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2026 F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Results & aftermath

Antonelli wins fourth on the trot in Canada as frustrated Russell DNFs; Hamilton makes late pass on Verstappen for P2; McLaren gamble on tires and come up snake eyes

Mercedes rising star Kimi Antonelli prevailed for the victory at a chaotic Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, surviving a fierce 30-lap intra-team battle with his most serious rival, George Russell, that was spicier than a vindaloo curry and then sailing to an easy win after Russell’s Silver Arrow called it quits on Lap 31 of this 68-lap contest. No other cars could challenge Antonelli en route to his fourth victory on the trot and the teen sensation bumped up his points lead over Russell to 43 after five rounds in 2026. Russell’s DNF opened the door to second and third place wide open and Ferarri’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had a ding dong battle for second place as then laps ran down. After hunting his old rival’s Red Bull over the course of several circuits, Hamilton was finally able to overtake the Dutch master on Lap 62 while using his full momentum from the start finish straight and steaming past into Turn 1. Verstappen did his best to regain P2 over the course of the final seven laps but Hamilton was able to keep the position for his and the Scuderia’s best finish of the young season. Despite being relegated to third on the day, that final podium spot was also Verstappen and Red Bull’s best finish so far in 2026.The second Ferrari’ of Charles Leclerc was never quite on top of the vicissitudes of Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in the masterful manner of Hamilton, a seven-time winner here, and came home a respectable but rather forlorn P4. Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar survived a raft of penalties to take a solid P5, making it a strong double points day for what has been an inconsistent Red Bull campaign so far.

On the other side of the coin, McLaren had a disastrous day, beginning when they decided that the damp but rapidly drying conditions on Île Notre Dame warranted a gamble on wet weather Intermediate Pirellis, making them the only team in the top ten starters to see things that way. While the Papaya duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri did get away quickly from their slick grid spots, with Norris even passing both Mercedes for the lead on Lap 1, any benefit was going to be extremely short lived and the team baled as the track was clearly going to be dry for the foreseeable future. Piastri, who had been complaining about the risky tire choice from even before the formation lap, came into the pit for a switch to slick Mediums before completing his first race lap and Norris followed on the end of Lap 2. From there, McLaren were well and truly behind the eight-ball, with both drivers now having to fight their way back into the points after  qualifying on the second row. Things went from bad to worse when Norris was forced to retire on Lap 40 with a terminal gearbox issue and Piastri, after an incident-filled attempt to flight back to the front, including incurring a ten-second penalty for punting Alexander Albon’s Williams out of the race at the hairpin midway through, could only manage to scramble his way back up to P11. McLaren will be keen to turn the page on their pointless Canadian nightmare as they head to another grand casino in Monaco in two weeks. They’ll be hoping their self-made luck runs better at the principality than the unforced snake eyes they rolled in Montreal.

Top 10 finishers of the Canadian GP:

POS DRIVER TEAM RACE TIME LAPS PITS FASTEST LAPS
1

Kimi Antonelli

 Mercedes 1:28:15.758 68 1 1:14.210 (68)
2

Lewis Hamilton

 Ferrari +10.768 68 1 —
3

Max Verstappen

 Red Bull +11.276 68 1 —
4

Charles Leclerc

 Ferrari +44.151 68 1 —
5

Isack Hadjar

 Red Bull +1 Lap 67 3 —
6

Franco Colapinto

 Alpine +1 Lap 67 1 —
7

Liam Lawson

 Racing Bulls +1 Lap 67 1 —
8

Pierre Gasly

 Alpine +1 Lap 67 1 —
9

Carlos Sainz

 Williams +1 Lap 67 2 —
10

Oliver Bearman

 Haas +1 Lap 67 1 —

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight as the F1 circus heads to its most glamorous venue, the Monaco Street Circuit The cars will wend their way through the famously tight streets of the principality for the calendar’s slowest race where qualifying is essentially everything. With Anotnelli looking imperious, it will be interesting to see how the young Italian can pedal it in such tight quarters, and with Russell desperate for a bit of hope, Hamilton and Verstappen surging and the home favorite Monegasque Leclerc. Hope to se you then to find out how it all shakes out!

 

2026 F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Qualifying results

Russell nabs pole at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve with last-second flier, Antonelli P2 as Mercedes lock out front row; McLaren claim second row with Norris ahead of Piastri, P3 to P4

Having already aggressively diced with and prevailed over his Mercedes teammate in the Sprint race, George Russell came from down in tenth place to seize pole at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve with a stunning final flying lap during Saturday Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. Desperate to reestablish his championship aspirations and get back on terms with his points-leading Silver Arrows stablemate, Kimi Antonelli, Russell was all arms and elbows in the Sprint en route to victory there, earning the ire of the young Italian in the process, and then pulled one out of the bag in the dying moments of Q3 to relegate Antonelli to second on the grid here in Montreal. The opening lap battles between the two Mercedes men should set the tone for a potentially epic internecine fight for glory that could well end in tears for one or both men and potentially open the door for another contender to take advantage of any potential race-altering contacts between the two lead Mercs.

