Russell wins Canadian GP, Antonelli's first podium, chaos for McLaren
DPA
George Russell made the best out of his pole position to win the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, while his Mercedes team-mate and rookie Kimi Antonelli claimed his first podium finish and McLaren had a day to forget.
Russell snatched pole from Max Verstappen on Saturday with a fantastic lap and only lost his position at the front in the pit stop rounds.
The Briton reclaimed the lead and becomes the first driver other than Verstappen and McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to win this season.
'It is amazing to be back on the top step. I felt last year was a victory lost, so to get the victory and see Kimi on the podium too is an amazing day for the team,' Russell said.
Last year he also had pole in Montreal, but finished third and the race was won by Dutchman Verstappen.
Italian Antonelli was third this time, behind the Red Bull of four-time defending champion Verstappen, who was on the podium for the first time in over a month.
But constructors' champions McLaren had a terrible day in Canada as they were out of the top three for the first time this season and Norris didn't complete the race after a collision with team-mate Piastri with three laps to go.
Australian Piastri - who finished fourth - now tops the drivers' standings with 198 points, 22 ahead of Briton Norris.
Russell got off to a great start to retain his lead, while Verstappen stayed in second. Piastri tried to make a move on the Dutchman, but ended up being overtaken by Antonelli.
Just like at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, pit-stop plans played a big role and Mercedes mastered their strategy, as Russell never really had his lead threatened.
Antonelli, meanwhile, had some stressful final laps as he was being chased by both Piastri and Norris.
But the two McLarens were fiercely fighting among themselves, going wheel to wheel on lap 67. Piastri went ahead, but Norris braked too late and ran into the back of the championship leader.
'I'm sorry, all my bad, all my fault. Sorry, stupid from me,' Norris said over the radio. The race finished with all the cars behind the safety car, which was deployed due to the crash.
Antonelli made his F1 debut this year as he replaced seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes after the latter joined Ferrari.
'It was so stressful! But super happy, I had a good start, managed to jump into third, and just stayed up there in the front. Last stint I pushed a bit too hard behind Max and killed the front left, and I struggled a bit at the end. But happy to bring the podium home,' the Italian driver said.
Verstappen still needs to watch out Next on the calendar is the Austrian Grand Prix on June 29 and Verstappen will need to be on his best behaviour as he's still one licence point away from a race ban.
Two of his penalty points will expire on June 30, moving him three points away from a race ban in time for the British Grand Prix on July 6.
The Dutchman was punished for causing a collision with Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix and he was also handed a 10-second penalty in the race.
After his podium in Canada, he said: 'Was quite a good race, even though in the first two stints we were struggling with the tyres. We hung in there in the final stint, and the tyres were better under lower fuel loads. That was the maximum we could have achieved today.'
Ferrari were fifth and sixth through Charles Leclerc and Hamilton respectively, with Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin in seventh.
Nico Hülkenberg of Kick Sauber, Esteban Ocon of Haas and Carlos Sainz in the Williams completed the top 10.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Ramos lifts Monterrey to 1-1 draw with Inter
PA Media/dpa London Sergio Ramos was on target as Mexican side Monterrey earned a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan at the Club World Cup. The 39-year-old former Spain and Real Madrid defender rolled back the years with a commanding display as the Champions League runners-up were given a real fright in their Group E opener at Pasadena's Rose Bowl. Lautaro Martinez struck shortly before half-time to earn the Italian side a point, with the Argentina forward having a second-half effort chalked off for offside. However, Monterrey were good value for the draw and created plenty of chances of their own in the second half. Inter started brightly and Benjamin Pavard sent an early effort from distance off target before neat work from Nicolo Barella saw him lay the ball off for Matteo Darmian, only for the former Manchester United defender to fire over the bar. Midway through the first half Lucas Ocampos had Monterrey's first meaningful effort but saw it deflect behind for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, Ramos - a four-time winner of this event during his time at the Bernabeu - rose highest to head Oliver Torres' delivery past Yann Sommer. Carlos Augusto teed up Martinez two minutes before half-time as Inter levelled before the break. The Nerazzuri could have been in front at the interval as Darmian cut back for Sebastiano Esposito, who shot wide, before Kristjan Asllani smashed a free-kick against the wall. Monterrey almost went back in front after 64 minutes when Sergio Canales' powerful effort rattled the post. Martinez had an effort midway through the second half ruled out for offside then prodded wide with only the keeper to beat 13 minutes from time. Substitute Nicola Zalewski flashed an effort wide as Inter pushed for a winner. Nelson Deossa thumped a stoppage-time effort from distance wide before firing into the side netting when through on goal as Monterrey threatened late on, with Stefan Medina sending a header the wrong side of the post in the dying seconds. The result leaves both sides trailing River Plate, who beat Urawa Reds 3-1 earlier in the day.
