The Canadian Grand Prix had its fair share of drama — from an unfortunate run-in with a groundhog to a first win of the season for George Russell and an explosive McLaren clash. Here’s what went down in Montreal.

A Devastated Hamilton Hits a Groundhog

Lewis Hamilton left the Canadian Grand Prix feeling more heartbroken than frustrated — and not just because of his sixth-place finish.

The seven-time world champion, who started fifth on the grid, lost significant pace early in the race and didn’t know why until afterward. The culprit? A groundhog. The animal had wandered onto the track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and was struck by Hamilton’s Ferrari, damaging the car’s floor and costing him around half a second per lap.

“I didn’t see it happen, but I heard I hit a groundhog, so that’s devastating,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “I love animals, so I’m so sad about it. It’s horrible. It’s never happened to me here before.”

Hamilton, a committed vegan and animal rights advocate, seemed genuinely shaken. He said the car felt “pretty decent” at the start and that he was optimistic about the race — until the incident. Brake issues later added to his troubles, and a poorly timed pit stop put him behind traffic.

“It went from one thing to another,” he said. “I’m grateful I could just finish, particularly with the brake issue I had, and bag those points.”

Russell Rules Montreal

While Hamilton was dealing with heartbreak, fellow Brit George Russell had a stellar day. Starting from pole, the Mercedes driver held off a determined Max Verstappen to claim his first win of the season — and his first trip to the top step of the podium in over a year.

“It’s amazing to be back on the top step,” Russell said. “To get the victory and see Kimi [Antonelli] on the podium, too, is an amazing day for the team.”

Verstappen, who finished second, seemed satisfied with the result, despite his season-long rivalry with Russell heating up once again. Antonelli secured third in what was a dream result for Mercedes.

McLaren Meltdown

The biggest flashpoint of the day came in the final laps, when the two McLaren teammates — both leading the F1 drivers’ standings — collided in a dramatic scrap for position.

Lando Norris made several bold attempts to overtake Oscar Piastri with just four laps to go. But the aggressive push ended in disaster: Norris clipped Piastri’s rear tire, sending himself into the wall and out of the race.

Piastri managed to pit and salvage a fourth-place finish, but the moment cost McLaren dearly.

“I’m sorry. All my bad. All my fault. Stupid from me,” Norris said over the team radio right after the crash. Speaking later to Sky Sports, he owned the mistake completely. “I apologize to the whole team and to Oscar as well for attempting something probably a bit too silly.”

The clash widened the points gap between the two teammates, with Piastri now 22 points clear of Norris in the championship standings.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella didn’t hold back. “We never want to see a McLaren car involved in an accident — and definitely not contact between our two cars,” he said. “This is a situation we know is not acceptable. At the same time, we appreciate that Lando immediately owned it.”

Up Next: Austria

With the dust settling in Montreal, the F1 circus now heads to Europe. The Austrian Grand Prix is set for June 29 — and if Montreal was any indication, the next round could be just as unpredictable.

Source: CNN – Lewis Hamilton ‘so sad’ after hitting groundhog during Canadian Grand Prix as George Russell claims win

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Oscar Piastri delivered a flawless performance to claim victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, leading the race from start to finish and leaving his competitors trailing in his wake.

The McLaren driver looked confident and composed throughout the race, steadily building a commanding lead. A safety car midway through the race posed a brief challenge, but Piastri showed no signs of pressure, swiftly reasserting his dominance once the field bunched up behind him. He maintained his lead all the way to the checkered flag, securing a well-deserved win.

“It’s been an incredible weekend. To finish the job today in style was nice,” Piastri said after the race. “I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given us. It is pretty handy out there. It’s never been a track that’s been kind to us, so it’s nice to finally get a result here.”

Despite the late safety car intervention, Piastri remained confident and in control. “I would have preferred not to have [the safety car] but I was still pretty confident. It was relatively straightforward. I was never going to let that one go.”

While Piastri cruised to victory, his teammate Lando Norris had a more challenging race. Starting from sixth, Norris fought his way through the field and earned a well-deserved third place finish after serving a five-second penalty for a grid box infringement. He remained competitive, battling with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for a podium spot throughout the race.

