Four in a Row: Antonelli takes another win in Montreal

For the fifth round of the Formula One World Championship, we go racing in Montreal, Canada, at the historic 4.361km track. Here's (almost) everything that happened at the only Grand Prix up north.

The grid started on very mixed tyres, with both McLarens, both Cadillacs, Nico Hulkenburg, and Carlos Sainz starting on the intermediate tyres to prepare for the expected rain.

Upon lights out after the formation lap, Arvid Lindblad reported that his car would not go into gear. This triggered another formation lap. Another formation lap also happened to allow the marshals to safely remove the Racing Bulls car from the starting grid. Those two extra formation laps decreased the race laps from 70 laps to 68 laps.

After the lights actually went out, Lando Norris swooped into first position with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell following behind him in 2nd and 3rd consecutively. Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri completed the top 5.

At lap 2, Piastri pitted and swapped out his intermediate tyres with a time of 2.7s. This stop caused him to fall to 21st position.

Norris was then called into the pits a lap later and had a stop time of 2.2s, coming out at P14. The absence of the McLaren allowed the two Mercedes drivers to battle it out at the front. At this lap, all of the other drivers running on intermediate tyres came in to swap except for Valtteri Bottas.

The fastest lap of the Grand Prix was set on lap 2 by Max Verstappen with a time of 1:20.276.

Bottas pitted on lap 3 with a time of 6.4s. Antonelli set the fastest lap; however, the time was not displayed.

Max Verstappen set another fastest lap the lap after with a time of 1:17.834.

Russell then replaced that lap time with a 1:17.034 as the fastest lap on the 5th time around the circuit. At that time, Fernando Alonso had also improved up to P10 after starting P19.

After leading the race for several laps, Antonelli had a lock-up at lap 6, allowing his teammate to get past for first position. The Italian then set another fastest lap two laps later.

Verstappen passed Hamilton for P3 on lap 9. Piastri also passed Alonso for P13 that same lap. Russell then set another fastest lap; however, just a lap later, Antonelli set a time of 1:15.740 for the fastest time.

Bottas was called into the pits on lap 11 with a time of 3.3s. Russell once again replaced Antonelli's lap time (lap time was not displayed).

By lap 12, Norris had made his way up to the points after passing Oliver Bearman for P10. He then passed Pierre Gasly for P9 that same lap. At the same time, but further ahead, Antonelli regained the lead, but Russell quickly reclaimed first position.

A yellow flag was called at lap 13 due to contact between Alex Albon and Piastri. This caused Albon to retire from the race, while the McLaren pitted for damage to the front wing and came out P19 after a pit time of 14.5s.

The other McLaren then pitted on lap 16 due to "reliability issues". Norris rejoined the race at P14.

On lap 17, Antonelli got past Russell, then Russell passed Antonelli, and then flip-flopped again with Russell still in the lead.

Gabriel Bortoleto was called into the pit lane at lap 20 with a time of 2.6s and came out P15 ahead of Esteban Ocon.

Hulkenberg and Alonso pitted at lap 22. During this lap, Antonelli got past Russell and maintained the lead.

Due to the collision between him and Albon earlier in the race, Piastri was given a 10-second penalty.

At lap 24, the two Mercedes touched, and Russell got past his teammate; Antonelli regained the position. He was instructed by his team to give the position back, and Russell reclaimed P1 at the hairpin a lap later.

Alonso retired from the Canadian Grand Prix at lap 27.

Russell retired from the race on lap 30 due to an engine issue during a battle with his teammate. Antonelli moved up to first position, and a VSC was called. Several drivers pitted under this VSC, including Franco Colapinto, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, Gasly, Bearman, Sainz, Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Isack Hadjar. At this point, Isack Hadjar had improved to P4.

The safety car was lifted, and the green flag flew at lap 33.

Four laps later, Norris passed Gasly for P8.

Hamilton then set the fastest lap of the race on lap 37 with a time of 1:15.285. Leclerc also passed Hadjar for P4 during this lap.

Norris retired from the Grand Prix at lap 40, saying that there was something broken with his car. Hamilton set another best time this lap with a time of 1:15.139.

That time was then replaced on lap 43 by Antonelli with a time of 1:14.814.

A ten-second penalty was handed to Hadjar due to more than one change of direction during his previous battle with Leclerc.

While entering the pit lane, Perez's car got damaged, and a VSC was called on lap 46, along with a pit lane entry closure, to clean the debris.

A five-second penalty was given to Bottas for speeding in the pit lane earlier in the race.

On lap 51, Antonelli replaced his previous fastest lap time with a 1:14.603.

A virtual safety car was called two laps later. This allowed both Piastri and Hadjar to serve their 10s penalties in the pit. The VSC ended the next lap.

Hamilton passed Verstappen for P2 on lap 62.

Hadjar had previously served a stop-and-go penalty and served it on lap 64.

4 laps later, Kimi Antonelli won the Canadian Grand Prix, making him the first person ever to win four races consecutively after a maiden win. He also set the fastest lap of the race on the 68th lap with a time of 1:14.210.

Lewis Hamilton was awarded Driver of the Day after achieving P2, his second ever podium with Ferrari and first P2 with them.

Special shoutouts to Franco Colapinto, who scored his best-ever Formula One finish with P6, and to Isack Hadjar, who claimed the best finish for a second Red Bull driver since Sergio Perez scored P4 in Miami 2024.