George Russell won his first race of the Formula 1 season as the Mercedes driver held off defending race winner Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix.

It was the fourth victory of Russell’s career, and the race ended under yellow when McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris staged a wheel-to-wheel late battle that ended with Norris hitting the wall. “It’s amazing to be back on the top step,” Russell said.

“I felt last year was a victory lost, so to get the victory and see [teammate] Kimi [Antonelli] on the podium, too, is an amazing day for the team. I think it shows the strength of our cars in the cooler conditions, so let’s see in the coming races.”