Shovlin: Mercedes had known that "some of the circuit characteristics suited us"

Mercedes' trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has admitted that the Brackley-based outfit had known that the Montreal track would suit their 2025 F1 car.

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.

Mercedes' trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has admitted that the Brackley-based outfit had known that the Montreal track would suit their 2025 F1 car.

"Our first race win and double podium of the year are a fantastic reward at the end of a strong weekend. George put in a faultless drive and controlled the race from the front - it was a truly accomplished performance.

"For Kimi, scoring his first podium is another major milestone in his first half-season as an F1 driver, and he did it under some serious pressure from the championship leader, too.

"After Friday's long runs, we hoped that we could keep ourselves in the mix across the race distance, and so it proved today. We were competitive in terms of our tyre usage on both the Medium and Hard compounds, and able to build useful gaps to Red Bull and McLaren when it mattered.

Reflecting on the last rounds, Shovlin noted: "After a difficult triple header, this was a great way to bounce back and reward the hard work that both factories have put into improving the car.

"We know that some of the circuit characteristics suited us this weekend, but it nonetheless feels like we've made some good learnings.

"There are still weaknesses we need to improve on but we are working hard to do that and to continue fighting at the sharp end of the field," Shovlin concluded.