“Not really the way I wanted to win," claims Antonelli

The Canadian Grand Prix delivered one of the most intense intra‑team battles of the season as Mercedes teammates George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli fought wheel‑to‑wheel for the race lead — a duel that ended abruptly when Russell was forced to retire with a loss of power.

Antonelli went on to claim his fourth consecutive victory, extending his championship lead to 43 points after just five race weekends.

Russell started from pole but suffered a slow getaway, losing out to both Antonelli and Lando Norris. Once Norris pitted early, Antonelli was released into clean air — but Russell quickly fought back, retaking the lead.

What followed was a relentless, high‑intensity battle: both drivers locked up, ran wide, went side‑by‑side, and came close to contact multiple times, yet somehow kept the fight clean.

The lead changed hands repeatedly, with Antonelli appearing slightly faster while Russell was tidier and more precise. The duel looked set to continue until the final laps — until Russell suddenly slowed and pulled off the track, punching his car in frustration as his race ended.

From there, Antonelli was unchallenged and drove away to secure another commanding win.

After the race, Antonelli expressed sympathy for his teammate, acknowledging how strong Russell had been before the retirement. He said: “First of all, massive commiserations to George.

"I feel very sorry for him as he was leading the race and was super strong. We were having a great battle in that first stint and very close on pace. I am sure it would have gone right until the end of the Grand Prix, and I am disappointed we didn't get the chance to continue that.”

Antonelli also described the challenging conditions, explaining: “It was not an easy race for us. The wind was very tricky and with the low temperatures, it was hard to get the tyres working.

"We had several lock‑ups, particularly in the early stages, but fortunately were able to keep it on the track and get to the chequered flag first. It is of course not how we want to win but we will take it.

"We now get ready for the European portion of the season and six races in eight weekends leading up to shutdown. It will be an intense period, but we are looking forward to it.”

Antonelli reiterated that the victory felt bittersweet given how competitive the fight had been: “Not really the way I wanted to win if I have to be honest because it was a tough fight with George.”

He added: “It was very intense but I think it would have been cool to see how it would have ended up because we were going at each other.”

Reflecting on the mistakes both drivers made under pressure, he said: “We were pushing and I think we both did a lot of mistakes. I think on my side I did a mistake that was a little bit in a crucial moment when I went back in front and started to pull away.”

He admitted that the error frustrated him: “That was a mistake that if I could have avoided would have been better. For sure was a tough battle, was intense, and of course I felt sorry for him but we'll take the win and move forward.”

Russell’s retirement dramatically shifted the championship picture, giving Antonelli a 43‑point advantage. But the young Italian insisted he is not relaxing.

When asked how he plans to maintain momentum, he replied: “Keep doing what I'm doing. Of course, we're going to keep raising that bar because George was extremely quick this weekend.”

He warned that the competition is closing in: “We were really neck‑and‑neck so I just need to keep levelling up and of course, the Ferrari, Red Bull and McLarens, they are definitely coming back so we're going to keep pushing.”

Looking ahead to the next round, he added: “Next one Monaco, which could be a tricky one, but we'll try to be ready for everything and I'll do my best.”