Chief among those trailing rivals appear to be a resurgent McLaren, whose tandem of reigning champion Lando Norris and the always capable Oscar Piastri steadily progressed on pace throughout quali and put themselves firmly ahead of both Ferraris with a P3 for Norris and a P4 for Piastri.  While the McLaren duo couldn’t quite match the pace of mighty Mercedes, team Papaya are inching closer to parity with some already significant early season upgrades. Lewis Hamilton flew the flag for Ferrari at a circuit he loves and where he has seven career victories. While his hopes for pole faded as Mercedes and McLaren showed their true one-lap pace, he put in a time good enough for a solid P5. That was quite a bit more rapid than his normally equal stablemate, Charles Leclerc, who struggled throughout qualifying with the balance of his Prancing Horse and ended up merely P8 on the time sheets. The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar split the Scuderia in P6 and P7 respectively, despite Verstappen’s vociferous gripes about the abilities of his RB22. Rounding out the top ten qualifiers for Canada, rookie Arvid Lindblad pedaled his Racing Bull to an impressive P9 and Franco Colapinto was the lead Alpine in P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Canadian GP:

POS DRIVER TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1

George Russell

 Mercedes 1:13.953 1:13.079 1:12.578 24
2

Kimi Antonelli

 Mercedes 1:13.380 1:13.076 1:12.646 24
3

Lando Norris

 McLaren 1:13.503 1:13.049 1:12.729 28
4

Oscar Piastri

 McLaren 1:13.559 1:13.285 1:12.781 29
5

Lewis Hamilton

 Ferrari 1:13.767 1:13.041 1:12.868 27
6

Max Verstappen

 Red Bull 1:14.067 1:13.479 1:12.907 23
7

Isack Hadjar

 Red Bull 1:13.654 1:12.975 1:12.935 22
8

Charles Leclerc

 Ferrari 1:13.825 1:13.496 1:12.976 29
9

Arvid Lindblad

 Racing Bulls 1:13.895 1:13.548 1:13.280 28
10

Franco Colapinto

 Alpine 1:14.466 1:13.857 1:13.697 27

Complete qualifying results available via Formula.com.

Sprint Race results are here.

Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix airs live beginning at 4pm Eastern on AppleTV and Netflix here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Russell can keep Antonelli behind him or if the two come to grief amidst their increasingly heated rivalry and open the door to another contender to take victory!

2026 F1 Grand Prix of Miami — Results & aftermath

Antonelli holds off Norris to take third win on the trot but gap to Mercedes supremacy tightens; Piastri seizes P3 for greatly improved McLaren; late Leclerc spin dooms Ferrari

The long delayed Round 4 of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship finally got underway in Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix and it was quickly apparent that the rules changes by the sport’s governing body and the individual upgrades by the contending Constructors had paid huge dividends vis a vis the quality of racing and competitiveness. After three strange and artificial opening races under the new regulations, which the Mercedes factory team generally dominated, Kimi Antonelli was once again the pole-sitter for the third contest in a row here at the temporary Miami International Autodrome just outside and around the stadium where the NFL’s Dolphins play. But this time the competitors behind him almost made him pay for his typical poor start when the lights went out. As the young Italian’s Silver Arrow bogged down, he was quickly swallowed up the third positioned Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen’s second place Red Bull. But, while Leclerc prevailed to pull away from the pack, Verstappen had a shocking self-induced spin that dropped him down the order to P10. This benefitted Antonelli, who recovered well enough from yet another slow getaway, his one bête noir this year, and began methodically hunting down Leclerc’s Prancing Horse. By lap 4, the Mercedes man was close enough to execute a move on Leclerc and recapture first place. As has been typical of these cars this year, however, Leclerc was able to pass back to retake P1. Two laps later, McLaren’s Lando Norris also go into the action, taking advantage of the ongoing scrap to sneak by Anotonelli and suddenly relegate the Merc to P3.