“It’s a tough race,” Norris reflected. “I made too many mistakes with the overtakes and out of position. A messy race from me, and I’m disappointed not to bring home a 1-2 for McLaren.”

Mercedes’ George Russell faced his own set of challenges but managed to hold off Norris’ late charge. After dealing with some car issues, Russell secured second place, finishing ahead of Norris by a narrow margin.

Leclerc, after several battles with Norris, ultimately finished in fourth place, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton showed resilience, moving from ninth to finish in fifth.

Max Verstappen, who had a disappointing race, never posed a serious threat to the leaders. Two slow pit stops contributed to his struggles, and he finished in sixth.

Overall, it was a race filled with drama and strategy, but Piastri’s dominant performance left no doubt that he was the driver to beat in Bahrain. With this victory, he proves that McLaren is a force to be reckoned with this season.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Source: CNN – Oscar Piastri takes impressive win at Bahrain Grand Prix

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Verstappen fends off McLaren duo to claim victory, while 18-year-old Antonelli sets records with fastest lap.

Max Verstappen produced a flawless drive to win the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a tense battle for the top spot. The Dutchman’s precision and calm under pressure earned him yet another victory, keeping his strong momentum in the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, couldn’t hide his admiration for Verstappen’s performance, calling it “one of the best weekends he’s had in Formula One.” Horner told Sky Sports: “The hard work was really done yesterday, but today in the race, he was inch-perfect. McLaren were fast, but we were just that bit quicker to hold them off.”

Verstappen’s win came after a stellar Saturday performance, where he grabbed pole position by just 0.012 seconds in a dramatic qualifying session. The final laps were interrupted by a six-minute delay caused by a grass fire, but Verstappen’s incredible pace saw him edge out Norris in the dying moments, much to the surprise of the paddock.

In the race, Verstappen quickly built a two-second gap over Norris and maintained his lead throughout, despite McLaren’s best efforts to close the distance. A critical moment came when both Verstappen and Norris pitted simultaneously. The two came out of the pit lane nearly side by side, but Verstappen wasn’t giving an inch. Norris briefly found himself driving across the grass, but later explained it was simply “racing,” adding, “Max is the last guy I expect to give me any space, in a good way.”

While Verstappen secured victory, the race also saw a historic achievement by Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli. At just 18 years and 224 days old, Antonelli became the youngest driver in F1 history to set the fastest lap during a race. He also briefly led the race, becoming the youngest driver to do so as well. His performance was a standout moment in what was an eventful race for the teenage sensation.

With his win in Japan, Verstappen closed the gap to just one point behind Norris in the Drivers’ Championship standings. “I’m incredibly happy,” Verstappen said after the race. “It started off quite tough this weekend, but we didn’t give up. We kept improving the car, and today it was in its best form. Of course, starting on pole really made it possible to win this race.”

On a more controversial note, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz had a rough weekend, finishing 14th after suffering a “stomach issue” ahead of the race. Sainz arrived late for the pre-race national anthem and was subsequently fined €20,000 ($22,000) by the FIA. Half of the fine was suspended for a year, and the FIA confirmed that Sainz’s condition had been verified by a doctor, which led to the reduced fine.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

Verstappen’s victory further solidifies his dominance in the sport, but the rising talent of Antonelli and the fierce competition from McLaren make the 2025 season even more thrilling as the championship race continues.

Source: CNN – Max Verstappen wins tense Japanese Grand Prix as teenage sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli makes F1 history

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Oscar Piastri secured a commanding victory at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, leading McLaren to a dominant 1-2 finish with teammate Lando Norris coming in second. However, the race ended in controversy as three drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, were later disqualified.

Starting from pole position, Piastri delivered a near-flawless performance, leading for most of the race and finishing nearly 10 seconds ahead of Norris. This marks the Australian’s third Formula 1 Grand Prix victory and solidifies McLaren’s status as a serious contender to challenge four-time defending champion Red Bull this season.

The McLaren cars were the fastest on the track in Shanghai, with Piastri maintaining his lead throughout the race, only momentarily conceding it during pit stops.

“It’s been an incredible weekend, the car has been pretty mega,” the 23-year-old said. “Today was a surprise, how differently the tyres behaved. This feels like what I deserved from last week. Very, very happy, just, yeah, very happy. The hard was a much better tyre than everyone expected, so to go all the way to the end was a bit of a surprise, but a happy surprise.”

