Antonelli was glad to secure his first podium finish in F1 in an "intense and stressful" race

Having secured his maiden podium finish at the pinnacle of motorsport, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli conceded that the Canadian Grand Prix was "intense and stressful" race for him.

It was an almost perfect weekend for Mercedes. George Russell secured his second consecutive pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Briton then made a great start, and although reigning champion Max Verstappen kept him honest, the Mercedes driver was seemingly controlling proceedings.

Russell completed the race distance with a conventional two-stop strategy, and did not put a foot wrong to convert pole to the win, his first of the year.

His team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli also had a brilliant getaway, a bold move saw the Italian gain a place by overtaking championship leader Oscar Piastri into Turn 3 on the opening lap.

He ran third from there, and came close to picking off reigning champion Max Verstappen when the Dutchman struggled for rear grip at the end of his opening stint.

With McLaren’s MCL39 coming alive in the closing stages of the race, Antonelli came under huge pressure from Piastri, but defended superbly to pick up his first career podium and become the third-youngest driver to stand on the rostrum.

Reflecting on his first podium result in Formula One, Antonelli highlighted that the fact that he managed to pick off Oscar Piastri at the start of the race was vital for him to end up on the rostrum.

"That was a very intense and stressful race! I am really happy to take my first podium in F1 though. The start was the key to achieving that. I managed to get track position on Piastri and that enabled us to show our pace.

"At moments I was able to catch Verstappen and put him under pressure. In the final stint, I think I pushed a little too hard in the early stages and that made it difficult near the end. I was able to defend from the McLarens though and bring the car home in P3.

"I want to say thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. They have been working so hard to improve the car and I am glad to be able to get a result like this and have both our cars on the podium.

"It is a special moment for me personally and I am looking forward to building on it in the coming races," concluded the Bologna-born driver.