It was on that action-packed sixth lap of this 57-lap contest that Red Bull’s second driver Isack Hadjar came to grief and found the barriers after missing the apex steaming into the tricky Turn 14 complex.Recing Bull’s Liam Lawson also contacted the Alpine of Pierre Gasly at just an unfortunate enough able to send the Frenchman literally barrel rolling off the track. When racing resumed after all that chaos five laps later, Leclerc led away from the restart cleanly but quickly found Norris right on his gearbox. On Lap 13, Norris steamed by the lead Ferrari with ease and then Antonelli and Leclerc spent the next couple of circuits passing and re-passing each other until finally Antonelli made a move stick to secure second place late in Lap 14. As things settled into a post Safety Car rhythm, the race waited for the first real pit stop shoe to drop. Although Verstappen was the only genuine to contender to pit earlier under the Safety Car due to being out of position after his ill-timed opening lap spin — and promptly being noted by the stewards for illegally crossing the white line at pit exit — it was Mercedes’ George Russell who pulled the pin amongst the top five under green flag conditions on Lap 21. Leclerc quickly followed him in a lap later in an attempt to cover the Briton’s Silver Arrow. But Ferrari lost out with a slow 3.7 second stop and Leclerc came out behind Russell. Antonelli hung it out a little longer but pitted from P2 on Lap 27 for the same favored Medium to Hard Pirelli change as all the top runners chose. Norris ran a lap later for his tire swap but the undercut proved powerful enough that Antonelli was able to pass Norris on hotter tires for P3 just after the McLaren man exited the pits.

This turned out to be the decisive moment in Miami, as Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri made his first stop a lap later, conceding the point to Verstappen, who had committed to running a very long second stint on the Hards after rolling the dice under the Safety Car. Game as he was, the Dutchman was no match for the much fresher rubber on Antonelli’s and Norris’s cars, and he was first passed for the lead by Antonelli on Lap 29 and then relegated to P3 by Norris a lap later. Meanwhile, Leclerc seemed to be making amends for the team’s slow stop as he hunted a podium, the Mongasque getting by Russell for P4 and then badgering and finally overtaking the game Verstappen after a spirited back and forth on Lap 47. Piastri was also eager to show the improved pace of his McLaren, contending for P5 with Russell and finally securing it with a decisive overtake on Lap 36. Piastri was then able to put himself in position to grab fourth from Verstappen on lap 49, the Red Bull’s aging Hards just about giving up the ghost by this point and now also about to see Russell filling up his mirrors for the final few circuits. The McLaren’s quality shown once again, as Piastri nabbed the final podium position from Leclerc on outright pace on the final lap. Leclerc’s then shockingly spun the Ferrari on his own and glanced sideways into the wall, damaging the suspension. With Russell easily by Verstappen earlier in the final lap, he then pounced on Leclerc’s wounded Prancing Horse for a valuable P4, as did the never say die Verstappen, the Red Bull coming home fifth while the despondent Leclerc was finally demoted to P6 by his atypical error (and later P8 after incurring a post-race 20-second time penalty for driving an unsafe vehicle after that fateful spin). At the front, Antonelli serenely took the Checkers to make it three wins on then trot and solidify his championship points lead. But, with Norris finishing P2 and Piastri P3, McLaren fired a warning shot to the entire paddock that they are back fighting for wins and doing everything they can to equal Mercedes’ so far superior race pace in 2026.

Top 10 finishers of the Miami GP:

POS DRIVER TEAM RACE TIME LAPS PITS FASTEST LAPS
1

Kimi Antonelli

 Mercedes 1:33:19.273 57 1 —
2

Lando Norris

 McLaren +3.264 57 1 1:31.869 (35)
3

Oscar Piastri

 McLaren +27.092 57 1 —
4

George Russell

 Mercedes +43.051 57 1 —
5

Max Verstappen

 Red Bull +48.949 57 1 —
6

Lewis Hamilton

 Ferrari +53.753 57 1 —
7

Franco Colapinto

 Alpine +1:01.871 57 1 —
8

Charles Leclerc

 Ferrari +1:04.245 57 1 —
9

Carlos Sainz

 Williams +1:22.072 57 1 —
10

Alexander Albon

 Williams +1:30.972 57 1 —

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Unfortunately, after all the exciting action in Miami, the next race is not for another three weeks — the Canadian Grand Prix from the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. All the teams are certain to be feverishly working to continue the improvements they’ve already been able to make due to the previous five-week hiatus. Hope to see you then to find out if anyone finally has found the key to success against Kimi Antonelli’s merciless Mercedes!

