Montreal’s Sprint weekend delivered plenty of storylines, and the Canadian Grand Prix offered a fresh check-in on driver form. A five-judge panel assessed each driver’s output across all sessions, scoring them out of 10 with car performance taken out of the equation. Those marks are averaged for a race score and added to a cumulative leaderboard across the season.
Kimi Antonelli’s relentless run continued at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as he made it four victories on the bounce. The Mercedes driver again set the benchmark in race trim, underlining why he has become the yardstick through the early phase of the campaign.
Lewis Hamilton looked at ease throughout the event after opting to skip Ferrari’s simulator work in the build-up. Starting ahead of Charles Leclerc for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, he converted his pace into a polished P2 finish — his best Sunday result since joining Ferrari.
Franco Colapinto arrived off an eye-catching Miami and backed it up in Canada. The Argentinian narrowly missed the points in the Sprint, then put his Alpine into Q3 before converting P10 on the grid into a career-best P6 on Sunday.
Inside Mercedes, the gap that Antonelli held over George Russell in Miami narrowed significantly in Montreal. The pair went wheel-to-wheel on Sunday, with Antonelli appearing the slightly stronger proposition over long runs before Russell’s race ended with a technical retirement.
Russell had arrived needing a statement weekend after losing out to Antonelli in China, Japan and Miami. He delivered early with a clean sweep of Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying, but could not shake his team mate on Sunday, slid into a series of lock-ups under pressure and then saw his car grind to a halt.
Arvid Lindblad was among the standout performers in the midfield. Eighth in Sprint Qualifying became the final point in the Sprint, followed by another Q3 appearance for the Grand Prix, only for a gearbox issue to prevent him taking the start — a harsh end to a strong weekend’s work.
Carlos Sainz continued to be a bright spot for a Williams outfit in need of results, adding P9 to the tally. He was one of the few to start on intermediate tyres while most chose slicks, yet still navigated the mixed conditions to bank more points after earlier hauls in China and Miami.
Isack Hadjar recorded his best finish since stepping up to Red Bull with P5, but it was anything but straightforward. He picked up a penalty for robust defending against Leclerc and another for not slowing sufficiently under yellow flags, yet had the pace in hand to secure a healthy haul.
Haas, meanwhile, endured a bruising weekend despite introducing upgrades, struggling to turn promise into points in Montreal.
How the Power Rankings work: a panel of five judges scores each driver out of 10 based on their complete weekend performance, independent of machinery. The average of those scores forms the race rating, which is then added to an overall leaderboard that tracks form across the season.
Next up is Monaco on June 5-7, where the tight street circuit will offer a very different test. Watch for whether Antonelli can extend his streak, how Russell responds after his DNF, whether Red Bull’s pace stabilises, and if emerging names like Colapinto, Lindblad and Hadjar can sustain their momentum.
---
*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/canada-gp-power-rankings-antonelli-leads-hamilton-shines). Visit for full coverage.*
