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00:02welcome back taking you through the action for the sprint this afternoon ted kravitz in the pit
00:06lane bernie collins stationed in a natural environment on the pit wall uh up in race
00:13control karoon chandok took you through the action martin bundle and david croft are you
00:18feeling the need for speed here we go then it's time for the montreal sprints
00:28i'm really trying to be aggressive and be ready to to take some risks when i go on the ice
00:33what i enjoy about sprinting is the feeling of speed
00:38we're living on the edge of a one millimeter blades the thrill about speed is the danger
00:44my family really like to follow me a lot in competitions i felt like winning with them
00:51in the stands was special for me you have to have the killer mindset and try to be super
00:58aggressive aggressive feels kind of high pressure super excited and bumps and i know i'm in the
01:03right place for for a race always trying to be unpredictable you want to defend and attack
01:07two moves or three moves you can do in a race you have to have a deeper entry and then
01:12adjust
01:12your track track track there's no bigger a trail than than going fast on blades fast on blades
01:18fast on blades
06:11We're right back.
08:31George is extreme and is pointing to the right-hand side, isn't he?
08:36There's two Mercedes are going to meet somewhere in the middle here.
08:38It's sprint race.
08:39Montreal lights out and away we go.
08:41And Russell does get away well.
08:43Antonelli may be a little bit slower, but he's covered off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
08:48And under pressure there, the McLaren with Lewis Hamilton going around the outside of Piastri, and now trying to get
08:53on terms with Norris.
08:54Piastri will fight that back as Russell leads from Antonelli and the McLaren has been passed by Lewis Hamilton and
09:01Oscar Piastri has dropped a place already.
09:04We see a few skirmishes at the back, but they're all clean and through.
09:09Yeah, absolutely.
09:09So perfect starts from both Mercedes.
09:12Russell particularly getting away well, and that's scuppered in early chances of, say, Ferrari.
09:17But we've seen Lewis very quick in that first sector so far in this event, and it's paid dividends with
09:24a place on Oscar Piastri.
09:25It certainly has.
09:26There's George Russell leading from Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes, making a little bit of a gain there on the McLaren
09:32of Lando Norris in third.
09:34Then Hamilton and Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Hadjar, Lindblad and Sainz.
09:38The top ten points down to eighth as down the inside goes the Haas there of Esteban Ocon on Sergio
09:45Perez.
09:46Fernando Alonso is lying in wait behind the Cadillac, and now we see Antonelli making up a lot there on
09:54George Russell down that back straight.
09:56The Mercedes almost fighting, almost an opportunity for Antonelli into the final chicane.
10:01Stroll is out on racetrack.
10:03He did get out into the race, albeit quite a long way at the back at the moment.
10:08I think someone's gone through the chicane and the distance there as we see down towards turn one.
10:14An overtake going on.
10:15This was Nico HĂŒlkenberg earlier on in the lap.
10:18I think that was Pierre Gasly trying to make an overtake a little bit earlier.
10:21And HĂŒlkenberg with the Alpine on his right-hand side forced off into the grass.
10:26That would have been Colopinto that he was battling with.
10:29Antonelli trying to get back on terms with his teammate George Russell.
10:34The stewards are going to have a look at Lance Stroll for a starting procedure infringement.
10:38Now that could have been the work on the grid or not getting to the pit lane exit line in
10:43time.
10:44We'll keep you up to date with that as we get more info.
10:47Perez up to 13th on those soft tyres.
10:50It might only be eight and then seven points for first and second.
10:54But that would be a swap around of two between Russell and Antonelli.
10:57Every point is going to matter in this World Championship.
11:00It's about George Russell making up for Miami with a perfect race weekend.
11:06It's about Antonelli keeping up his momentum.
11:09They are the two out in front in the World Championship.
11:13And it's half a second between the two Mercedes.
11:15And they are now two and a half seconds clear of Lando Norris in third.
11:20Then Hamilton still. Then Piastri.
11:22And Antonelli once again towards the end of the lap closing in on George Russell.
11:27He's getting a nice slipstream from George Russell ahead of him is Kimi Antonelli.
11:32But also then he will be into the overtake zone.
11:36That means he can keep top speed longer and harvest another half a megajoule of power.
11:42So and Russell out front punching a lovely hole in the air.
11:47So unless it's hurting Antonelli's tyres, he can just sit there.
11:50Absolutely.
11:51You see the harvesting that's going on as the brakes are applied into the chicane on George Russell's Mercedes.
11:57Same going on with Kimi Antonelli.
12:00And with that extra half a megajoule, what can he do down the back straight this time around to try
12:05and get on terms with his teammates?
12:08Needs a decent exit.
12:09Not too much wheel spin.
12:11Now he can pick up the slipstream and the toe and use a little bit more battery boost.
12:16Meanwhile, HĂŒlkenberg gaining on Fernando Alonso just ahead of him.
12:20Alonso up into 14th.
12:21The active aero on both.
12:23Mercedes cars slam shut and they take that corner still with Russell in the lead.
12:28Yeah, Mercedes are miles quicker than the rest of the pack when you look at it in Formula One terms.