2026 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Mercedes still setting early season pace as Antonelli nails down second consecutive pole, Russell starts P2 at Suzuka; McLaren back in the mix with Piastri P3, Norris P5; Ferrari’s Leclerc P4

Flush with the confidence of his first Formula 1 win two weeks ago in China, Mercedes’ rising young star Kimi Antonelli made it two poles in a row with a superb effort at the always challenging Suzuka Circuit during Saturday Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. The 19-year-old was able to get just that much more out of his Silver Arrow than his veteran teammate George Russell, to the tune of nearly three-tenths on their fastest respective laps set midway through Q3. To be fair, Russell seemed to struggle all day with an issue with his rear stability throughout quali and, additionally, the track seemed to deteriorate somewhat toward the end of the final round with regards to overall grip. Nevertheless, the current points leader will be keen to retake the momentum from his precocious Mercedes teammate and beat him off the line come race day.

McLaren showed some tentative signs of regaining their footing after a fairly disastrous opening two rounds, with Oscar Piastri a ways away from the Mercs but still good enough for P3 and the second row and teammate and reigning World Champion Lando Norris just off the Aussie’s pace in P5. The specter of mechanical gremlins still hovers over team Papaya, however, as Norris’s car spent nearly all of Free Practice 3 in the garage with a software/battery communication issue plaguing their new power plant. It will be critical that both McLarens run a full race distance in Sunday’s GP no matter where they end up finishing, lest these initial severe teething problems threaten to derail their 2026 campaign, while Mercedes and Ferrari take the opportunity to bury them.

Speaking of Ferrari, Charles Leclerc looked to be on the ragged edge of adhesion pretty much all race weekend so far. But the Monegasque still managed to wring the neck of his SF-26 to the tune of the fourth fastest time, splitting the McLaren’s on the grid. Scuderia teammate Lewis Hamilton was about a tenth and a half slower and slotted in behind Norris in P6. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly came from seemingly nowhere to post an impressive final time good enough for P7, which bodes well for both driver and team after the Frenchman’s impressive sixth place finish in the previous Chinese GP. Red Bull’s new promotion for this year, Isack Hadjar, earned P8, bettering his more decorated stablemate Max Verstappen, who struggled with an unruly mount on his way to an underwhelming P12 and early exit in Q2. The Dutch Master’s mood about the current state of F1 was certainly not improved after he called his RB22 “undriveable” yet again, his new favorite adjective. On the other hand, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoletto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad seemed more than pleased with the new formula, the young guns slotting in at P9 and P10 respectively.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese Grand Prix:

CLA DRIVER # LAPS TIME INTERVAL TYRES KM/H
1 A. AntonelliMercedes 12 15

1’28.778

 S 235.477
2 G. RussellMercedes 63 21

+0.298

1’29.076

 0.298 S 234.689
3 O. PiastriMcLaren 81 20

+0.354

1’29.132

 0.056 S 234.542
4 C. LeclercFerrari 16 18

+0.627

1’29.405

 0.273 S 233.825
5 L. NorrisMcLaren 1 20

+0.631

1’29.409

 0.004 S 233.815
6 L. HamiltonFerrari 44 20

+0.789

1’29.567

 0.158 S 233.402
7 P. GaslyAlpine 10 18

+0.913

1’29.691

 0.124 S 233.080
8 I. HadjarRed Bull Racing 6 17

+1.200

1’29.978

 0.287 S 232.336
9 G. BortoletoAudi 5 20

+1.496

1’30.274

 0.296 S 231.574
10 A. LindbladRacing Bulls 41 21

+1.541

1’30.319

 0.045 S 231.459

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live on Apple TV beginning at 1 AM Eastern here in the States. Can McLaren really get their mojo back and take the fight to mighty Mercedes or can Leclerc and Ferrari pull an epic upset?  Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2026 F1 Grand Prix of China — Results & aftermath

Antonelli scores first F1 win with perfect drive in Shanghai, Russell P2 as Mercedes extend early season dominance; Hamilton earns first Ferrari podium besting P4 teammate Leclerc; Disaster for McLaren as neither Norris or Piastri are able to start

Mercedes’ second-year driver Kimi Antonelli converted his record-setting effort as F1’s youngest ever driver to take pole in a Grand Prix into the fulfillment of all his professional dreams. Antonelli handily won Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, thereby becoming the second youngest driver to earn a win behind the then 18-year-old Max Verstappen, as well as the first Italian national to claim victory in twenty years. Avoiding the unacceptably slow starts that have cost the 19-year-old Italian in both Round 1 in Australia and Saturday’s Sprint race here at Shanghai International Circuit, Antonelli quickly recovered after losing a position to the hard charging Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap. Keeping his cool, Antonelli quickly took back the position from the Prancing Horse of the seven-time champ on Lap 2. From there on out, he, deftly held off the best efforts of not only his senior Silver Arrows teammate, George Russell, but also the veteran Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.  Antonelli was able to control the race from the front like a veteran to keep the Ferraris and Russell behind him with relative ease until the checkers flew after Lap 56, notching his first F1 win in a new car that, at this early date, seems capable of winning the majority of races this year.  With this maiden victory, Antonelli proved that Mercedes’ faith in the minimally experienced teenager to replace Hamilton was well founded and he now has the skill and confidence to go toe to toe with the best at this level, including the person who could be his main rival for the 2026 title, the supremely talented and very hungry for the crown Russell.

