Oscar Piastri Wins the Chinese Grand Prix From Maiden Pole
The rain stayed away in Shanghai as Oscar Piastri easily turned his first career pole into his third career win Sunday morning in the China Grand Prix.
Piastri set a record time in qualifying for the Grand Prix after finishing second in Saturday's Sprint Race behind Lewis Hamilton. At the start of Sunday's Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri had to defend against Mercedes' George Russell, who went wide into the first corner, hoping to cut the McLaren off for the lead. When he successfully defended, it opened the slot for his teammate Lando Norris to push through from third to second en route to a McLaren 1-2 finish as the duo hopes to repeat their Constructor's championship while both vying for the WDC.
Last week, Piastri passed Hamilton on the final lap to milk another point out of his disappointing finish following a spin and near retirement after getting stuck in the grass at his home Grand Prix. With a win, Piastri moves up to third in the fourth in the driver's championship behind his teammate, Max Verstappen, and Russell. Forcing McLaren to continue to have an honest conversation about having two championship-caliber drivers.
"I hope so," Piastri told F1TV when asked if this win is the start of a campaign. "It's been an incredible weekend from start to finish, the car has been pretty mega the whole time. I think today was a bit of a surprise with how different the tires behaved."
Long stints on the hard tires made almost every team attempt to make a one-pit-stop race work for them. Pierre Gasley and Yuki Tsunoda led the undercut coming in on laps 10 and 11, while Alex Albon went the longest on the opening stint, not pitting until lap 20 to lead only his second lap of an F1 Grand Prix.
The McLarens stacked their pits on laps 13 and 14, with the leader coming in first, Piastri made it out in front of Lance Stroll to fall back into the correct order. On the next lap, Norris exited the pit lane into a battle between George Russell and Stroll, the latter who still needed to pit but was clear to fight for position. In the scrum, Russell took the position back that he lost to Norris on the opening lap. Norris would take it back in the next two laps.
Russell settled for his second third-place finish in a row to open the season, followed by Max Verstappen. The two Ferraris followed after an opening lap collision between the two set them back. While battling Verstappen in the opening corners, Charles Leclerc overcorrected and bounced into his teammate, Hamilton, damaging his own front wing.
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News24
an hour ago
- News24
F1: Canadian GP
13m ago 19m ago 27m ago 34m ago 13h ago Russell grabs dazzling pole then jokes at Verstappen's expense Mercedes' George Russell grabbed a dazzling pole position and then enjoyed cracking a joke at rival Max Verstappen's expense on Saturday after clocking a sensational lap in qualifying for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix. The 27-year-old Briton was delighted with what he described as 'one of the most exhilarating laps of my life' and said, when asked about the prospect of starting alongside Red Bull's four-time champion, that he had 'a few more penalty points to play with'. His light-hearted jibe referred to his verbal rivalry with Verstappen since last season and their recent clash at the Spanish Grand Prix -- where the Dutchman rammed into Russell's car in the closing stages. Verstappen was handed a timed penalty that dropped him to 10th and also given three points on his drivers' super-licence, taking him to a total of 11 and within one point of a ban if he commits any further misdemeanours. Fans in the capacity crowd at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve roared their approval as Russell warmed to his theme after clocking the only sub 1.11 lap of the weekend to date. "We're mates, so it's all good,' insisted Russell, despite his tense and often strained relationship with Verstappen who, in Barcelona, said 'give him some tissues' after their clash. 'But I've got a few more points on my license to play with so, yeah, let's see,' Russell said. It may have been good-natured fun, but it was also a reminder to Verstappen that he cannot risk repeating his 'red mist' aggression and a possible race ban on Sunday. Russell captured his first pole this year at the end of a thrilling session. Russell clocked a best lap in one minute and 10.899 seconds to outpace Verstappen by 0.160 seconds. 'On my steering wheel, you've got the delta, and I just saw every corner that I was just going one-tenth quicker, and I got into the last corner, and I was six-tenths off, so I knew the lap was mighty,' Russell said. 'Crossing the line and seeing we were P1 was a real surprise, but I was so chuffed with it. It was probably one of the most exhilarating laps of my life, an awesome experience in front of this amazing crowd.' Verstappen, who is third in this year's drivers' title race behind the McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, shook hands with Russell to congratulate him, but will harbour hopes of claiming an unprecedented fourth consecutive Canadian win. Last year, Russell led from pole for 20 laps before pitting to hand the lead to Norris for five laps until he also pitted. Verstappen then took control to win ahead of Norris with Russell coming home third. "I'm very happy with what we have achieved to be on the front row,' said Verstappen, having claimed Red Bull's 200th front row start. 