12:33We're talking four, three, four tenths of a second per lap at this phase.
12:38Nico HĂŒlkenberg picks off his man, takes Fernando Alonso before they get into that final chicane.
12:45New Audi engine for this year, new Honda engine for this year and the Audi power accelerating HĂŒlkenberg past.
12:51A very good getaway there, Martin, from George Russell.
12:54What a turnaround.
12:55Russell had the best start of anybody in the top ten there.
12:59Antonelli for one moment thought he might have been a bit under pressure.
13:03Certainly Lando Norris was under pressure and very much Oscar Piastri as Hamilton swoops past.
13:08Yeah, Hamilton knew where to place his car.
13:11He's been around here enough times we're now going to see that.
13:14So yeah, they get away.
13:15They're really fine-tuning this.
13:17They're almost in unison, weren't they?
13:19So now Hamilton's got the inside line for one.
13:22I was then able to try to overlap Norris and get good drive because he ends up on the outside
13:28of turn three
13:29and that's enough for better traction and a position.
13:32On board with Alex Albon further down the pecking order.
13:36The car ahead of him is Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac and he isn't ahead for very much longer.
13:42That is a neat move there by Alex Albon as they cross the line.
13:46The front two separated by four tenths of a second and the advantage now three seconds from Antonelli to Norris.
13:53This Mercedes upgrade, that's been super powerful, hasn't it?
13:56They're still three, four tenths of a second faster than a gapping the pack.
14:02That's immense.
14:03But Antonelli is not going to make it easy for Russell.
14:07If he breezes past, you've almost got to, you always want to be second going into the last lap.
14:12We'll see how this plays out, if they're going to start leapfrogging each other.
14:16But at the moment, George Russell are desperately trying to hang on to that lead.
14:21It could be a bit cat and mouse.
14:23Liam Lawson has picked off Fernando Alonso.
14:25Isaac Hajar kind of on his own now in 11th place.
14:30Ah, engine problem.
14:33I didn't want to say too much too soon, but he's definitely lost touch with those ahead of him.
14:40Keep an eye on this because Russell was a little bit wide in the hairpin.
14:43That makes you slow off the corner and it's put Antonelli right onto his gearbox.
14:47It's as close as Antonelli has been in this race so far and he pulls out the triangle wheel to
14:52wheel through that chicane.
14:53George Russell manages to fend him off, but can he fend him off now down this main straight?
14:58And this could be a perfect opportunity for Antonelli to try and strike.
15:02Into the first corner we go and on the inside, Antonelli gets ahead, forces and now goes off the track.
15:10George Russell manages to keep that lead, but that was to Mercedes getting way too close for comfort as far
15:17as the team are concerned.
15:18Yeah, great racing. Russell read it beautifully because he just hit the brakes and then ducked underneath.
15:26And it was so important otherwise they'd have made contact.
15:28But, so yeah, this is the point I was trying to make. You might be better in second place towards
15:32the end of this race.
15:33So here's Antonelli now, was looking at the inside, switches to the outside and then has to go and go
15:40off and off again Antonelli.
15:42And that one was an awful lot worse and a lot bumpier and that's going to slow him down and
15:47he's going to lose a place to Lando Norris.
15:49And the skirmish is going on and that has really affected Kimi Antonelli's race.
15:55He's not a happy boy at all with his teammate George Russell who continues to lead, but now from Lando
16:01Norris, Lewis Hamilton still ahead of Piastri and trying to gain on Kimi Antonelli.
16:06Well, we've just witnessed it. We've all just witnessed the beginning of a whole new phase at Mercedes Benz Formula
16:12One.
16:12That's the muscles of Russell's and the elbows very much being got out here in Montreal.
16:19Russell leads lap seven of 23 and they are, well, they were just unwrapping the tyres there just in case
16:27there was a puncture or something wrong on Kimi Antonelli's car.
16:30Or if he's damaged the nose or whatever. Now Antonelli is under pressure from Lewis Hamilton as well.
16:37So we haven't seen the incident yet. I'm going to assume George gave him a fairly big squeeze heading down
16:43there into turn eight.
16:45Oh, Mercedes, famous for allowing both drivers to race.
16:50That will be a penalty alongside the mirror.
16:54So let's just keep it cool.
16:56The thing is, who's going to protest that one?
16:58Is one side of the garage going to say to the race director, come on, that needs to be a
17:02penalty?
17:02That's the criteria. If you're alongside the mirror with your front axle, that's when you're on the inside.
17:09When you're on the outside, you have to have your front axles in line, your front tyres in line.
17:15We don't know whether it was an inside or an outside yet, do we? Because we haven't seen it.
17:21Under investigation, Lance Stroll for that starting procedure infringement.
17:25Let's just get this back under control, Kimi. Focus on Norris. Focus on the driving.
17:30Yeah, that's fair. You're quickly up.
17:31Under guidance, Kimi Antonelli and getting a little bit more irritated, Kimi Antonelli.
17:37Colopinto gets ahead of Carlos Sainz, Gasly ahead of Fernando Alonso.
17:41Yeah, Antonelli will get out of the car and realise he's making a mistake here.