Top 10 finishers of the Chinese GP:

Pos Driver Time Pts
1
A.K. Antonelli
Mercedes

·

#12
1:33:15.607
25
2
G. Russell
Mercedes

·

#63
+5.515s
18
3
L. Hamilton
Ferrari

·

#44
+25.267s
15
4
C. Leclerc
Ferrari

·

#16
+28.894s
12
5
O. Bearman
Haas

·

#87
+57.268s
10
6
P. Gasly
Alpine

·

#10
+59.647s
8
7
L. Lawson
RB

·

#30
+80.588s
6
8
I. Hadjar
Red Bull

·

#6
+87.247s
4
9
C. Sainz Jr.
Williams

·

#55
+1 Lap
2
10
F. Colapinto
Alpine

·

#43
+1 Lap
1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two week’s time, as the teams head to Japan’s famous Suzuka Circuit. Anotnelli will have an extra week to savor his first F1 win but no doubt the young Italian is raring too get back onto the track and repeat the feat. Likewise, teammate George Russell and the dueling Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc will be eager to fight for the top step themselves. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2026 F1 Grand Prix of China — Qualifying results

Antonelli makes F1 history as youngest ever pole-sitter in Shanghai; Russell overcomes gremlins to grab last-second P2 for early favorites Mercedes; Hamilton P3, Leclerc P4 for next best Ferrari

In a dramatic final session of Saturday qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, newly mighty Mercedes needed to deploy all of their technical and strategic expertise to both salvage their veteran driver’s Sunday starting position and maximize their junior driver’s best efforts. With what is clearly the virgin season’s best car, last week’s race winner George Russell, who was also victorious in the Sprint race earlier in the day, faced Q3 gremlins that threatened to put him at the bottom of the Top 10. But the team brilliantly got him out of the garage and back onto the track with just enough time for one flying lap. Meanwhile, teammate Kimi Antonelli had already laid down a blistering benchmark provisional pole lap immediately prior to Russell emerging from the pits at Shanghai International Circuit, daring his teammate and any other challengers to better it. While Russell couldn’t catch his Silver Arrows stablemate with his last desperate attempt, he did manage a fantastic nail-biting flier that vaulted him from “No Time” to P2 for Sunday’s grid. Meanwhile, Antonelli hung on in the face of Ferrari’s and McLaren’s best efforts to become Formula 1’s youngest ever pole-sitter, the 19-year, 6-month-old Italian besting the great Sebastian Vettel’s previous record of 21-years and two-months set at Monza back in 2008. The acid test for Antonelli, though, will be a clean getaway from that historic pole when the lights go out on Sunday. The young star has struggled mightily in both race starts under the new format, with another extremely slow start in the Sprint, where he started from second but finished in P6 as a direct result of bogging down again.

Despite looking feisty all race weekend, Ferrari found themselves in the familiar for 2026 runners up role to the Mercs, with Lewis Hamilton besting teammate Charles Leclerc P3 to P4. McLaren have clearly been working very hard and showed improvement since the opener in Melbourne, closing the gap even while still trailing the top two teams. Oscar Piastri claimed P5 on the grid for the Papayas ahead of P6 Lando Norris. The Alpine of Pierre Gasly made his own statement by bettering both Red Bulls and slotting into P7, an impressive effort that relegated Max Verstappen to P8 and Isack Hadjar to P9. Those lowly quali positions show that the Red Bull braintrust have a lot of improvements to unlock to get to terms with both this new car and their new Ford engines. Haas’s Oliver Bearman took P10 with a fine effort for the competitive American midfield team.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Chinese GP:

Driver Grid Qual time
A.K. Antonelli
Mercedes

·

#12
1
1:32.064
G. Russell
Mercedes

·

#63
2
1:32.286
L. Hamilton
Ferrari

·

#44
3
1:32.415
C. Leclerc
Ferrari

·

#16
4
1:32.428
O. Piastri
McLaren

·

#81
5
1:32.550
L. Norris
McLaren

·

#1
6
1:32.608
P. Gasly
Alpine

·

#10
7
1:32.873
M. Verstappen
Red Bull

·

#3
8
1:33.002
I. Hadjar
Red Bull

·

#6
9
1:33.121
O. Bearman
Haas

·

#87
10
1:33.292

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live beginning at 1 AM  Eastern exclusively on Apple TV here in the States. Whether you pull the all-nighter or catch up with the race with an Apple TV replay on demand after a good night’s sleep, Round 2 of Formula 1’s new era will surely be worth a watch to see how the teams are improving and getting to grips with these very tricky and brand new hybrid machines. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2026 F1 Grand Prix of Australia — Results & aftermath

