Antonelli continues winning streak with Canadian GP victory

Kimi Antonelli won the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday to secure his fourth straight Formula 1 victory and extend his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship to 43 points. 

The win was quite symbolic as it was on this same circuit that Antonelli claimed his first podium appearance in 2025.

The 19-year-old Italian handled changing weather and multiple strategy swings better than anyone else on the grid, keeping mistakes to a minimum while several rivals struggled for grip and tyre life during the wet-to-dry conditions. 

Antonelli spent most of the afternoon managing the race rather than forcing the pace, picking the right moments to push while preserving enough tyre performance for the closing stages.

It was not a totally good day for Mercedes, after George Russell suffered an engine failure, forcing him to retire. 

The Briton had looked capable of challenging for the win before his car lost power, leaving Antonelli as the team’s clear lead driver for the remainder of the race.

Behind him, Lewis Hamilton produced one of his strongest drives of the season to finish second after overtaking Max Verstappen late in the race. 

Verstappen settled for third after struggling at times with balance in the colder conditions, while Ferrari once again lacked the pace to challenge consistently at the front.

Antonelli’s latest win continues one of the strongest starts ever seen from a rookie driver in Formula 1. 

No driver in the modern era has opened a career with four consecutive victories, and the Italian now looks increasingly comfortable handling race management, tyre preservation and pressure situations against far more experienced opponents.

What stands out most is how complete his performances have become. Earlier in the season, Antonelli relied mostly on raw speed over single laps, but in Canada he looked patient and calculated across every phase of the race. 

He dealt calmly with safety cars, changing grip levels and traffic, rarely putting himself in unnecessary danger while still maintaining enough pace to stay in control.

The result also strengthens Mercedes’ early hold on both championships. With five races completed, Antonelli now carries a comfortable lead into the next phase of the season.

While Red Bull and Ferrari search for answers after another weekend where they could not consistently match Mercedes across changing conditions.