17:46Pete Bonington, with all of his wisdom, is desperately trying to calm him down, get him refocused on the job.
17:52Because if you drive angry, you're more likely to go sideways or backwards than you are forwards.
17:58It never makes you go forwards more quickly if you're driving angry.
18:03Kimi, concentrate on the driving, please, and not on the radio morning.
18:06Wow. Toto Wolff getting involved on lap eight here to keep his young charge just a little bit cooler than
18:13he is at the moment.
18:15Yeah, they realise he was spiralling there and he's a teenager at the end of the day.
18:21Not that teenagers spiral, but, you know, he's under an immense amount of pressure.
18:26Driving this one, he's leading the World Championship and his head just spiralled for a moment.
18:31Let's have a little look. Turn one.
18:33Antonelli tries to go around the outside. He's not given any room by George Russell.
18:37I don't think he was alongside him enough to warrant that room there.
18:41But this next one, whoa, he was arriving hot into the scene of this chicane.
18:47Well, that looks to me like he just outbraked himself.
18:50But so we need to see an off-board angle there. It's really hard from that.
18:55Isaac Hadja out of the race. We heard engine problems and the loss of power.
18:59And he's been retired by Red Bull from this sprint race, which is hotting up rather nicely because now Lando
19:07Norris is in second place.
19:09That McLaren seems to be coming alive a little bit.
19:11George Russell, who might have thought I could just pull away here because it's not my teammate behind me, might
19:16have to think again.
19:17No further action. Stewart's against Lance Stroll. Lando Norris keeping within a second of George Russell.
19:24Yes. So, have Mercedes then been heating up? You can use the brake, you can use devices to heat the
19:32front tyres.
19:33And is that going to start hurting them in the second phase? Because yes, that four tenths advantage I kept
19:40talking about suddenly has evaporated.
19:42Karun.
19:43They're telling George that the front tyre temperatures are still too cold. He's not got enough front temperature, Martin.
19:50And that's why he's struggling with front grip. Lando, in the meanwhile, is being given really good advice in terms
19:55of the energy deployment in overtaking more by Will Joseph.
19:59And Lewis Hamilton is now gaining on Kimi Antonelli. He's taken a few car lengths out of Antonelli's advantage on
20:06the last lap.
20:07And he might just for one second have thought, I could lunge down the inside here, thought better of it.
20:13But look at the way that Mercedes is squirrelling around trying to get under traction.
20:18Yeah, they've really hurt these tyres, these medium compound tyres with whatever strategy they've got on them because they're fading
20:24quickly.
20:24They certainly are. Liam Lawson, meanwhile, has Nico HĂŒlkenberg in his sights as he tries to make his move up
20:31into 12th.
20:32Frango Colopinto is in ninth just behind Arvid Limblad on the hard tyre.
20:36That's Hamilton going off into the dirt a little bit, by the way.
20:39Limblad is the final points place at the moment.
20:42Verstappen ahead of him, Leclerc ahead of him, Piastri ahead of him.
20:45They're not really in contention, but Hamilton's right on the back of Antonelli for a third place finish maybe.
20:50And Lando Norris is very much keeping George Russell honest here as Isaac Hadjar comes back out into the race
20:57again.
20:58So whatever they found with the engine, a quick control or delete might have sorted the problem.
21:04Yeah, a sensor issue or something they were able to bypass.
21:08Anyway, he's back in the race. They'll be able to learn something for qualifying and tomorrow's Grand Prix, of course.
21:16Lewis is really alive. We talked about it yesterday. He said, this is the best I've felt for a while
21:20in a car.
21:22He really is flourishing around here and in that Ferrari this weekend.
21:27I mean, he just really looks happy and on top and he's pushing the limits, kicking up the dust, cars
21:32moving around and he's just pinning it.
21:34Well, maybe that lack of simulator preparation has rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton somewhat.
21:43An awful lot going on here in this race, a lot centered around Kimi Antonelli.
21:48I wonder, did he think George Russell was a bit too naughty at Turn 1?
21:52Yeah. That's when he lost his head and that's when he arrived steaming into the chicane a bit later on.
21:57Possibly, but on the outside of Turn 1 he needed to have his front wheel alongside. It was not his
22:03mirror.
22:05And George then was not obliged to give him racing room.
22:09Certainly from the angle we saw, that was the case.
22:13Lewis Hamilton taking a very different line around the hairpin there than we've seen so far this weekend from him.
22:18Now this is interesting with regard to tomorrow's race because it does seem on the longer runs that McLaren are
22:26very fast.
22:27They're very balanced around. We've seen that in terms of where they deliver their lap time.
22:33But suddenly both the McLarens are coming alive a little bit.
22:36But Antonelli now, new fastest race lap of the race too.
22:40And look how, with overtake mode available, Lando Norris is still keeping within a few car lengths of George Russell.
22:47Quickly down to the pit wall, Bernie Collins.
22:50Yes, Crofty, I was just going to pick up on that, that I think the delta between the two Mercedes,
22:54when Kimi Antonelli had overtake mode,
22:56he was sort of 25 kph faster than Russell down that back straight.