Russell surges to victory Down Under, Antonelli recovers from awful start to take P2 as Mercedes claim first blood of new era; Ferrari impress with Leclerc in P3, Hamilton P4; Norris holds off Verstappen for P5 but Piastri bins it on reconnaissance lap

The Mercedes factory team laid down the first marker of Formula1’s new era at Round 1 of the 2026 season, with George Russell excelling to a dominant win at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix in his new W17, and teammate Kimi Antonelli rallying from a terrible start to take P2 after making a slew of passes to get back to the front. It was fast and frantic action from Down Under in Melbourne, with the new 50-50 internal combustion-battery power unit providing a host of technical complications for the drivers, not least of which being where within the lap to harvest power for the battery. The answer appeared to be by slowing a bit prematurely when entering the corners and even down certain straightaways, with the resulting yo-yoing effect creating a lot of nose-to-tail action throughout the field. Additionally, for all their evident raw pace, Mercedes struggled to get away solidly when the lights went out to begin the contest. The pole-sitting Russell found himself quickly overtaken by the absolutely flying Prancing Horse of Charles Leclerc, who steamed by not only Russell but also the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar and the second Merc of Antonelli en route to the point. Antonelli, meanwhile, had a terrible getaway and plunged like a stone from his P2 grid position all the way down to P7. As Leclerc and Russell went at it hammer and tongs at the front for the honor of leading the race, Antonelli showed the Silver Arrows superior race pace by easily picking off those he had initially lost positions to, elevating himself to a respectable P4 by Lap 6.

The race’s first break in the action happened when young Hadjar’s new Ford-manufactured engine blew up on Lap 11, resulting in a Virtual Safety Car to retrieve the stricken Red Bull. McLaren’s Lando Norris, the reigning World Champion, was first to dart into the pits a lap later, doffing his opening set of Mediums in favor of the more durable Hards in anticipation of running to the finish of the 58-lap tilt on a one-stopper. Russell and Antonelli came in the next lap for the same switch but Ferrari elected to have both cars stay out, with Leclerc maintaining the lead and Hamilton now promoted to P2. Hamilton forcefully argued that one of them should have come in to split the strategy, and in hindsight he may have been right, but the die was cast, as the short VSC ended on lap 14. Just four laps later, there was another VSC when the Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac, making its F1 debut, came to a halt on track. Racing resumed on Lap 20, with Leclerc still leading and Hamilton still in P2 but Russell and Antonelli in hot pursuit on fresher rubber. Indeed, Ferrari conceded the point and made the call on Lap 25 to call Leclerc in for his first stop, the Monegasque pitting from P1 for the preferred Medium to Hard Pirelli switch and emerging in P4. Hamilton inherited the lead and managed to keep it for a few laps longer but Russell blew by him on Lap 28 as Hamilton headed to the pits for his own new set of Hards with which to finish out the race. From there it was smooth sailing for the Briton, with teammate Antonelli comfortably behind by around 4 seconds as the laps wound down and the Ferraris unable to close up and take the fight to the Silver Arrows.

The battle for best of the rest, and indeed one of the best battles in the closing stanza of the Grand Prix, was between Norris’s McLaren and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Verstappen had the most impressive drive of the day, starting as he did from way down in 20th on the grid after a  crash in the first session of qualifying on Saturday. The Dutch Master put in a vintage effort, making a multitude of passes all race long  that finally saw him right on the gearbox of Norris and a fight for fifth place after a second pit stop for new Hards on Lap 42. But Norris, who had made the same  rare second stop for new Hards on Lap 35 right after a third, very short VSC for debris, was able to hold off the best efforts of the four-time champ to retain that valuable P5.  McLaren clearly lacked the outright pace of either the Mercedes or the Ferraris and to make matters worse for the reigning Constructors’ Champions, second driver Oscar Piastri scored zero points and failed to even take the green flag after locking up the rear axel on the reconnaissance lap and completely binning his new MCL40. It was an embarrassing end to the young Aussie’s day at his home race to say the least. Piastri was the first of five retirements in Australia, not entirely a surprise as the teams come to grips with the new regulations and the reliability and drivability issues that go along with them.

