Formula One Gradebook: Canadian Grand Prix
- Maham Mir
- 7 hours ago
- 12 min read
For one final Race ahead of the European leg of the season, Formula One returned to Montreal for the 55th edition of the Canadian Grand Prix. A driver favourite, and often a test of skill with the infamous Wall of Champions, it is a track that always delivers on its promises of action.
Hosting its inaugural Sprint Race weekend in ever-changing weather conditions, including a declared Rain Hazard by the FIA, the headlines were flooded with Kimi Antonelli’s record-making fourth consecutive win.
When the chequered flag waved, only 16 drivers remained on the grid to cross the finish line. Headlines were also dominated by Mercedes, who had many close calls with their drivers over the weekend, and McLaren’s bizarre strategy choices, which saw them unable to add to their points tally.
Here’s how all 22 drivers performed on Race day:
Mercedes
George Russell: DNF
At a track that he is normally successful on, with one Race win and three consecutive pole positions, George Russell undoubtedly will feel a little bit disappointed after an unfortunate DNF to complete his weekend in Montreal. Despite qualifying on pole for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, and collecting the eight points given to the winner of the Sprint, Russell’s unfortunate DNF due to a power unit failure has seen the gap between him and the championship leader grow to 43 points.
Bringing to an end his 38-race finishing streak, which is the fourth-longest in the history of the sport, Russell demonstrated considerable pace and technical ability in his fights at the front with his team-mate. Although both Mercedes were caught out by the rapid start of McLaren’s Lando Norris, they were in a league of their own once they got back ahead. Looking to Monaco next, the British driver will no doubt be hoping to shine in the crown jewel.
Kimi Antonelli: A
Kimi Antonelli enjoyed another successful weekend, creating another F1 record as he scored his fourth Grand Prix win and became the first driver to achieve these four wins in succession. Although he was the driver to lose out in the Sprint when he and his team-mate battled wheel-to-wheel for position, this was not the case during the Grand Prix.
Despite his own lock-ups during the 68 racing Laps, Antonelli capitalised on the opportunity to get and stay ahead of his team-mate prior to Russell’s retirement. Extending his championship lead to 43 points, Antonelli crossed the line with a lead of 10.7 seconds, the largest win margin of his career so far.
The pressure of the European leg of the calendar will no doubt be playing on Antonelli’s mind after a slump in performance last season cost him, but with momentum on his side and his confidence no doubt growing, there’s no telling just how far the young Italian driver might go this season.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc: B
Enduring his self-proclaimed “the most difficult weekend so far of my career”, Charles Leclerc’s finishing position of fourth is no doubt the best he could have done in Montreal. Far from the comfort his team-mate was finding in the car, Leclerc struggled with brake issues, which seemed to hamper his progress throughout the weekend, given the heavy braking zones that the Montreal circuit is known for.
Significantly behind the pace-setters in Saturday’s Qualifying, Leclerc did well to recover to fourth, which was no doubt helped by the misfortunes of both McLaren drivers. Leaving the weekend on an optimistic note ahead of his home Grand Prix in Monaco, Leclerc noted: “At least I know it’s in the car that we can do better.”
Lewis Hamilton: A+
Putting to one side his Sprint Race win in Shanghai last season, Lewis Hamilton enjoyed his most successful weekend to date with his new team with a second-place finish. On a track that he loves, and one that loves him back, where he has achieved six pole positions and seven Race wins, Hamilton seemed more like himself than perhaps any other Race weekend so far in 2026.
Battling with Max Verstappen in a series of overtakes that seemed reminiscent of their legendary championship battle in 2021, the seven-time former world champion put together a phenomenal performance despite briefly struggling with deployment issues during the middle of the Race. While he didn’t have the straight-line speed to challenge Antonelli for the win, there’s no doubt that the former world champion is slowly but surely gaining momentum at his new team.
McLaren
Lando Norris: DNF
It was a weekend of two halves for the reigning world champion, who collected a second-place finish in the Sprint to split the two Mercedes and was the faster McLaren driver over the course of the weekend. However, for all his considerable pace in the car, a misjudged strategy call to start on Intermediate tyres for Sunday’s Grand Prix left Norris out of sync with the rest of the grid.
After a phenomenal start which saw him take the lead from the second row, Norris fell back into traffic after swapping onto the slick tyres. Whilst he was able to make his way back up into the points after falling towards the back end of the pack, demonstrating the success of the upgrades introduced over the last two weekends, a gearbox failure meant that Norris’ time in Montreal came to an end after only 38 Laps.
Oscar Piastri: C
Compared to his team-mate, Oscar Piastri was no doubt the slower of the two McLaren drivers all weekend. Caught out by the tyre choice made by his pit wall ahead of the Race, Piastri found himself entirely out of sync with the rest of the grid and was dropped back into traffic after his early stop.
