Kimi Antonelli drops poker, fabulous podium for Hamilton ahead of Verstappen
Kimi Antonelli takes off in the World Championship by winning in Montreal the fourth consecutive success of his season. After almost half the race lived on the edge of overtaking and counter-overtaking with George Russell, the challenge was decided on lap 30: the British driver was forced to retire with a technical problem as he approached the third esse. Russell ends up long in the escape route and parks his stalled W17 at the exit of the variant, venting all his anger by throwing the cockpit protector to the ground.
From that moment on, Antonelli can administer without risk: after the pit stop he enters management mode and flies undisturbed to the checkered flag. After triumphs in Shanghai, Suzuka and Miami, AKA drops the poker in Canada as well and stretches in the standings over his teammate: the lead increases from eighteen to forty-three points (131 to 88). Russell, winner of Saturday’s Sprint ahead of Norris and Antonelli himself, receives support from Toto Wolff as he returns to the paddock. For Kimi, it is a dream margin on the eve of the European season, after the first five overseas stages.
On the podium in Montreal, alongside Antonelli, go Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Briton scores his best result of the season with the Cavallino, managing to overtake the Dutchman’s Red Bull with seven laps to go. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, finishes fourth, limiting the damage after a complicated weekend and always in the shadow of his teammate.
Ferrari and Red Bull (fifth with Isack Hadjar, penalized ten seconds for changing his trajectory several times in the duel with Leclerc) also make the most of McLaren’s nightmarish Sunday. The race of the world Constructors’ champion team of the last two seasons is compromised by an initial wrong choice of tires: in fact, Norris and Piastri start with intermediates, except to stop after a few laps to mount slicks. Yet at the start, the world champion had managed to surprise both Mercedes, putting himself immediately ahead of Antonelli and Russell.
The situation, however, quickly precipitates: Norris was forced to retire on lap 41 with a gearbox problem, while Piastri finished only thirteenth at the end of an anonymous and disastrous race.