Top 10 finishers of the Australian GP:

POS DRIVER TEAM RACE TIME LAPS PITS FASTEST LAPS
1

George Russell

 Mercedes 1:23:06.801 58 1 —
2

Kimi Antonelli

 Mercedes +2.974 58 1 —
3

Charles Leclerc

 Ferrari +15.519 58 1 —
4

Lewis Hamilton

 Ferrari +16.144 58 1 —
5

Lando Norris

 McLaren +51.741 58 2 —
6

Max Verstappen

 Red Bull +54.617 58 2 1:22.091 (43)
7

Oliver Bearman

 Haas +1 Lap 57 1 —
8

Arvid Lindblad

 Racing Bulls +1 Lap 57 1 —
9

Gabriel Bortoleto

 Audi +1 Lap 57 2 —
10

Pierre Gasly

 Alpine +1 Lap 57 1 —

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time, as the teams take what they learned from Melbourne, pack it up and head directly to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix. With a somewhat similar long straights/difficult to recharge layout as the temporary Albert Park Circuit, the purpose built Shanghai International Circuit could also favor Mercedes’ strengths. But Ferrari’s race pace will still be worth keeping an eye on, especially if the Silver Arrows struggle off the line again at the start. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Mexico City — Results & aftermath

Norris dominates scrappy Mexico City GP to retake championship lead; gritty Leclerc holds off Verstappen for second place; Piastri does damage limitation coming home P5

McLaren’s Lando Norris capped off a picture perfect weekend with a dominant victory at Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, vaulting himself back into the championship lead ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri by a single point. In a scrappy contest on a very hot and dusty Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez that saw multiple drivers struggle to keep their cars on the circuit when pushing ten-tenths, Norris reigned serene and supreme, capitalizing on his pole position and then running away to the tune of an over 30-second advantage over the second place Ferrari of Charles Leclerc when the checkers flew. Piastri was able to somewhat limit the damage to his championship aspirations, despite the psychological blow of relinquishing the lead to Norris, by improving on his poor P7 starting position to come home in P5. While Piastri  maximized his race pace to work his way by both Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell late in the going en route to that fifth place result, the young Aussie ace could not quite find a way past impressive Haas rookie, Oliver Bearman, who held off the McLaren to finish a career high P4. Piastri was also hindered by a penultimate lap Virtual Safety Car due to the stricken Williams of Carlos Sainz, which did not come to an end until the last half of the final lap of this 71-lap tilt. Likewise, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was also balked by that late VSC as he pursued Leclerc/\’s Prancing Horse, and the Dutchman had to settle for P3. It was still a valuable 15-points for Verstappen after starting from P5, and kept him in the Drivers’ Championship conversation by staying within 36 points of Norris and 35 of Piastri with only four rounds remaining.

Top 10 finishers of the Mexico City GP:

DRIVER TEAM TIMES
1. Lando Norris McLaren 1:42.980
2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +30.324
3. Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.725
4. Oliver Bearman Haas +9.906
5. Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.110
6. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +5.772
7. George Russell* Mercedes +2.450
8. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +6.159
9. Esteban Ocon Haas +19.018
10. Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +1.399

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight, the São Paulo Grand Prix from legendary Interlagos. Norris will be looking to keep his mojo working, Piastri will be desperate to regain his momentum and Verstappen will be keen to keep the pressure on the talented but young McLaren duo. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Mexico City — Qualifying results

Norris nails it for pole at Hermanos Rodriguez, keeps pressure on Piastri, who stumbles to P8; Ferrari strong at altitude, as Leclerc notches P2, Hamilton P3 ahead of Russell & Verstappen

Lando Norris continued to ratchet up the pressure on his championship leading teammate Oscar Piastri by laying down a blistering lap good enough for pole during Saturday Qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Norris was by far the fastest driver on the day and headed the P2 Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by nearly three-tenths. The Scuderia nevertheless had a very good day between Leclerc’s solid second-best effort and Lewis Hamilton’s stout P3, and the fabled team from Maranello will be desperate to convert those efforts into race pace as they incredibly hunt their first win of the season here in Round 20. Piastri, on the other hand, continued to scuffle down the stretch, notching only the eighth best time in Q3. While Piastri will gain a position due to a penalty to Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who unbelievably out-qualified him, the young Aussie’s famous equipoise seems to have deserted him at the most crucial juncture of the season. In fact,  he has been out-scored by Norris in every race since his last win in the Netherlands back in Round 15. With five races remaining and his points lead over his teammate down to just 14, Piastri will have to fight from deep in the top ten on the grid to maximize his result in the race, hoping that Norris drops back, while also avoiding trouble with the other contenders that could further damage his championship aspirations.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen saw his impressive late season comeback efforts somewhat stymied when Mercedes’ George Russel got then better of him, P4 to P5. Still, the Red Bull in Verstappen’s hands has traditionally been an impressive weapon here at the high altitude of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and usually seems well suited the quirky nature of the circuit so, one would be foolish to count the Dutchman out as a contender come race day.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Mexico City GP:

