George Russell Wins F1 Canadian Sprint After Fiery Clash With Kimi Antonelli

The F1 Canadian Sprint proved to be everything the fans had hoped for - fiery! However, the clashes came from the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli who banged wheels in a race that saw the Italian teen lose a spot to bitter rival McLaren. In fact, there were calls for a penalty to be slapped on Russell for his role in the clash. This coming together will likely not go down well with Mercedes, who woould have wanted a one-two finish after all the hard work during sprint quailifying that landed the pair on pole and second. It also signals that there is no love lost between the pair and the fireworks are likely to continue in the F1 Canadian GP too.

Ultimately, the clashes cost Kimi a lot, with Lando Norris coming in second behind Russell. However, one things was clear, Mercedes cars were head and shoulders better than those of McLaren, Ferrari or any other as both Russell and Antonelli managed to pull clear of those behind them before the battling duo opened the door for them.

The clash came to ahead during Lap 5 when Antonelli tried to overtake Russell, but the British driver sought to repel the attack and in the tussle, it looked like they banged wheels, causing the Italian to cut the corner and veer off the track.

The race, on the other hand, had started reasonably quietly as both the Mercedes drivers stuck to their positions. However, the peace was shattered soon thereafter with Kimi looking to steal the first spot from Russell.

During the overtaking process by Kimi, Russell looked to have banged wheels with the teenager sending him careening onto the grass. It could have ended badly, but Kimi managed to stay in control of the car and get back on the track. Even as Antonelli called for a penalty to be imposed on his team-mate for his rash driving, Norris took advantage and powered through to the second spot.

Kimi thereafter had to focus on protecting his third spot from Lewis Hamilton, who was having a good race before things fell apart when he hit the Wall of Champions.

Much to the disappointment of Hamilton's fans, the British driver lost a couple of places, first to McLaren's Oscar Piastri and then Ferrari's Charles LeClerc, finishing 6th with Red Bull's Max Verstappen in 7th.

With F1 Sprint done and dusted, drivers and teams will have to get ready for the Canadian GP Qualifying later on Saturday.