F1 Sprint Results Today: Mercedes controversy kicks off as Russell squeezes out Antonelli

Russell screwing up his face on the F1 grid at Miami in bright purple race suit — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

F1 Sprint Results Today: Mercedes controversy kicks off as Russell squeezes out Antonelli

All the times and positions from the Canadian Grand Prix sprint race

Originally written by Chris Deeley. This version is a translation.

Saturday 23 May 2026 17:57

Controversy abounded early at the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli battling hard on track before the Brit took Saturday's sprint race win.

Russell led from pole position while Antonelli reeled him in by the start of Lap 6, the young Italian getting past his team-mate at Turn 1 only to be squeezed onto the grass at the next turn.

The pair nearly came to blows again when Antonelli made another passing attempt, getting alongside the sister Mercedes only to bounce across the grass again and lose out not only Russell, but also Norris.

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Norris took advantage of the work put into the Mercedes' tyres to close right up onto Russell, harassing him for the remainder of the 23-lap race while himself being harassed by Antonelli.

There was another close fight a few seconds behind the leading trio, with Oscar Piastri sandwiched between the Ferrari pair – behind Lewis Hamilton but ahead of Charles Leclerc.

Further down the field, Sergio Perez was once again outside the points, but finished a very creditable 11th place – by far the best finish for a Cadillac in the American team's short history. Even being dropped to 14th by a 10-second penalty applied post-race won't dampen the team's enjoyment of the sprint too much.

F1 Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Race Results

F1 Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Race Results
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	George Russell	Mercedes	WINNER
2	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.272s
3	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+1.843s
4	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+9.797s
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+9.929s
6	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+10.545s
7	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+15.935s
8	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+29.710s
9	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+31.621s
10	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+36.793s
11	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1:01.344s
12	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1:01.814s
13	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+1:04.209s
14	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+1:10.402s (10s penalty)
15	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1:12.158s (10s penalty)
16	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	N/A
17	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+1 LAP
18	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+1 LAP
19	Alex Albon	Williams	+1 LAP
20	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1 LAP
21	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+3 LAPS
NC	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	DNF