George Russell Retires on Lap 30 in Canadian Grand Prix — Russell F1

George Russell’s russell f1 race ended on lap 30 of the Canadian Grand Prix after a sudden power unit issue forced him to pull over. He left Montreal with zero points after a fight at the front of the race that had been measured by half a second.

Russell and Antonelli in Montreal

Russell had been running half a second ahead of Kimi Antonelli before he went across the grass at Turn 8 and stopped. The two Mercedes drivers had been nose-to-tail through the opening half of the race, swapping positions on multiple occasions as the battle for track position tightened between teammates.

The retirement was Russell’s first since the 2024 British Grand Prix. It also ended his chance to bank any points from a race in which he had been close enough to Antonelli to keep the pressure on before the failure struck.

Power Unit Failure

Mercedes said a power unit failure caused the retirement. Russell’s reaction in the cockpit told the story before the car was even cleared away: he threw the headrest from the car and then banged the W17 with his hands.

The issue arrived at the worst possible time. Russell had been in position to keep the Mercedes fight alive at the front, but the stop on lap 30 cut that off immediately and handed Antonelli a cleaner run in the closing stages.

Antonelli Gains Ground

For Antonelli, the retirement opens the door to extend his championship lead after a close on-track duel with his team-mate. For Russell, it leaves one hard fact from Montreal: the pace was there early, but the power unit was not.