George Russell took victory at the Canadian Grand Prix with Kimi Antonelli making it a double podium for the team in third.
That is George's fourth win in F1 with Kimi claiming his maiden podium, becoming the third youngest driver in the sport's history to ever finish in the top three. It also marks Mercedes 130th Grand Prix win.
Both drivers ran a two-stop Medium-Hard-Hard strategy; starting P1 and P4, that became P1 and P3 on the first lap as Kimi cut inside Oscar Piastri at Turn Three. From there, George controlled the race from the front, managing his tyres and pace throughout to come home ahead of Max Verstappen. Kimi put Verstappen under pressure at multiple moments; he came closest to taking P2 as the team attempted an overcut. The Italian came out alongside the Red Bull but didn't have the traction to hold the position. In the closing stages, he held off the McLaren of Oscar Piastri before a late race Safety Car brought the Grand Prix to its conclusion.
The team moves up to second in the Constructors' Championship ahead of the Austria-Great Britain double-header.
George Russell: I am really pleased to take the team's first victory of the season. I felt in control throughout and was able to manage the race to bring home the win. With the slightly higher temperatures, we thought we may struggle a little more than we saw on Friday. We did a good job of managing the tyres though and had the pace to hold off the chasing pack. A big well done and thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth and a massive congratulations to Kimi on taking his first of what I am sure will be many podiums.
We look to have made a step forward with our car in recent races. We have typically gone well in Montreal though and we knew this race would likely suit us a little more than others. We can't get ahead of ourselves as there is still plenty of work for us to do to get into the fight for victories more regularly. I am looking forward to trying to do that next time out in Austria.
Kimi Antonelli: That was a very intense and stressful race! I am really happy to take my first podium in F1 though. The start was the key to achieving that. I managed to get track position on Piastri and that enabled us to show our pace. At moments I was able to catch Verstappen and put him under pressure. In the final stint, I think I pushed a little too hard in the early stages and that made it difficult near the end. I was able to defend from the McLarens though and bring the car home in P3.
I want to say thank you to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. They have been working so hard to improve the car and I am glad to be able to get a result like this and have both our cars on the podium. It is a special moment for me personally and I am looking forward to building on it in the coming races.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: That was a superb race by the team and both drivers today. George was absolutely faultless at the front. He controlled the race throughout and didn't put a foot wrong. It was another assured performance of which we have seen many so far this season. He was quick on both compounds and didn't come under threat after the first corner. Kimi meanwhile drove his own great race. He made a strong start and that set him up for the rest of the race. He nearly managed to get second and then battled and defended well in the closing stages to hold off the McLarens. He fully deserved to get on the podium and his first top three finish which I am sure there will be many more of.
We've taken a positive forward step this weekend. The track temperature today was nearly 50°C but we managed to look after the tyres well and combine that with good pace. We know that there is more for us to do for this to be a consistent level of performance each and every race. That is what we are focused on doing though and we look forward to the upcoming races to continue that momentum.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: Our first race win and double podium of the year are a fantastic reward at the end of a strong weekend. George put in a faultless drive and controlled the race from the front - it was a truly accomplished performance. For Kimi, scoring his first podium is another major milestone in his first half-season as an F1 driver, and he did it under some serious pressure from the championship leader, too.
After Friday's long runs, we hoped that we could keep ourselves in the mix across the race distance, and so it proved today. We were competitive in terms of our tyre usage on both the Medium and Hard compounds, and able to build useful gaps to Red Bull and McLaren when it mattered. After a difficult triple header, this was a great way to bounce back and reward the hard work that both factories have put into improving the car. We know that some of the circuit characteristics suited us this weekend, but it nonetheless feels like we've made some good learnings. There are still weaknesses we need to improve on but we are working hard to do that and to continue fighting at the sharp end of the field.
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