Piastri’s win follows Norris’ victory in Australia, making it two consecutive wins for McLaren in the 2025 season.

Norris faced challenges throughout the race, including brake issues and a tough fight with Mercedes’ George Russell, but managed to hold on to second place. Russell finished third, over five seconds ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen.

“The start I was hoping for, but then George got me in the pit stops,” Norris admitted. “I was a little nervous, but we were better in the second stint. Oscar drove well, he deserved the win. I’m happy with second, good points and great points for the team with a 1-2.”

He also revealed late-race struggles with his car: “(The brake pedal) was my worst nightmare, I was losing two, three, four seconds the last two laps. It was scary but we made it to the end.”

Lewis Hamilton, who had claimed his first victory for Ferrari in the sprint race on Saturday, finished sixth in the main event, with teammate Charles Leclerc securing fifth place. However, hours after the race, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) announced the shocking disqualifications of Hamilton, Leclerc, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

According to the FIA, the plank underneath Hamilton’s car was found to be below the allowed minimum thickness, resulting in his disqualification and a loss of championship points from this race. Meanwhile, Leclerc and Gasly were disqualified for having underweight cars.

Ferrari issued a statement insisting that “there was no intention to gain any advantage” and that the team “will learn from what happened today.”

With this result, Norris maintains his lead in the drivers’ championship standings after two races, now eight points ahead of Verstappen. Piastri jumps to fourth place, trailing Norris by just 10 points.

If the first two races are any indication, the 2025 season is shaping up to be an intense battle for the championship.

Before the race, the F1 community paid tribute to Eddie Jordan, the former team owner who gave seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher his Formula 1 debut. Jordan passed away earlier in the week, and teams and drivers honored his contributions to the sport.

Source: CNN – Oscar Piastri wins Chinese Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton and two other drivers disqualified

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Lewis Hamilton made history on Saturday, claiming his first-ever win for Ferrari with a dominant performance in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.

A Commanding Victory

Starting from pole position in the 19-lap sprint, Hamilton held off his longtime rival Max Verstappen through the opening corners before pulling away to secure a convincing victory. The seven-time world champion, now in his debut season with Ferrari, showcased his skill and composure to clinch an important win for his new team.

A Turnaround from Melbourne

This victory marked a strong comeback for Hamilton, who had a disappointing Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix, finishing in 10th place. His resurgence in Shanghai demonstrated his growing comfort within the team and the car.

Later on Saturday, Hamilton qualified in fifth place for Sunday’s main race, where McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took his first career pole position. To secure a record-extending seventh grand prix win in Shanghai, Hamilton will need to mount a strong challenge from the third row, battling Verstappen, Lando Norris, George Russell, and Piastri ahead of him on the grid.

Silencing the Critics

Following his sprint race triumph, Hamilton addressed the skepticism surrounding his transition to Ferrari, pushing back against critics who doubted his adaptation to the new team.

“I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, to become acclimatised within the team – understanding and communication, all sorts of things,” Hamilton said in his post-race interview.

“The amount of critics and people I heard, yapping along the way, clearly not understanding. Maybe because they never had the experience or were just unaware.

“And so it felt great to come here and feel more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I really didn’t feel comfortable. From lap one here this weekend, I was really feeling on it.”

Looking Ahead to Sunday

With the sprint race victory boosting his confidence, Hamilton now turns his focus to the grand prix, where he aims to pull off another stellar performance. Starting from fifth, he will need a near-perfect race to fight for the win and further cement his place in Ferrari’s rich history.

Will Hamilton defy the odds once again? All eyes will be on him as the lights go out in Shanghai on Sunday.

Source: CNN – Lewis Hamilton takes first-ever win for Ferrari in sprint race at Chinese Grand Prix

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Reigning world champion Max Verstappen secured third place for Red Bull, trailing Norris by 0.385 seconds. Mercedes’ George Russell claimed fourth position, while Yuki Tsunoda delivered an impressive performance for Racing Bulls, securing fifth on the grid.

Ferrari faced challenges during the session, with Charles Leclerc qualifying seventh and Lewis Hamilton, in his debut with the team, finishing eighth. Hamilton’s adjustment to the new car and team dynamics may have contributed to this result.