'Tomorrow, we can have a solid race. We did the right thing with the tyres.' Asked about starting alongside Russell, the champion refused to comment, showing real irritation about the speculation on penalty points and bans. "I'm not talking about it anymore,' he said, having already confirmed he would not change his aggressive style. "It's a waste of time to discuss this. It's so childish and it is really annoying." Russell's sixth career pole confirmed Mercedes' potential for success at the high-speed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The late-session drama lifted the oft-warring pair clear of championship leader Piastri and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Ferrari ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Norris in the second McLaren and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari. Impressive rookie Isack Hadjar was ninth for Racing Bulls and Alex Albon 10th for Williams. Piastri, who leads Norris by 10 points in the title race after nine of this year's 24 races, was happy to recover form after a difficult practice. 'To be honest, after how practice went, I am pretty happy,' he said. 'We chose to go with softs ... We wanted to keep it safe.' - AFP 14 June 20:27 Norris tops final practice at Canadian Grand Prix Lando Norris bounced back from a forlorn Friday to top the times for McLaren ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in Saturday's third and final practice at the Canadian Grand Prix. Norris clocked a best lap in one minute and 11.799 seconds to outpace Leclerc by 0.078 seconds with Mercedes' George Russell a tenth adrift in third place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the seven-times champion showing revived pace in his Ferrari. It was an intriguing and closely competed hour of action that suggested all of the leading four teams are in contention to take pole position in qualifying later on Saturday. Four-time champion Max Verstappen was fifth for Red Bull ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes and championship leader Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. Piastri was seven-tenths adrift of team-mate Norris, who trails him by 10 points at the top of the drivers' championship after nine of this year's 24 races and endured what he described as his "worst Friday of the season" the previous day. Carlos Sainz was ninth ahead of his Williams team-mate Alex Albon, pushing impressive rookie Isack Hadjar of RB down to 11th in front of another big crowd at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Overnight news of the FIA's decision to suspend British steward Derek Warwick was a hot topic in the paddock, along with a two-year contract extension for the Las Vegas race, ahead of the session, which began hesitantly in mild and dry conditions. The first drama arrived after 22 minutes when Piastri slapped the 'Wall of Champions'' on exit from the final chicane, suffering a punctured rear tyre. He limped to the pits, dropping debris that triggered a six-minute red-flag stoppage. After his complaints on Friday, Verstappen was still having issues with his brakes, grumbling about "lacking bite with this material" while Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was in the pits and without a competitive lap. Norris improved to go top with 12 minutes remaining. - AFP 14 June 12:14 Russell fastest for Mercedes ahead of Norris as Verstappen struggles in second practice George Russell powered his Mercedes to the top of the times ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris in Friday's second practice for this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. As four-time champion Max Verstappen struggled to reprise his pace-setting form for Red Bull in the opening practice session, Russell clocked a best lap in one minute and 12.123 seconds to beat Norris by 0.028 seconds. Russell's Mercedes team-mate teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli was third ahead of Williams' Alex Albon, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and championship leader Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. It was clear that McLaren were taking a measured approach to the weekend as they tested updated front wing and suspension. Carlos Sainz was seventh for Williams ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the sole Ferrari, after team-mate Charles Leclerc had crashed and damaged his car in first practice. Verstappen was ninth ahead of the two Red Bulls of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. For Russell, who started on pole last year, it was an encouraging session on a bright and clear day at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where Ferrari are revered. It was the first time Russell had been fastest in a practice this year. "It's nice," Russell said after the session. "It might be my first time topping a leaderboard this year, 10 races in. So obviously, it's been a very positive day." The action began with a range of tyres chosen for use after the earlier session in which Leclerc had crashed and badly damaged the survival cell in his Ferrari. That required prolonged work to replace it and he was ruled out of FP2. Pressure on Ferrari All this heaped more pressure on Ferrari and Hamilton as media speculation swirled and team boss Fred Vasseur hit