Winners and losers from F1’s 2025 Canadian Grand Prix
Loser: Lando Norris
If you’re going to collide with your title rival team-mate, then it’s probably good to not actually take them right out. And to do your best for intra-team relations by immediately apologising when it was your fault.
But also…don’t crash into your title rival team-mate in such a clumsy way, especially when there are already so many question marks over your racecraft and whether you’ve been deposed in what used to be your team.
This was the last thing Norris needed on a weekend when he should’ve smoothly outscored Piastri based on their relative pace. – Matt Beer
Winner: Oscar Piastri
A fourth-place finish for the championship leader wouldn’t usually earn them a ‘winner’ tag, but Piastri is a big victor on Sunday because of the error he forced from team-mate Norris.
Some robust defending from Piastri drew Norris into an attack that went wrong and cost his title rival at least 10 championship points.
It’s a boost for Piastri within the context of the intra-team fight too as it’s Norris who has shouldered all of the blame for the clash, with Piastri effectively faultless – and with an increased points lead. – Josh Suttill
Loser: Ferrari
This felt like a bad ‘greatest hits’ weekend for Ferrari.
Errors (big practice crash and qualifying slip-up) from Charles Leclerc. Arguments about strategy over team radio. Sudden loss of pace for Lewis Hamilton (though not until the race this time, and at least this time due to hitting a groundhog rather than the car breaking itself). We’ve seen it all before.
And that second place in the constructors’ championship that was being cited pre-weekend as a reason to not be too down on Ferrari? That’s now been lost to Mercedes. – MB
Winner: Mercedes
The perfect antidote for a tricky triple-header for Mercedes was a dream weekend in Montreal, with George Russell taking a commanding victory and Kimi Antonelli driving around Piastri at the start for his first F1 podium.
There’s a real sense that this isn’t some magic turnaround for Mercedes and might not be repeatable. But being quicker than McLaren and Red Bull is a clear, much-needed highlight of the season so far.
Especially having done so with the new suspension, which Mercedes took off its car for Monaco and Spain. It can conclusively say its W15 has been upgraded and its driver line-up is firing on all cylinders. The only downside? A weaker hand in its contract negotiations with Russell. – JS
Winner: Max Verstappen
Verstappen was hit (and rightly so) with questions over his penalty points and the possibility of a race ban pre-weekend, but the Red Bull driver did everything right on Sunday.
He kept his nose clean at the start, defending his position but not lunging in on Russell.
And he didn’t get too frustrated by Russell’s antics under the late-race safety car – in fact, he might well have seen through them – as the Mercedes driver tried to get his rival a ‘second yellow card’.
And Verstappen finished second while Norris crashed into Piastri. He must be beaming. – Samarth Kanal
Loser: Williams
Tenth from 16th on the grid for Carlos Sainz was a reasonable salvage job, but Montreal’s not supposed to be somewhere Williams needs to do salvage jobs – it’s supposed to be a relative stronghold.
Alex Albon’s radio complaints about the team never listening to him made Williams look pretty ridiculous too, as did the hordes of cars passing him as his strategy went awry. Eventual retirement won’t have helped his mood. – MB
Winner: Fernando Alonso
An ultimately distant (until the safety car) seventh could be seen as a bit of a limp return from sixth on the grid, with the poor pace around the first pitstop sequence the main culprit, as that dropped Alonso deep into slower traffic running longer.
But if we’re judging Alonso’s weekend on overall vibes/energy/feeling, it was another one where he came across like he felt he had something worth fighting for and package he could fight with. And with Aston Martin back to looking like a one-car team, it really needs that version of Alonso. – MB
Loser: Lance Stroll
A poor weekend from a driver who’s not doing himself any favours right now.
Stroll might have qualified better if not for the red flag in Q1, and he pulled off a decent pass on Gasly at the hairpin in the race. But then he tried to run the Alpine off the road at the final chicane.
Recent events, this race included, have only underlined Stroll’s frustratingly passive attitude. – SK
Winner: Nico Hulkenberg
Just a solid drive from a very solid driver.
Hulkenberg capitalised as Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto battled early on, then ran a long second stint which required him to simultaneously get his elbows out to overtake and play the waiting game. Eighth place was the reward – a particularly useful one as Sauber edges its way back into the midfield fight.
More proof too that Audi made the right decision by picking Hulkenberg, whose experience is currently serving Sauber very well. – SK
Loser: Liam Lawson
Is there a more unceremonious way to exit a grand prix than to be pulled into the pits to save the engine? Lawson must be gutted.
At least he has a shinier, newer-than-expected power unit for Austria. – SK
Winner: Esteban Ocon
This was a typically under-the-radar Ocon points finish.
He ran a long first stint after a disappointing qualifying, maintained impressive pace on ageing hard tyres before switching to mediums on lap 57, and brought his car home in ninth – his fourth points finish for Haas. – JS