Battling with the back of the field in an attempt to move back up into the points-scoring positions, Piastri's collision with Alex Albon due to a lock-up further derailed his Race. A 10-second time penalty because of the collision meant he was unable to add points to McLaren’s tally in the World Constructors’ Championship as he took the chequered flag two Laps down on the leader and in 11th place.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: A
For the first time in 2026, Max Verstappen took to the podium for a well-earned and hard-fought third-place finish. However, at the start of the weekend, such a result could not have been predicted given the issues that the four-time former world champion was having in his car.
Red Bull, a team known for their quick turnaround in setups between Saturday and Sunday, put their skills to the test once again and were rewarded with an excellent result. While there can be no doubt that they benefited from the misfortunes of teams ahead of them in the standings, such as McLaren, it seems that their numerous upgrades have set them up well for the remainder of the season.
Isack Hadjar: B-
It was a lonely Race for Isack Hadjar in Montreal, who struggled for pace against the front-runners ahead, including his team-mate, but remained out of reach for the drivers behind him. Even though he was the fastest man on track during Q2, the one-time podium finisher faced the same issues as Verstappen on Saturday, which left him starting the Race in seventh.
During the Race, Hadjar’s main action was limited to the pitlane as he collected 30 seconds worth of time penalties for various incidents, including a yellow-flag infringement. Despite the penalties, he still managed to score some much-needed points as he crossed the line in fifth, albeit having been lapped once.
Haas
Oliver Bearman: B+
Despite the performance slump that Haas have found themselves in after a rapid start to the season, Oliver Bearman found himself back in the top 10 this weekend. Points did not seem to be on the cards with Bearman starting towards the back of the pack in 16th; however, the retirements ahead, paired with an incredible opening Lap, put the British driver right back into contention.
Although he and the team admitted that the upgrade package they brought over two weekends, Miami and Montreal, had not boosted performance in the way they hoped, the team should still be pleased with the result. With 18 points, Bearman now sits in ninth place in the World Drivers' Championship (WDC).
Esteban Ocon: C
Starting the weekend by putting to bed rumours about a rift between himself and senior management, Esteban Ocon was no doubt hoping to prove that he deserves his seat in Montreal. Unfortunately for the French driver, that was not the story of his weekend as he finished outside of the points and behind his team-mate yet again.
Starting the Grand Prix in 17th, a two-stop strategy left Ocon with a battle to bring himself back into contention, but multiple issues, including repeated lock-ups, meant that he had to settle for a 14th-place finish in the end. Compared to his team-mate, Ocon has only scored one point all season and will no doubt be hoping that the upgrade package will yield better performance for the remainder of the season.
Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad: DNS
Although the result may seem like a disappointing one, there can be no doubt about the strength of the performance showcased by Arvid Lindblad in Canada. Securing the final points position in the Sprint, the British driver seemed set for another competitive session; however, a failure on the starting grid saw him unable to compete in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
After the Race, it was revealed that Lindblad’s cause for retirement was an issue with his gearbox. The pace of the car cannot be doubted this weekend, and it was unfortunate that the rookie driver was not able to show just what he would have been able to achieve if he had competed in the Grand Prix.
Liam Lawson: A
The weekend started off in difficult conditions for Liam Lawson as a car failure in Free Practice 1 kept him out of action for the entirety of the first day of running in Montreal. However, he recovered well for some valuable data collection during the Sprint and to put his car in 12th for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Another recipient of some good luck as incidents took place amongst the front-runners ahead of him, the driver from New Zealand was able to bring himself back into points contention. Making the most of the pace of his car, Lawson crossed the line in seventh to round off a difficult but successful weekend.
Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto: C-
Like some of the other teams on the grid, both drivers started out on the back foot in Montreal, with their chosen tyre choice being the Intermediate tyre despite the drying track. With the gamble of tyre choices not paying off, Gabriel Bortoleto was forced into an additional stop where he conceded any opportunity to battle for on-track position.
In the end, the Brazilian driver managed to bring his car back in 13th place. Speaking after the Race, he noted: “I think points could have been possible today, but that’s racing sometimes.” After a great start to the season, things seem to have tailed off for Audi; there’s no doubt they’ll be hoping to turn things around in Europe.
Nico Hülkenberg: C-
Like his team-mate, the tyre choice proved to be the wrong decision, leaving the German driver out of sync before the Race had even started. Although Hülkenberg acknowledged that it seemed to be “a risk worth taking with what we knew at the time”, it prompted an additional stop that he could not recover from, especially with the limited pace of his car.
