A Great Weekend to Be a Mercedes Fan:

Canadian GP Recap

Monsieur Montréal

Pole position. Fastest Lap. Race win. George’s first career hat-trick and fourth F1 win overall was richly deserved and never looked in doubt from the moment he held off the challenge of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull at the start.

When he needed to manage, he managed. When he needed to get going, he got going – passing Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in the second stint at just the right time, without losing any ground.

A 20th podium maintains his best start to a season after 10 races. He was joined by his performance engineer Katsuhide Kuwahara, who got his first taste champagne reserved for F1’s post-race celebrations.

P1 on Saturday was also the first time George had taken multiple pole positions at the same circuit.

Signore Silverware

At 18 years, nine months and 21 days, Kimi Antonelli is now third-youngest podium scorer in our sport.

Ten races into his maiden season, Kimi’s first top-three finish is the first for an Italian in F1 since Jarno Trulli at the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix.

Coincidently, Kimi became the first driver since compatriot Giancarlo Fisichella in 1997 to score their maiden F1 podium at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The number on Fisichella’s Jordan that day 28 years ago? 12. Perhaps it was meant to be.

It was a deserved podium. A bold start and a superb move around the outside of championship-leader McLaren’s Oscar Piastri into Turn One was a sign of intent.

Though the Papaya cars got within DRS in the closing stages, Kimi kept a cool head, having – like George – managed his tyres well for the final stint.

Canadian Consistency

There is something about Montréal. Sunday’s 1-3 finish now means the team has finished in the top three in every visit to the circuit since the start of the Hybrid era in 2014.

This year, as with all years, was a big team effort – and the best way to bounce back after a series of difficult results in the triple-header.

A 130th win for the Three-Pointed Star at motorsport’s top table, and an eighth win from 10 races in 2025 for our team-mates at Mercedes High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth.

A return to P2 in the Constructors was further reward, but the hard work between now and the summer break will not relent.

Maybe third driver Valtteri summed it all up best: “A great performance by the whole Mercedes team all weekend. I knew this was coming.”

‘Talk To Me’ Soundbites to Savour

From cursing to congratulations, the radio waves were glowing in Montréal. Here are some of our favourite soundbites from the weekend.

Sometimes a driver just knows when a lap is good. And on Saturday, George had that feeling.

“Talk to me?!” came the call over the radio.

“What a lap! You Beauty!! Woohoo!” he continued.

Needless to say, George enjoyed that Quali lap on Saturday afternoon. The buzz continued into parc fermé and the press conference.

“That is the only time I have ever had goosebumps after a qualifying lap. It was pretty special and something I will remember for a long-time.” said George.

Back in parc fermé, the tale of the lap had already been told, in a chat with McLaren’s Piastri.

“I found six and half tenths on that final lap, I was almost flat through the second half of the lap and then I messed up the last corner!” said George.

When the chequered flag fell on Sunday, George and Kimi were the talk of the town again.

“Great job team, congrats Kimi! That made up for last year!” said a relieved George.

For Kimi, things had felt a little bit more stressful!

“Oh My God! That was so stressful!” was the Italian’s response to Bono’s congratulatory post-race radio.

“The small Kimi grows to grande Kimi,” declared Toto soon after.

Grande, indeed. What a weekend.

Doriane Delights on the Île Notre Dame

The team had already been to the podium twice before the post-Grand Prix celebrations on Sunday, thanks to junior driver Doriane Pin’s super weekend in Montréal.

Arriving in Canada one point off the top of the F1 ACADEMY standings, the French racer claimed a win, a P3, and a P4 finish from the three races over the weekend, to seize control of the championship and open up a 20-point lead at the top of the pile.

A win in race one from P3 – the grid for which had been set from the cancelled race in Miami back in May – was even more impressive considering it was her maiden race at the track.

To get up to speed before the weekend, Doriane sat down with George to go through his 2024 pole lap. That advice worked a treat. No-one scored more points (47) than Doriane in Canada.

The series will next return to the F1 schedule in Zandvoort in August.