23:00Now Norris, the advantage is only around 15, so is that enough for him to do something down that back
23:07straight?
23:07But able to keep up, like you say, and Hadjo's engine does seem to be working much better now after
23:11leaving the pit lane.
23:12Looked to me like he wasn't getting any battery deployment before he came in.
23:16Delta being the difference, but Russell did a 1.49 on the previous lap.
23:21That was right back to P7 before you find somebody going as slow as that, relatively speaking.
23:29So whether he made a mistake, I don't know, but it's brought Norris right into play.
23:32And Kimi Antonelli, with the fastest lap of the race, is slowly but surely edging his way back into contention
23:39too.
23:40And he's only one and a half seconds behind his teammate, with Lando Norris stuck in the middle in the
23:45McLaren.
23:46We've finished lap 12, we start lap 13.
23:49George Russell leads by three tenths of a second as they cross the line.
23:52Now Russell, a 15-0, and that means that Norris behind him was nailed onto a 15-0.
23:57Russell is struggling from raw pace out front now.
24:00All of that early speed has evaporated.
24:03They're using something too hard or not hard enough.
24:05We'll find out afterwards.
24:07But that is going to bring Antonelli, Hamilton, and Piastri right into the action.
24:12Monitoring tyres at race control, Karim Chandok.
24:14Yeah, Russell complaining about graining on the rear left.
24:18You can see the band on the tyre there, on the inside shoulder.
24:23They've just had a bit of chat on the radio about that.
24:25So he is struggling with front grip, with cooler temperatures.
24:30They haven't really got the target right, but also with that rear graining.
24:33And track temperature round about 14 degrees, I think, cooler than it was yesterday for qualifying.
24:39And it might change around again tomorrow with the rain expected to come into Montreal.
24:44There's the top three.
24:46Russell, Norris, Antonelli separated by 1.7 seconds.
24:49Russell got a really good drive, really good traction out of the hairpin that time.
24:53He's obviously starting to manage whatever his problems are better.
24:57He's understanding what he's got to do.
24:59But let's see what this lap time is as they come over the line.
25:02It's a 14-8, 14-8, Antonelli 14-9 behind them.
25:06So they're yo-yoing around a little bit.
25:09And you just sense that Russell's hanging on to the lead here rather than dominating it.
25:13If they've got any sense, they'll give him as much boost as they possibly can down that long back straight
25:19to protect him.
25:20And then say, George, it's up to your skill to try and protect yourself elsewhere on the lap.
25:25Meanwhile, while all that's happened, Charles Leclerc in the last couple of laps has been gaining on Oscar Piastri in
25:31the battle for fifth place.
25:32And Piastri might find himself under a bit of pressure soon, too, in the other McLaren.
25:36Max Verstappen, couple of tenths off the pace, and a penny for Andrea Stella's thoughts here.
25:42I'm sure he's enjoying it.
25:43And I'm sure he's enjoying seeing his team become a little bit more competitive today against Mercedes than they were
25:49yesterday.
25:50But he knows that one of his drivers, if not both here, are going to be under pressure defending soon
25:55the places they currently occupy, which is second and fifth.
25:59Yeah, George Russell could well do with his teammate to come along and start attacking Lando Norris, couldn't he?
26:05Because Norris is right in there looking.
26:07You sense that if Norris didn't have the Mercedes in the way, he'd be lapping quite a bit faster.
26:13But he can't clear it.
26:15And Russell driving very defensively out front.
26:18Nico HĂŒlkenberg, by the way, down in, where is he, 15th, has been noted for leaving the track and gaining
26:25an advantage.
26:26Russell's advantage, one second as he crossed the line. That could be important here.
26:31If Lando can't stay within one second, he loses that overtake mode.
26:35That's not going to help his chances defending against Kimi Antonelli, who put in a lap, that previous lap, that
26:42was seven tenths of a second faster than Lando Norris managed.
26:46Gasly's gaining on HĂŒlkenberg down the back straights.
26:50And HĂŒlkenberg is being investigated for that, leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
26:56Russell's beginning to really learn well how to manage whatever problems were facing him.
27:02And it's also stabilising a bit now, isn't it, in the top three.
27:06This is where Russell, if he has got damage to his rear tyre, he's a little bit wider than he
27:11has been in the previous couple of laps.
27:13So let's see what happens there.
27:15Into the pits comes car number 23, Alex Albon, for a change of tyres.
27:19Soft tyres going on, and they're using this as a test session.
27:22Are Williams, Russell, Norris, Antonelli separated by roundabout a second into the chicane.
27:28Hamilton, Piastri, Leclerc separated by about the same one second.
27:32The battle for the top three and the battle before five and six as close as you would love it
27:37here in Montreal.
27:38And Hamilton had to get a little bit defensive there against Piastri into the final chicane.
27:43Best form of defence, Martin. Attack, that's what they always say. Caroon at race control.
27:48Keep an eye on Norris, Profio, the next couple of laps. They've given him some changes in terms of the
27:52energy strategy.
27:53And said, we're going to use the opportunity to boost out of turn ten when it matters.