The German driver’s progress was further derailed after he was given a penalty for speeding in the pitlane and also spun on track due to a lock-up, a common occurrence for drivers up and down the grid this time out in Montreal. In the end, he was able to bring his car back in 12th and ahead of his team-mate.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly: B+
It was another points finish for the French driver, contributing yet again to Alpine’s tally in the World Constructors' Championship (WCC). Although behind his team-mate for a second weekend running, Pierre Gasly no doubt had a consistent but more problem-filled weekend compared to the driver in the garage next door.
Starting the Race in 14th, Gasly put the pace of his Alpine to good use as he made his way through the field. Benefitting from the misfortunes of those ahead, Gasly brought himself back into contention to cross the line in eighth. Despite all the issues that the French driver faced over the course of the weekend, there can be no doubt that Alpine’s first double-points finish since the Chinese Grand Prix is a step in the right direction.
Franco Colapinto: A+
Another strong weekend from Franco Colapinto as he took the fight to his more experienced team-mate and came out ahead once again. Following the success of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, he was once again on the pace for both competitive sessions this weekend. Although he finished marginally outside of the points for the Sprint in ninth, he demonstrated just how competitive the Alpine is during the Race.
Finishing in sixth, his best result in F1 so far, it was a lonely Race for Colapinto with the gap ahead to Hadjar too large to put any pressure on the Red Bull driver and the gap behind to Lawson too large to be concerned for his position to come under threat. This result, paired with the success he found in Miami, takes Colapinto to a points total of 11, putting him in 15th in the WDC.
Williams
Carlos Sainz: A
Unlike all the other drivers who started the Race on the Intermediate tyres, Carlos Sainz was able to make the choice work for him and transformed his difficult start into another hard-earned points finish. Following his ninth-place finish in Miami with the same result in Montreal, the four-time Grand Prix winner scored his third points finish of the season so far.
After swapping onto the slick tyres, Sainz was able to showcase the true pace of his Williams by putting in Lap times far quicker than the rest of the midfield. Although he was too far back to get into the thick of fighting with the cars ahead, this was no doubt an optimistic hope for the future performance of the car.
Alex Albon: DNF
While he had the pace of his team-mate, Alex Albon was unable to change that pace into a points finish after an incident with Piastri brought his weekend to a premature end. Starting the Race in 18th, Albon was already set for a fight if he wanted to finish in the top 10; however, this was derailed after Piastri ended up out of position and battling with the backmarkers.
Locking up, a common occurrence for almost all the drivers over the course of the weekend, Albon was nothing but a passenger in the accident as Piastri drove into the Williams. Suffering from terminal damage to the chassis, Albon retired from the Race.
Cadillac
Sergio Pérez: DNF
Like some of the other teams on the grid, Cadillac also started both of their cars on the Intermediate tyres, although the gamble failed to pay off. In the early stages of the Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez found himself to already be a Lap down on the rest of the grid, and an additional pit stop further highlighted the performance gap between himself and the other teams.
In the end, the Mexican driver was forced to retire from the Race after damage to his front suspension system left him unable to continue.
Valtteri Bottas: C-
Like his team-mate, Valtteri Bottas struggled for performance on the Intermediate tyres and pitting to swap them for slicks left him out of sync with the rest of the grid. Unable to battle with the other drivers around him like Haas’ Ocon, Bottas had to endure quite a lonely Race in Montreal.
To make matters more difficult for the Finn, he was also given a penalty for speeding in the pitlane. When the chequered flag was waved, Bottas was the last car on track and finished four Laps down on Race leader Antonelli.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: DNF
It was a marginally better weekend for the two-time former world champion after briefly running in the points in the early stages of the Race. Starting on the soft tyres, Fernando Alonso was able to catch some of the other drivers by surprise with his start. However, the Spaniard soon came under pressure from faster cars behind.
After retiring from the Sprint due to a seat issue, Alonso experienced the same problem and subsequently retired from the Race. Not expecting a huge turnaround in performance in the near future, Alonso noted: “We need to wait for performance to come with our upgrades around the summer break.”
Lance Stroll: C-
After a setup change and a new battery in the back of his Aston Martin, Lance Stroll started his home Grand Prix from the pitlane. Although he was the sole Aston Martin to finish the Race post-Alonso’s retirement, Stroll was not entirely happy with the performance of the car.
Moving into the European leg of the calendar, Stroll stated plainly: “The car performance isn’t where we need it to be and there’s still a lot of work to do to get us there.”
Looking ahead
After another break, F1 will return to take on some of the most historic tracks on the calendar in Europe, starting with none other than the streets of Monaco.
Although Antonelli’s lead at the top of the championship standings seems secure for the moment, it was in Europe where the young driver faltered last year. Only time will tell if this season’s title fight will come down to Europe once again.
Edited by Pranav Sharma
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