ahead under the safety car to take his fourth career win.
Adding to Mercedes’ celebrations, 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed everyone by finishing third, making him the third-youngest driver in F1 history to stand on the podium. The young Italian showed incredible composure as he fended off championship leader Oscar Piastri in the closing stages.
Piastri managed to come home in fourth despite a dramatic collision with his McLaren teammate Lando Norris just three laps from the end. The contact, which broke Norris’ front wing, allowed Piastri to increase his lead in the championship to 22 points.
Behind them, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took fifth ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, followed by Fernando Alonso in seventh and Nico Hulkenberg in eighth for Sauber. Esteban Ocon secured a valuable ninth-place finish for Haas in their 200th Grand Prix, while Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten for Williams.
For Russell, the win marked a return to the top step of the podium for the first time since the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year, and a huge boost for the Mercedes camp after a challenging start to the season.
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