George Russell returns from Formula 1’s latest break this weekend in Canada aiming to kickstart his world championship challenge after team-mate Kimi Antonelli’s hat-trick of wins saw the Italian teenager open up a 20-point lead over him at the top of the standings. After a stop-start beginning to the new season after the enforced five-week break of April was followed by a scheduled three-week gap between Miami and Canada, Montreal is the first of seven grands prix in the next 10 weeks ahead of the
sport’s usual August summer break. It is therefore the start of an important period in the season when the fight for the world championship will start to take shape and the drivers in definitive contention become clear. Canadian GP: UK schedule and how to watch on Sky SportsF1 2026 standings | F1 2026 calendar | F1 gossip columnDownload the Sky Sports app for expert analysis, best video & more📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 After a troubled weekend
last time out in Miami, Russell will be particularly keen to strike back immediately as the in-form Antonelli goes for four in a row at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. What’s happened to Russell since his winning start to 2026? With Mercedes widely predicted to be the team to beat long before 2026’s new era of rules kicked in, few leading observers were tipping anyone but Russell as the winner of this year’s world championship on the eve of the new season back in March. Russell’s
title-favourite status was partly based on his greater experience relative to team-mate Antonelli – the 28-year-old Briton is in his eighth season of F1 whereas the 19-year-old Italian is in his second – but also the fact that he had proved one of the standout performers on the grid in recent seasons despite inconsistent Mercedes machinery. Furthermore, Russell had outqualified a rookie Antonelli 21-3 and outscored him by 319 points to 150 points last season too in what arguably proved the most impressive campaign of
his career so far. Russell’s title-favourite tag appeared to be underlined at the season-opener in Australia when he took pole position and the race win. He then started the next week in China by winning the Sprint, again from pole. But it has been tougher going for Russell since then, despite Mercedes remaining the team to beat. A technical problem at the start of the final part of main qualifying in China limited him to just one run at the end of Q3 and, while
he did well to salvage a front-row place next to first-time GP polesitter Antonelli, he stayed behind the Italian when both drivers lost ground at the start with Russell left stuck in a battle with the Ferraris, while Antonelli eventually sped away for his maiden race win. Antonelli looked a genuine threat to Russell throughout practice in Japan and took an impressive second successive pole at Suzuka, as grip struggles left the Briton almost three tenths of a second behind the sister car. This time
Russell got ahead of Antonelli at the start and, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri jumped both Mercedes’ to lead, an untimely Safety Car played back into the Italian’s hands. Once back in the lead, Antonelli showed prodigious speed to win again while Russell came home fourth. But if misfortune had played its part in China and Japan, Russell was outright outperformed when F1 returned from its enforced five-week break in Miami. Outpaced by Antonelli by 0.4 seconds in both qualifying formats, Russell finished fifth on the
road in the Sprint (which became fourth when his team-mate was given a five-second penalty for track-limits violations) and then fourth in the main race – 43 seconds behind the victorious Antonelli, who fended off Lando Norris for an impressive third consecutive win. Russell was up front about his difficulties around the Miami International Autodrome, describing it as one of his weakest tracks on the calendar. “I just struggle on these low-grip circuits, so here [in Miami], Zandvoort, Brazil,” he said. “It was the same
last year. It’s something I want to work on but there are three tracks out of the 24 that are outliers, and Miami is definitely top of that list.” And Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ team principal, expressed confidence that Russell would compartmentalise his Miami struggles, move on from them and, ultimately, hit back to top form. “These things, he analyses them, looks at the data, comes to his conclusions, and the conclusion is that he’s never been quite at ease on this track, and he never
liked the smooth surface,” said Wolff. “That’s it. Tick the box. He’s looking forward to Montreal.” ‘Kimi is putting George under pressure’ While there were glimpses last season of the kind of prodigious promise that led Mercedes to fast-track Antonelli’s arrival into F1 as the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, the consistency of the youngster’s driving in 2026 since crashing in final practice on the new season’s second day back in Melbourne has still surprised. The only driver in history to win multiple races as a