DRIVER TEAM TIMES
1 – Lando Norris McLaren 1:15.586
2 – Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.262
3 – Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.352
4 – George Russell Mercedes +0.448
5 – Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.484
6 – Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.532
7 – Carlos Sainz* Williams +0.586
8 – Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.588
9. Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.666
10 – Oliver Bearman Haas +0.874

Complete qualifying results available via Formula!1.com.

Sunday’s Mexico City GP airs live on ABC starting at 4 PM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Norris can keep upping the pressure on teammate & rival Piastri by converting pole into victory or if Ferrari can translate their qualifying pace into an opportunity for their first win of the season!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Results & aftermath

Verstappen ramps up Drivers’ Championship pressure on McLaren duo with imperious victory at COTA; Norris makes late race move on Leclerc to secure P2; Piastri continues to falter down the stretch, finishes P5

Red Bull’s second half renaissance continued in emphatic manner as their unparalleled ace Max Verstappen gave a masterclass at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday to notch a dominant win in the United States Grand Prix and his record seventh victory in American soil. Not only did Verstappen score his third win from the last four races but the Flying Dutchman also continued to ratchet up the pressure on the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in his effort to overhaul them in a long shot bid to retain his Drivers’ Championship crown and secure his fifth consecutive F1 title. While Verstappen still trails points leader Piastri by forty points and the second place Norris by twenty-six, both McLaren drivers and the team itself have had their issues in recent races, even as the Red Bull braintrust have greatly improved the aerodynamics of their RB21, turning it back into a fearsome on-track weapon. Crucially, Verstappen took advantage of a race-ending collision between the two Papaya pilots on the opening lap of Saturday’s sprint race en route to victory in that hors d’oeuvre, scoring 8 points from that 19-lap contest compared to a big fat zero for either McLaren driver. Both Papaya drivers survived Sunday’s Grand Prix to score points at the checkered flag, with Norris crucially overcoming a slow second pit stop by his mechanics and making a late race pass on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on Lap 51 of this 56-lap contest to regain second place and maximize his possible points on the day. Meanwhile, Piastri continued to falter down the home stretch of 2025 and could do no better than P5 after a mediocre Saturday Qualifying saw the young Australian title aspirant start from P6 on the gird. That spread between the two McLarens’ finishing positions saw Norris pull to within 14 of Piastri with only five more races remaining. So, the pressure will be squarely on Piastri to get it together and regain his dominant early season form when the teams head to Mexico in a week’s time. The young Aussie will need every bit of his vaunted calm, cool demeanor with teammate Norris breathing down his neck and Verstappen and Red Bull looking like they’ve regained their vintage, domineering form.

Despite Leclerc getting demoted by Norris to third place late in the going, it was still a very good day for Ferrari overall. Leclerc easily maintained a large cushion over all other chasers behind him to secure that valuable podium position, and teammate Lewis Hamilton also drove an excellent race to improve on his P5 start and record a solid P4 result  Better yet for the Scuderia, Mercedes’ George Russell slipped two positions from his starting grid spot down to a P6 finish, while Silver Arrows teammate Kimi Antonelli did not score after a costly collision with the Williams of Carlos Sainz on Lap 7. Sainz was assessed a 5-grid spot penalty for Mexico but the damage was done and Mercedes saw their lead over Ferrari trimmed to just seven points for second place in the all-important Constructors’ Championship, McLaren having already sewn up the top spot, of course.

Top 10 finishers of the USGP:

POS. NO. DRIVER TEAM LAPS TIME / RETIRED PTS.
1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 56 1:34:00.161 25
2 4 Lando Norris McLaren 56 +7.959s 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 +15.373s 15
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 56 +28.536s 12
5 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 56 +29.678s 10
6 63 George Russell Mercedes 56 +33.456s 8
7 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 56 +52.714s 6
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber 56 +57.249s 4
9 87 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team 56 +64.722s 2
10 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 56 +70.001s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next round is in but a week’s time as the teams make the short trip from Austin to Mexico City. Can Verstappen continue his and Red Bull’s resurgence in the thin air at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez? Will Norris keep surging to close in on or even overtake his intrateam rival? Or can Piastri regain the surgical precision and sang-froid that powered him to the points lead that he is now so desperately clinging to? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!