Lando Norris has retired from the Canadian Grand Prix after a spectacular 200mph collision with his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
While George Russell produced a flawless drive to take victory from pole position and ahead of Red Bull rival Max Verstappen, Norris crashed into the back of Piastri in the battle for fourth place with just three laps to go.
Norris attempted to pass Piastri at the start-finish line but misjudged the moment and collided with his teammate's car.
Norris was forced to stop his damaged McLaren and immediately admitted his fault for the accident. “It was entirely my fault,” he said on the radio. “It was all my fault. Bad luck. Stupid of me.”
The race ended under the Safety Car and Kimi Antonelli took third place – his first Formula 1 podium – to cap a successful day for Mercedes. Piastri was able to cross the line in fourth place and extend his championship lead from 10 points to 22.
After the final round collision in Spain, all eyes were on Russell, who took pole position, and second-placed Verstappen at the start in Montreal.
Russell's reactions were quicker than Verstappen's and by the time they reached the first chicane he was already well ahead of his rival.
Even Verstappen, known for his daring maneuvers, was unable to challenge Russell, and Mercedes took a comfortable lead. Verstappen kept up with him in the early laps, but by the start of lap six Russell was already more than a second ahead and, crucially, out of DRS range.
A little later, Piastri let Antonelli pass on the first lap. This was good news for Norris, who made two mistakes in qualifying and began Round 10 of the championship four places behind his rival.
Norris was on fire on lap 11, passing Fernando Alonso on the back straight to take sixth place, and then pulling away from Lewis Hamilton just four laps later. Hamilton ran into trouble again, damaging his Ferrari when he crashed into a marmot, and finished sixth.
Norris started on the hard tyres, which allowed him to run the race longer, and on lap 16 he came out on top
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