teenager, Antonelli is also the first driver of any level of experience to convert his first three career poles into three consecutive wins. Russell admitted in Miami that his team-mate was in a “very good place at the moment and momentum is with him”, but expressed confidence that the championship fight between them would ebb and flow all year. “He [Antonelli] is a fantastic driver and has been exceptionally quick since day one. He’s won all of the championships as a youngster,” said Russell. “I’ve
still got confidence in myself and have also been there. I’ve not forgotten how to drive. It’s just a little bit of a tricky run but we are four races down, a long way to go and I think we will reassess things over the next few weeks.” But having experienced few, if any, sustained periods of difficult results relative to his team-mate in either 2024 (Hamilton) and 2025 (Antonelli), Russell will be keen to deliver a quick response. Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle said:
“There’s a very, very long way to go but he [Antonelli]’s driving beautifully and he is putting George under pressure. “In our business, you’re either giving pressure or you’re taking it, there doesn’t seem to be anything in between. “And George is under pressure because Kimi has really found some speed, some confidence and now he’s getting a bit more experience.” Why Canada could be the track for Russell to hit back If Miami is a circuit which Russell feels is one of the most
ill-suited to his driving style, then Montreal is surely one of those in the opposite category. The wall-lined Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a track that rewards drivers’ precision and braking through the chicanes, and punishes those who stray wide and commit errors, making a pole position lap one of the season’s most challenging and, therefore, rewarding. It is noteworthy then that two of Russell’s eight pole positions in F1 have come in Montreal with the Briton impressively topping Canada qualifying in each of the past
two seasons. Russell let a first victory chance slip from his grasp through mistakes in changeable conditions in 2024 but made up for it last year by leading from the front in the dry to win ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. He was joined on the podium by third-placed Antonelli, who claimed his first rostrum finish in F1, although the Italian had qualified the best part of half a second behind Russell on a rare 2025 weekend when Mercedes had the quickest car. The
2026-spec Antonelli is certainly likely to be a more competitive proposition this time but Russell will certainly feel that F1’s annual visit to Montreal has come at a good time for him. Sky Sports F1’s Jenson Button, the 2011 victor in Canada, said: “He put it all together last year and he’ll be thinking ‘why can’t I do it now I’ve actually got the best car?’ I expect him to be very competitive. “And the way he’s been so open with the media is really
positive. I think he’s showing confidence where he said ‘Miami is not a track that suits my driving style, whereas the smoother tracks where I can be precise, they work for me’. “One of those tracks is definitely Montreal.” As last year showed, when then-pre-season favourite Norris went through some fallow periods in the season before ultimately taking the championship at the final race, there is plenty of time yet for title twists and turns with 18 races to go. Not that Russell would want
to let that 20-point advantage grow much more at even this early stage of the season, particularly if any one or all of McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull emerge as regular rivals for race wins heading into the summer. “I wouldn’t write George Russell off just yet,” said Brundle. “He’s got a lot of speed, he knows what to do but he’s certainly got a bigger challenge on his hands than certainly a lot of us expected and probably him too.” Sky Sports F1’s Canadian
GP schedule Thursday May 217pm: Drivers’ Press Conference10pm: Paddock Uncut Friday May 221.55pm: F1 Academy Practice3pm: F2 Practice5pm: Canadian GP Practice One (session starts at 5.30pm)*6.55pm: F2 Qualifying*7.40pm: Team Bosses’ Press Conference*9pm: Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 9.30pm)*10.55pm: F1 Academy Qualifying* Saturday May 232.40pm: F1 Academy Race 14pm: Canadian GP Sprint build-up5pm: CANADIAN GP SPRINT6.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook7pm: F2 Sprint*8.10pm: Canadian GP Qualifying build-up*9pm: CANADIAN GP QUALIFYING*11pm: F1 Academy Race 2*11.45pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook* Sunday May 243.40pm: F1 Academy Race 35pm: F2 Feature
Race7.30pm: Canadian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*9pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX*11am: Canadian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*12am: Ted’s Notebook* *Also on Sky Sports Main Event Formula 1 next heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another Sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, F1 2026, title race, Montreal Sprint weekend, Toto Wolff, Martin Brundle, Jenson Button