Canadian GP: George Russell wins as Lando Norris crash sees late drama

MONTREAL — George Russell won a Canadian Grand Prix that exploded into drama when Lando Norris collided with title rival and teammate Oscar Piastri.

The buildup had been all about a contest between Russell and Max Verstappen, who had been irritated by talk of his penalty points after qualifying, but a close duel between them never materialized.

It fell to the McLaren drivers to provide the key talking point.

Norris slammed into the back of the other McLaren on Lap 66 as they vied for fourth position late in the race.

Norris got a run on Piastri down the start-finish straight, but as the road kinked to the right, he drifted too wide and closed the gap with the Australian’s car, ending up in the wall.

The crash put Norris out of the race, and Piastri extended his championship lead to 22 points.

Although the first incident between the two will generate headlines, there was no contention over what had happened — Norris refused to point the finger of blame at anyone but himself.

“Sorry,” Norris said on the radio immediately afterwards. “All my bad. All my fault. Stupid from me.”

The incident also meant the race finished under the safety car.

It helped Russell’s teammate, teenage wunderkind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, secure the first podium of his Formula 1 career.

Piastri avoided major damage and managed to drag his car home for fourth, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth.

Hamilton, who compared driving his car to dancing with someone who doesn’t have any rhythm, had another race where he seemed was confused about his lack of pace.

“I’m nowhere in this race, mate,” Hamilton complained at one point. “Don’t know what’s happened.” Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso continued the turnaround of his season by finishing seventh, ahead of the in-form Nico Hulkenberg for Sauber.

Esteban Ocon finished ninth for Haas, while Carlos Sainz grabbed the final point on offer for Williams.