Williams demonstrated a strong performance, with both drivers reaching Q3 for the first time in a decade. Carlos Sainz secured the tenth spot, and Alexander Albon achieved a commendable sixth place.

The qualifying session highlighted McLaren’s dominance and set the stage for an exciting race at Albert Park. Fans eagerly anticipate whether Norris and Piastri can convert their front-row starts into a strong race performance.

Source: McLaren dominates first F1 qualifying of the season at Australian GP as Lewis Hamilton finishes eighth in Ferrari debut

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After an eventful offseason, the 2025 Formula One season is finally here. With new driver lineups, technical changes, and an intense 24-race schedule, fans are in for an exciting year of racing.

How to Watch the 2025 F1 Season

• The season kicks off in Australia for the first time since 2019 and concludes in Abu Dhabi in December.
• The calendar remains at 24 races, the longest in F1 history.
• The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix have been rescheduled to accommodate Ramadan.
• In the US, races will be broadcast on ESPN; in the UK, coverage will be on Sky Sports.

Major Driver Changes: Hamilton’s Ferrari Switch

One of the biggest moves in F1 history happened when Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes to join Ferrari, replacing Carlos Sainz.

• The seven-time world champion begins a new chapter alongside Charles Leclerc.
• His arrival has electrified Ferrari fans—his first official Ferrari post became the most-liked F1 Instagram post ever.
• Hamilton described the move as a “challenge I really needed” to reinvigorate his career.

Ferrari’s last drivers’ title was in 2007—can Hamilton and Leclerc bring them back to the top?

Can Anyone Stop Verstappen?

• Max Verstappen, the reigning four-time world champion, is eyeing a historic fifth straight title.
• Red Bull has faced a rocky preseason, with Verstappen admitting they have “work to do.”
• Liam Lawson replaces Sergio Pérez as Verstappen’s new teammate, making his full-time F1 debut.
• Red Bull also faced controversy last season with allegations against team principal Christian Horner, though he was cleared of any wrongdoing.

McLaren’s Rising Ambition

• McLaren had an impressive 2024 season, winning the constructors’ championship.
• Their driver lineup—Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri—is considered one of the most exciting in the paddock.
• Norris believes McLaren has no excuses in 2025: “We proved last year that we have what it takes.”
• Mercedes’ George Russell called McLaren the “strongest team in Bahrain testing.”

Other Key Driver Changes

• Carlos Sainz joins Williams after being replaced at Ferrari.
• Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 18, takes Hamilton’s vacant seat at Mercedes.
• Haas welcomes Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.
• Sauber brings in Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg.
• Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) are among five full-time debutants.

Technical Changes for 2025

• Fastest Lap Point Removed: Drivers will no longer earn a point for setting the fastest lap.
• More Track Time for Rookies: New drivers now get four practice sessions instead of two.
• Minor tweaks to aerodynamics and fuel efficiency aim to improve racing dynamics.

Full 2025 F1 Race Calendar

1. Australian Grand Prix – March 16
2. Chinese Grand Prix – March 23
3. Japanese Grand Prix – April 6
4. Bahrain Grand Prix – April 13
5. Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – April 20
6. Miami Grand Prix – May 4
7. Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – May 18
8. Monaco Grand Prix – May 25
9. Spanish Grand Prix – June 1
10. Canadian Grand Prix – June 15
11. Austrian Grand Prix – June 29
12. British Grand Prix – July 6
13. Belgian Grand Prix – July 27
14. Hungarian Grand Prix – August 3
15. Dutch Grand Prix – August 31
16. Italian Grand Prix – September 7
17. Azerbaijan Grand Prix – September 21
18. Singapore Grand Prix – October 5
19. United States Grand Prix – October 19
20. Mexico Grand Prix – October 26
21. Brazilian Grand Prix – November 9
22. Las Vegas Grand Prix – November 22
23. Qatar Grand Prix – November 30
24. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – December 7

The 2025 F1 season is shaping up to be a thriller with new rivalries, unexpected shake-ups, and the hunt for another world title. Will Verstappen continue his reign, or will Hamilton’s Ferrari gamble pay off? Let the race begin!

Source

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