Russell holds off Norris, Antonelli to win wild Canadian GP sprint

George Russell survived contact with teammate Kimi Antonelli early and then held off reigning world champion Lando Norris to win the inaugural Canadian Grand Prix sprint race Saturday.

Both Mercedes drivers came together while fighting for the lead in the early stages, which led to Norris overtaking Antonelli for second place.

Norris challenged Russell from second position but couldn't get by. Antonelli, who's leading the standings, finished third.

Antonelli complained on the radio after the race, saying, "If we need to race like this, then good to know." Mercedes boss Toto Wolff responded to the 19-year-old, telling him that the incident should be discussed internally and not on the radio.

"It was a tough battle," Antonelli told the broadcast after the race. "I tried to make my move, and I need to review on that because I was quite well alongside (Russell) and I got pushed off."

"It was a good battle with Kimi," Russell said. "Glad we both are standing here after the race."

Wolff later explained that the incident serves as a positive learning experience, as it will be up to his drivers to implement rules for how they want to race each other going forward.

Oscar Piastri finished fourth behind the leading three. Charles Leclerc placed fifth, while teammate Lewis Hamilton came sixth and Max Verstappen finished seventh. Arvid Lindblad was the final points-scorer in eighth.