back at "stupid" stories that threatened to undermine their season. Russell set an early quickest lap before Stroll, the local hero, hit the wall at Turn Seven and damaged his Aston Martin's front wheels. His race engineer Gary Gannon asked him to stop and park, his session over. In improving conditions, Norris on mediums found his groove to go top before Albon and then Russell took control, the Mercedes man eight-tenths faster than his pole lap last year. Verstappen expressed his frustration at his Red Bull's handling. "The car's jumping crazy at the rear," he said, a complaint similar to one from Hamilton who reported "the rear keeps kicking out" asking his engineer for help. Back on one of his favourite circuits, where he shares a record of seven wins with Michael Schumacher, Hamilton was showing pace to rise to second behind the ever-improving Russell, on mediums. Both McLarens soon climbed into the top 10 after taking a methodical approach to the use of their new upgrades, Norris rising to second, but Mercedes with Russell on top and Antonelli third, appeared to be strongest with 15 minutes remaining. As the teams began race-trim runs, there were 17 drivers separated by one second, ahead of Franco Colapinto's Alpine – clear evidence that a closely-fought contest is in prospect for Saturday's critical qualifying. - AFP 13 June 21:21 Verstappen on top in opening practice after Leclerc crashes Defending four-time champion Max Verstappen topped the times for Red Bull ahead of both Williams cars in Friday's crash-hit opening practice at the Canadian Grand Prix. The 27-year-old Dutchman, who has won the last three Canadian races, clocked a fastest lap time in one minute and 13.193 seconds to outpace Alex Albon by 0.039 seconds -- after Charles Leclerc crashed in his Ferrari. The session was red-flagged and delayed following Leclerc's accident, in which he was unhurt, but it was a grim early blow for the under-scrutiny Ferrari team following a disappointing start to the season. It was the first time this year that Verstappen has topped a practice session. As the championship-leading McLarens worked on progression with an update package, Carlos Sainz was third in the second Williams, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari. Isack Hadjar was sixth for Racing Bulls ahead of Lando Norris in his McLaren, Liam Lawson in the second Racing Bull and Pierre Gasly of Alpine. Leclerc was 10th fastest before his crash. The session was run in mild conditions on a 'green' and dirty track with Haas marking their 200th race weekend by returning to their original livery and Yuki Tsunoda hoping for a boost in form for his 100th race. McLaren were one of the few teams to bring upgrades –- front wing and suspension -- to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where a packed Friday crowd generated plenty of atmosphere. After an early yellow flag when Franco Colapinto spun on his first flying lap, Hamilton briefly topped the times before Verstappen took control, grumbling as he did so that "my steering wheel feels heavy". Ten minutes later, Ferrari suffered a serious early blow when Leclerc, who had gone top, went off at Turn Four, his car sliding into the barriers. "Sorry," said the Monegasque driver. "I'm in the wall. I should have gone straight on." He was unhurt, but his Ferrari suffered serious front end damage. Amid all the speculation about the team's loss of form and the future of team boss Fred Vasseur, this was not the start they needed. After an eight-minute red flag break, Russell re-started the action which continued to provide unexpected thrills as drivers grappled with the conditions –- caused mainly by the circuit's lack of use for the rest of the year. In this period, Russell, Norris and then Hamilton all had twitchy moments or spins before Verstappen, chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive Canadian win, clocked 1:13.863 to regain the initiative ahead of Leclerc and Russell. Gradually, the track conditions improved permitting Russell to go top in 1:13.535 while Nico Hulkenberg 'kissed' the 'wall of champions' so faintly it was indiscernible before Sainz and then Verstappen trimmed the top lap time again. The Dutchman then went so close to the wall that the circuit recorded the gap as -0 cms. Hulkenberg was within 0.4 cms according to the circuit TV graphic -– enough to avoid trouble in a relatively straightforward session on an improving track.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
How to Watch Canadian Grand Prix: Live Stream Formula 1, TV Channel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Formula 1 is in North America this weekend for the Canadian Grand Prix. This race will take place at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 14, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 14, 2025 in Montreal, to Watch Canadian Grand Prix Date: Sunday, June 15, 2025 Time: 2:00 PM EDT Channel: ABC, ESPN Deportes Stream: Fubo (Try for free) Max Verstappen has won the past three races here, but the 2025 Formula 1 season has been all about McLaren. Last year, Verstappen led 42 of the 70 laps in this race after starting second. He beat Lando Norris by 3.879 seconds. Norris led eight laps while George Russell, who rounded out the podium, ended the race with 20 laps led. Russell was on the pole for the race. On Friday, Verstappen was the fastest driver in FP1. That wasn't a shock, but Williams