27:59So just keep an eye. Maybe he's just topping up the pack for a couple of laps and then attacking
28:04at a key moment.
28:05Lewis Hamilton kicking up the dust once again and using the extremities of the track to his advantage.
28:13Piastri has just dropped back a little bit behind Hamilton on this particular lap.
28:18We've only got about seven laps to go of this sprint race, which is absorbing and could yet build up
28:25into a grandstand finish with plenty of action so far,
28:29if not massive amount of overtaking at Russell's advantage.
28:33Eight tenths of a second currently. Same eight tenths between Norris and Antonelli.
28:37As Fernando Alonso comes into the pits for a change of tyres, I would imagine that he's back out again.
28:45So just coming up to lap, Alex Albon, who's out on those soft compound tyres in his Williams.
28:52He will be obliged to move out of the way, but such a tight confines, for example, through turn four,
28:58six and seven.
28:59It's not actually that easy to get out of the way here now.
29:02So it's normally the leader who suffers most in this situation where they come along and sort of have to
29:08move out of the way,
29:09wake up anybody they're going to lap.
29:12Sergio Perez running 12th for Cadillac, which will be their best finish of the season in any format if he
29:18can hold on to that.
29:18But he's got Liam Lawson right behind him. Lawson, who could have started from the pit lane, didn't take part
29:23in qualifying.
29:24Started from the grid and went from plum last to 18th before or 17th before he even turned a wheel.
29:31And elsewhere, a few pit stops affecting the lower order, but Lawson's still on the charge.
29:37And George Russell has led this race at the outset and has been under pressure more than I think he
29:44would have expected.
29:45First from Kimi Antonelli, now from Lando Norris.
29:48Alex Albon is looking in his mirrors and thinking, right, when do I keep out of the way here?
29:52And they didn't quite catch the back marker before that chicane, which will be good news if you're Lando Norris.
29:58And lots of good news, I think, if you're George Russell.
30:01That's how it's doing. It's just a bit of a road.
30:03Yeah, I don't think Alex was unduly kind there, to be honest.
30:07I think he could have eased off down that, halfway down that straight and let them through.
30:11But that's packed them up a little bit closer, hasn't it?
30:15It certainly has. Just by a couple of tenths of a second, a couple of car lengths as well, makes
30:20a huge difference.
30:21Another pit stop for Fernando Alonso. They're curing the tyres down at Aston Martin, getting them ready for qualifying later.
30:29Putting a heat cycle through them, which they think makes the tyres a bit more robust when it comes to
30:33qualifying.
30:34Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri trying to gain on Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc dropped back a bit behind Piastri.
30:41Points, by the way, down to eighth here.
30:43Arvid Limblad about to pick up a point if Franco Colopinto can't catch him and Colopinto is faster on the
30:49track.
30:49This is frantic up front now. They're really pushing the limits. George there was wildly sliding sideways, coming out of
30:57turn eight.
30:58And there, this is, these points, as I said earlier on, these points are critical for this world championship.
31:03And Lando, desperately trying to recover his season a bit too, is right in there. This bodes so well for
31:10tomorrow's Grand Prix.
31:11Absolutely. Tyres cured. Fernando Alonso's in the garage. There's George Russell. Crossed the line.
31:16His advantage half a second over Lando Norris. Half a second back to Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader.
31:23He's going to lose a couple of points at this rate to his teammate, but does he save everything?
31:29You know, it used to be last lap Lando. Is it last lap Antonelli as far as we're concerned here
31:35in Montreal?
31:36Has Lando Norris got anything up his sleeve to put George Russell under pressure?
31:41Can Russell hang on for what would be a second consecutive win here on the Ile Notre Dame?
31:47All to play for in the top three who are separated by 1.1 second as they cross the line
31:55to end lap 18.
31:56Top six are all lapping pretty much identical times around the 1.15-0.
32:01But in clear air again now that George Russell has navigated past the Williams of Alex Albon,
32:10he's just eking out a little bit more of a gap again.
32:14Max Verstappen's been noted for a yellow flag infringement down at turn two.
32:19That might be being looked at by the stewards in a moment. We'll keep you noted.
32:23Behrman's into the pits. There go our top three and closely followed by 4, 5 and 6 as well having
32:30their own epic scrap.
32:31Normally we'd be featuring that at this stage of the race, but the top three are so close you can't
32:37turn away from this, can you?
32:39George Russell actually pulled out an advantage by a couple of tenths over Lando Norris on lap 19.
32:46Kimi Antonelli was about a tenth of a second faster. Is there a way through for Antonelli to make it
32:53a Mercedes 1-2?
32:55If Russell gets more than a second ahead of Norris going into the final chicane, Norris drops out of the
33:00overtake, but Antonelli will still have it.
33:03Yeah. And so as Helkenberg gets a ten second penalty for leaving the track, gaining an advantage earlier on in
33:11the race.
33:12So it's critical for Norris to stay within a second of Russell here. Otherwise, he really will find himself under
33:18pressure in the closing stages.
33:20Now, Valtteri Bottas, backmarker. Lance Stroll ahead of him. Gasly comes into the pits.