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
‘Toyota' Draper fights back from set down to reach last eight at Queen's
PA Media/DPA London Jack Draper says he no longer looks like a Ferrari but breaks down like a Toyota after stepping up his Wimbledon preparations by reaching the quarter-finals at Queen's Club. The British number one almost blew a gasket when he dropped the opening set to tricky Australian world number 21 Alexei Popyrin. But despite feeling under the weather, he gathered himself to level the match and then went through the gears in a deciding set tie-break to win a gruelling contest 3-6 6-2 7-6 (5) in two hours and 13 minutes. In years gone by such a test of endurance in the blazing heat of west London would have been too much for Draper, but now there is a lot more reliability under the chassis. 'I have always worked really hard off the court,' he said. 'I think that's helped me play more consistently on the tour. I have felt better and better every grand slam I have played. 'You know, before I felt like my energy wasn't that strong, and I felt like I looked like a bit of a Ferrari but I was a bit of a Toyota, like broke down quite easy. 'Now I'm starting to feel generally stronger and confident in myself.' If Draper breaks new ground and reaches the last four in West London, he will be seeded fourth at Wimbledon, ensuring he would avoid defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals. 'It's obviously a big thing. I think it would definitely help,' he added. 'But at the same time, I don't think I will think about that at all. 'Anything that I have sort of done in tennis, or achieved, I have never really thought about it. I've just kept on going. 'I focus on what's important to me, what I can control. I can't control if I go out there on Friday and play a great match. 'I'll give myself the best opportunity to hopefully do that. And of course if I'm in that position, you know, it helps going to Wimbledon. 'To be honest, I don't think I have been that great. I think I have competed really hard. I think my serve's been pretty good. 'But the tennis I know I can play and the tennis that's got me to the position I'm in, I think there is still a lot of improvement to come. 'My goal is to peak at Wimbledon, you know. I'm going to give myself a chance each day to get better.' There is to be no quarter-final battle of Britain at Queen's after Dan Evans bowed out. The 35-year-old, who caused the shock of the first round by beating seventh seed Frances Tiafoe, was narrowly beaten 7-5 7-6 (4) by another US player, Brandon Nakashima.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Boulter opens up over level of online abuse sent to tennis players
PA Media/DPA London Britain's Katie Boulter has lifted the lid on the level of abuse aimed at some tennis players and revealed she and her family have received death threats. World number 39 Boulter shared her experiences with BBC Sport to highlight the issue of players receiving toxic messages online. The 28-year-old's examples included a message telling her to buy 'candles and a coffin for your entire family' with a reference to her 'grandmother's grave if she's not dead by tomorrow', one stating she should 'go to hell' as she had cost the poster money, and another stating 'hope you get cancer'. Boulter said: 'I just wonder who the person is that has sent that. I don't think it's something that I would ever say to my worst enemy. It's just an awful, awful thing to say to anyone. It's horrible.' Boulter believes much of the abuse comes from gamblers who have lost money and while she has learned how to better handle it over the years, incidents can raise genuine concerns for her safety. She said: 'I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really don't know if this person is on site. You really don't know if they're nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.' The message Boulter received relating to her family came during her French Open first-round victory over Carole Monnet on May 29. And she is concerned that both the frequency and severity of the abuse is increasing and worries about the potential impact on younger players. She said: 'I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now.' She said: 'I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don't think there's anything off the cards now.' Boulter's compatriot Jack Draper said it was 'so easy to spread online hate'. Speaking after his opening match of the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, he said: 'It's not easy, especially, I think she (Boulter) said, when you're younger and you lose a match or something and you come into the professional tour and getting all this abuse, saying they will come around your house and do this and that. It's not nice. 'There does need to be something that gets done, not just in tennis but in professional sport. It's too easy to spread hate. I'm not a fan of social media at all.' Boulter's fiance, Australian player Alex de Minaur, said: 'It's great for her to step up and shine a light into this and hopefully there is something that can be done about it.' The WTA and International Tennis Federation on Tuesday published their first report into online abuse of players after the launch of the Threat Matrix service last January. The system operates across all major social media platforms and uses AI and human analysts to identify and tackle harassment, abuse and threats directed at players. The report reveals 1.6 million posts and comments were analysed, with around 8,000 directed at 458 players identified as abusive, violent or threatening. Five players received 26% of the total abuse, while 40% of the messages were identified as coming from angry gamblers. Fifteen accounts have been identified to law enforcement because of the serious and prolific nature of the messages, while details have been shared with security teams at tennis events to prevent individuals accessing venues. A spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said: 'Protecting players and the wider tennis family from vile online threat and abuse is a key priority for us. Today's report covering the first year of the Threat Matrix service shows the scale of the problem and, crucially, the actions being taken to protect our athletes. 'Given the clear evidence highlighted by Threat Matrix on the link between angry gamblers and prolific online abuse and threat, we are calling for a constructive dialogue with the gambling industry to help tackle this issue. 'Everyone - betting operators, social media platforms, governing bodies, players and law enforcers - has a responsibility to make the online space a safer and more positive one. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their part.' The Threat Matrix service is also being enhanced to enable abusive messages to be hidden or removed in real time.