teammates Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. being second and third was. McLaren was seventh (Norris) and 14th (Oscar Piastri) in FP1. In FP2, both McLarens found speed, with Norris going second-quickest behind George Russel and Piastri going sixth. Meanwhile, Verstappen dropped down the speed chart all the way to ninth. Piastri currently leads the point standings with 186 points, 10 ahead of his McLaren teammate Norris. Piastri has five wins this season while Norris and Verstappen each have two. Verstappen is still in the title hunt with 137 points, but it would be a bit of a shock to see him catch up to the McLaren duo. Stranger things have happened, though, and the Canadian Grand Prix has been good to the defending champion. Don't count him out on Sunday. Live stream the Canadian Grand Prix on Fubo: Start your free trial now! Regional restrictions may apply. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
F1 Academy director Susie Wolff wants to inspire more women to race
MONTREAL - Susie Wolff is the most recent female driver to get behind the wheel of a Formula One car during a Grand Prix weekend. She wants to make sure she wasn't the last. To cap her decorated racing career, Wolff took part in a free practice session four times, making her debut for Williams at the British Grand Prix in 2014 to become the first woman since 1992 to participate in F1. Since 2023, the 42-year-old from Scotland has worked as the managing director for F1 Academy, an F1-funded series helping young female drivers develop in the sport. 'F1 Academy is a chance of a lifetime to create positive impact in the sport,' she said. 'I certainly never thought in my lifetime that I would see an all-female series financed, invested in and supported by F1 and all 10 Formula One teams racing on F1 weekend.' F1 Academy is considered the top women's circuit after the W Series disbanded in 2022. Drivers must be aged 16 to 25 and can only compete for two seasons in the single-seater F4 championship. The series, which recently signed a major partnership with Gatorade as its official sports drink, made its debut at the Canadian GP with two races on Saturday followed by another on Sunday. Gatorade sponsored 16-year-old wild card driver Mathilda Paatz in her debut this weekend. Canadian GP organizers announced Saturday that F1 Academy would return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Grand Prix weekend through 2028. 'We love it. We're feeling so much love here,' Wolff said. 'So much passion from the fans.' Past F1 Academy winners have graduated to higher levels of motorsport. The goal, eventually, is for more female drivers to rise up to F1. 'That's a long-term ambition. We've got to be realistic in that it's tough to get to Formula One, regardless of your gender,' Wolff said. 'We already see more women, in the whole paddock and racing, if it's about when we're going to see women in Formula One, then for sure, it's going to take a bit more time.' In the meantime, F1 Academy offers young female drivers a chance to develop their careers for two years under the F1 umbrella. 'I know that (F1 participation) is not something that will happen overnight, but the truth is, in motorsport, we have an issue with it being quite inaccessible,' Wolff said. 'There's a high financial barrier to entry, and I think by breaking down the kind of barriers in terms of showing women what the pathway can be, and then secondly, taking away that financial barrier, we just give these young drivers a much better chance of success.' Just over a decade since her F1 debut, Wolff said the F1 Academy represents just how much things have changed for women in motorsports. 'It was massively different (in 2014), because I was always the only one, but also the world was different,' she said. 'We've seen a lot of positive change, and I think the sport has progressed with that. 'I don't have any bitterness or regret to look back and say, 'God, I would have loved this opportunity.' I would have, but I also feel a certain pride in having made it possible for the next generation.' Wolff never started a race in F1. Only two women have, but not in nearly five decades. Maria Teresa de Filippis raced in three from 1958 to 1959, while Lella Lombardi totalled 17 starts between 1974 and 1976. Moving forward, Wolff said she has two main objectives for the F1 Academy: growing its audience and inspiring more women to participate in racing. 'Educating people that we exist and that we're entertaining racing to watch, and that then leads to the second (thing) — by existing, we need to inspire more young women to get into the sport,' she said. 'We don't have the luxury of there being thousands and thousands of young girls racing. We need more racing so that we can take the very base of the crop and help them excel up the motorsport ladder.' Wolff, who is married to Mercedes executive Toto Wolff, notes that F1's following has shifted, with '42 per cent of the global fan base now female.' The championship has gained exposure with its 'F1: The Academy' docuseries on Netflix, inspired by F1's highly successful behind-the-scenes 'Drive To Survive' show. 'There's just so many more women in the paddock, watching the sport, and now with F1 Academy, competing in the sport,' she said. 'That wasn't the case 10 years ago. We've still got a long way to go, but we've definitely seen progress.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2025.