33:27I don't know why we're necessarily watching Gasly in the pits here, because down that back straight, there go our
33:32top three.
33:33That's a bit more like it. Bottas does keep out of the way. Stroll, though, still ahead as a backmarker
33:38on the track from our race leader.
33:40You don't often get backmarkers in sprint races, but we had so many starting from the pit lane, I'm not
33:45surprised today.
33:46Oh, and that was Lewis Hamilton ahead of Oscar Piastri getting very, very close to the wall of champions.
33:54That looked like, you know, millimetres between Hamilton's rear right tyre and the wall.
34:00It certainly was a bit closer for comfort than Hamilton would have liked.
34:05As the gap now, seven tenths of a second. Russell to Norris, eight tenths back to Antonelli.
34:11And Hamilton says, I did hit the wall in the last corner. Brushed it, got away with it, Martin.
34:17He did. He definitely did. You can do that as long as the car's nice and square when you go
34:23up against the wall.
34:24We just saw Orlando Norris with a wild rear slide. Let's have a look as Piastri's attacking.
34:30And Lewis then probably took a bit more speed in than he ideally wanted.
34:34Bang.
34:35Yeah, that was more than a touch, wasn't it?
34:38But the suspension's pretty robust. You should be all right doing that.
34:42He hasn't lost any time in the first sector to Piastri on this lap.
34:47He lost a tenth in the middle sector, Lewis Hamilton, on this lap.
34:51We can ride on board with Oscar Piastri, and we can keep tabs on the top three as through they
34:57go once again.
34:58Past that wall of champions, no further investigation.
35:01Max Verstappen, who's down in seventh place and picking up a couple of points.
35:05Started seventh, about to finish seventh. Hamilton says the car looks good.
35:08He needs to look at his mirrors too, because here comes Oscar Piastri down towards turn one,
35:13and the McLaren right behind the Ferrari here.
35:17This is going to be one hell of a last lap.
35:21It's been great, hasn't it?
35:24It's been real. First time we've had a sprint race here in Canada, and it's certainly in the top ten.
35:29I mean, the second half of the field are using it for tyre practice and all sorts of things,
35:34because they know they're not going to get any points in the top eight.
35:38But this lot have been going at it flat out from the first corner, haven't they?
35:43And as I said, this bodes really well for tomorrow's race.
35:47So down to the hairpin, once more.
35:50Graining issues on George Russell's car.
35:53Lando locked up on the way in. That's put him under pressure.
35:56Put him under pressure from the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli,
36:00and look now how Antonelli is gaining on Norris down that back straight.
36:04He once had DRS, now he's got electrical power to try and get him on terms,
36:08and he goes through that final chicane about two car lengths behind.
36:12Lando might just have gone away with that lockup, that slight lockup into the hairpin,
36:17but it has certainly cost him in terms of trying to get into the lead
36:20as Antonelli makes the move, but overshoots the corner.
36:24He'll have to give the place back.
36:26Piastri overtook Hamilton as well in all of this, but, yeah, he has to give that place back.
36:31Antonelli has given that place back, and Piastri up to fourth.
36:35So, Antonelli went for it into the first corner as we started the final lap,
36:40and once again pays the price by being a little bit too hot going into the turn.
36:44Piastri is not just ahead of Hamilton, he's ahead of Leclerc as well.
36:50Meanwhile, Lawson and Perez are under investigation for forcing a driver off the track,
36:55and George Russell now leads by about a second and a half approaching the hairpin.
36:59For once, he might be able to breathe a bit more easily down the back straight.
37:02Yeah, and whatever happened with Piastri and Hamilton, Leclerc got through as well to take P5.
37:08That's why that positioning is as it is at the moment.
37:12So, George Russell, wow, has he had a race here.
37:15Starting from pole, thinking, right, now's my opportunity to make a mark here.
37:20My teammates had all the momentum recently in this sprint race.
37:24I'm going to make it mine, and he has made it his.
37:27George Russell, for the second year here in Montreal, crosses the line, reaches the flag and wins.
37:32This time it is the sprint.
37:35Lando Norris ahead of Kimi Antonelli to take second place with Antonelli third,
37:39and then Piastri to the line under pressure from Charles Leclerc and just a car length in it
37:45as he takes fourth ahead of Leclerc in fifth and Hamilton in sixth.
37:48Verstappen will finish seventh.
37:51Lawson still pushing hard behind Sergio Perez, who's up in 11th place at the moment.
37:56It's been a great race for Sergio Perez.
37:58Arvid Limblad has just crossed the line now to take the final points position.
38:04Then Franco Colopinto and Carlos Sainz, who completes a top ten finish.
38:09Under investigation, as I said, Perez and Lawson.
38:13There is the racing ball of Liam Lawson.
38:16Behind him, Bortoletto and HĂŒlkenberg.
38:19And he's under investigation, HĂŒlkenberg, as well.
38:22So they're going to race right to the finish here.
38:25Perez to cross the line for Cadillac.
38:27That's a super 11th place for the new team in Formula One.
38:32Lawson finishes 12th.
38:33Bortoletto, HĂŒlkenberg.
38:34Then will come Ocon ahead of HĂŒlkenberg, who's got that penalty.
38:38Stroll and Bottas, Behrman and Albon, Gasly, Hadjar and Alonso, who was out.
38:42Nice work today.
38:44Good job.
38:45And it was quick there.
38:48Yeah, good job.
38:51Right.
38:52He's got his gloves on in the car, Martin.
38:54Gloves off at Mercedes in terms of the battle.
38:58Yeah, it was going to happen, wasn't it?
38:59Inevitable.
39:01But Kimi had too many adventures in that race and lost his head a little bit.
39:06They'll learn from that and they'll learn quickly.
39:08That's what we're finding out with that young man.
39:12Kimi, let's check the flag.
39:14Yeah, if we need to race like this, then good enough.
39:17Kimi, now it's the first time to talk about this.
39:20We talk about this internally and not on the radio, okay?
39:24We didn't hear the reply from Kimi Antonella.
39:28That's still fuming.
39:29Yeah, he's still fuming.
39:30Toto, I think, is angered by the reaction and probably angered by what he saw on track as well.
39:37Yeah.
39:38So it's interesting that the headmaster has had to step in there, isn't it?
39:43Because Bono was very much trying to calm him down too.
39:46But finally, the same, the boss has come on the radio going, stop, stop this.
39:52It's not going to work.
39:55We'll get a replay of what happened with him down into the turn eight and nine hairpin
40:03when it all went wrong, when Antonelli went steaming down the inside and locked a break.
40:10So the comment about I was alongside his mirror was played in later.
40:14That's not what turn eight, you've alluded to that.
40:17Yeah.
40:17That was from the turn one incident he was talking about that I was alongside his mirror.
40:22But as I say, if you're going around the outside, you've got to have your front wheels in line with
40:27theirs.
40:27Just to tidy up something that's just come through, Sergio Perez finished 11th on the road.
40:32He's classified 14th.
40:34He got a 10-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track.
40:38But for the third time in a sprint, George Russell climbs out of his cockpit as a winner.
40:46Top scorer in sprints this season.
40:48One more point than Lando Norris, the runner-up today.
40:52Norris moves into fourth place in the Drivers' Championship.
40:55He's tied on points now.
40:56Sorry, was tied on points with Lewis Hamilton.
41:00And a 12th top three sprint finish of all time for Lando Norris.
41:05Second behind Max Verstappen, who finished in seventh place in today's race.
41:12George Russell then gets the congratulations from his side of the garage.
41:21And he's part of the team waiting for him there.
41:25And it's going to be very interesting to hear the thoughts of the drivers after that sprint race.
41:33First top three finish, by the way, for Kimi Antonelli in a sprint this season.
41:39Now, there's a handshake. A brief handshake. And congratulations. Nothing more than that.
41:48I've just been looking through some of these incidents with Sky here at Carina of SkyRage Control.
41:54Yeah, there is a moment where Antonelli, he talked about his mirror, but actually his front axle was ahead.
41:59It looks like at the apex.
42:01At turn one?
42:02It's very transient. At turn one.
42:04It's a very transient moment.
42:07A little specific moment in time.
42:09But when the driver on the inside is that committed, you can't just suddenly magic up some racing room either
42:15on the outside.
42:16But I can see more now just watching that frame by frame.
42:21Why Kimi felt he was down the...
42:25He was entitled to some racing room.
42:27That's not this incident we're looking at.
42:29No, that was Antonelli making the move on Lando Norris.
42:32I wonder if we're going to see something at turn 13 at the moment involving Lewis Hamilton.
42:36Park that thought for a couple of seconds as we watch another replay here.
42:41He was ahead, but he was never making the corner that time.
42:45I think Lando was still giving him a little bit of space.
42:48George didn't give Kimi Antonelli space, did he, at turn one?
42:52But maybe thought he didn't have to.
42:53This is the Lewis Hamilton incident with Oscar Piastri.
42:59As Oscar Piastri got past, and you can see where Hamilton gets squeezed there, and how Charles Leclerc manages to
43:06get past.
43:07But Lewis is also being investigated for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
43:13Julian Palmer's got the mic in his hand.
43:14Well, what an amazing first ever sprint race in Montreal, Canada.
43:18What a race, guys.
43:19Joined here with the top three.
43:21George Russell, your winner, but what battles all the way through.
43:25I mean, we've got all of you to talk to here, but I want to pick out Kimi and George
43:30first, because that was an amazing fight between you.
43:33I know, Kimi, you spoke on the radio a little bit, weren't too happy, but I want to get both
43:37of your points of view on that.
43:38Yeah, it was a tough battle, to be fair.
43:40We were all there in terms of pace.
43:43It was not easy.
43:45Yeah, I tried to make my move, and yeah, I need to review on that, because I was quite well
43:50alongside, and yeah, I got pushed off, but it's what it is.
43:55Then, obviously, I made a mistake into turn eight, because I took a big bump and then locked up, and
44:00then I kind of compromised my race there, but it was a good battle.
44:04Okay, well, well done.
44:05You gave us a great bit of entertainment.
44:07If I can flip it over to you then, George, I mean, a race looking in your mirrors, you had
44:11to absorb so much the whole way through, but your thoughts on this guy attacking you in those early laps?
44:17Yeah, it was a cool race.
44:18I was just talking with Lando.
44:19It was definitely very difficult to get a gap around here.
44:22It felt quite easy to follow.
44:24The slipstream was quite powerful with the overtake mode, and then, yeah, it was a good battle with Kimi, and,
44:29you know, glad we both are standing here after the race.
44:33Yeah, you managed to do the grand star for a few favours, Moe in the grass around here, Kimi.
44:38Lando, second place.
44:40You managed to be the interloper with this Mercedes party, and you must be pretty pleased with that, because the
44:44pace looked really good.
44:46Yeah, thanks.
44:48Yeah, it was a good race.
44:49I mean, it was good just to watch them go at it for a little while.
44:51But, of course, we were there to pick up the pieces when things happened, and they were quick.
44:57I mean, Kimi caught me back up pretty quickly, and then I was pretty worried from behind, but also I
45:01wanted to try and attack George ahead.
45:03So, it was fun.
45:05Always a tough track to kind of push on and easy to make mistakes, but today was a good result
45:09for us.
45:10Okay.
45:11Well, congratulations.
45:11We have some awards for you.
45:13So, third place, Kimi.
45:15Congratulations.
45:17Second place, Lando.
45:19Congratulations.
45:19There's your award.
45:21George, let's talk about the race win then, because you really needed this, I feel like.
45:25It's been a difficult time in Miami.
45:27You've been great around this circuit.
45:28And so, to stand here as a race winner again, do you feel like you're back, you're back in your
45:33happy place?
45:36Never really concerned, to be honest.
45:37It was just, I know Miami's a bit of a bogey track for me.
45:40And, of course, there's been this huge break in the calendar.
45:43So, lots of people with a lot of things to say, but ultimately just wanted to get back racing.
45:48And it kind of feels like the season's going to really start now with, I think, six races in eight
45:52weeks.
45:52So, just looking forward to getting that groove.
45:54Great to be back in Montreal and amazing fans, as always.
45:57So, thank you so much. I appreciate that.
45:59And looking forward to this afternoon.
46:01And for your award, we can go from one race winner to another race winner.
46:05Canadian Grand Prix winner in 1995, Jean Alessi, to present the award to George Russell.
46:10And some photos, please, with the top three.
46:14And with that, whilst they can turn their attention to qualifying later on, we can as well.
46:18It's going to be great action in just a couple of hours' time.
46:21You don't want to miss it.
46:26Yeah, great stuff. I'd like to get a ticket for the debrief.
46:29I don't know about you, but he was fuming over team radio, wasn't he, Kimi Antonelli?
46:33Calmed down a little bit, but still clearly thinks that his teammate was at fault.
46:37We're going to analyze that in detail in a few moments' time.
46:41Just to let you know that we'll be back with the qualifying show from 10 past 8 here on Sky
46:45Sports F1.
46:46Tomorrow, at 7.30 on air, race start at 9 o'clock.
46:52There's also the Indy 500 to look forward to.
46:56Every great show starts the same way.
46:59A little noise, a little nerves, a little something to prove.
47:05Can you feel it?
47:06All around 350,000 people packed in, leaning forward, just waiting for you to give them what they came for.
47:17A show!
47:18This stage ain't for the weak.
47:20Nerves is steel.
47:21If you get it right, they'll never forget you.
47:24If you get it wrong, you're just a really fast footnote.
47:28It's all on the line.
47:30This is where you come to carve your name in history at more than 230 miles an hour.
47:36Welcome to the fastest racing on Earth.
47:44Milk at the ready.
47:46The Indy 500 is on air tomorrow from 3 o'clock, again on Sky Sports F110th running.
47:54Such a busy day for you in terms of motorsport, but it's also a big weekend.
47:58On Sky Sports across the network because of the playoffs that are going on.
48:03Right now, Sky Sports football.
48:05Hull have been promoted 1-0 up against Middlesbrough.
48:09That's how it finished.
48:10Tomorrow, Mumbai Indians against the Rajasthan Royals from 1050 Sky Sports Plus.
48:15Final day of the Premier League as well.
48:16Relegation to be sorted.
48:18West Ham.
48:19Crofty will be keeping his fingers crossed for them.
48:22Or Tottenham.
48:23Ooh.
48:24Two o'clock.
48:25Sky Sports.
48:26Right.
48:27Sky Original.
48:28Crime Puller.
48:29Starring Theo James and Aaron Taylor Johnson.
48:32Fuse is available Friday on Sky Cinema.
48:37But this was pure cinema in the sprint today.
48:41Absolutely love seeing these two going toe-to-toe.
48:44I'm not sure George or Kimi did.
48:47They lived to get to the end.
48:49But it's a win for George Russell and a disgruntled teenager.
48:53Something for Toto to sort out.
48:56Disney at the top.
48:58Disney Ă©tica is a good sport.
48:58Dm.
48:59Dm.
49:00Disney3
49:00Dm.
49:01Dm..
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