Why Canadian GP might be a must-win for Russell

George Russell heads into the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix 20 points behind his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, who won the most recent race in Miami. Russell, 28, has historically performed well in Montreal, making the race a potentially critical opportunity to close the gap on the 19-year-old Antonelli, Formula 1's youngest ever championship leader. Mercedes has shown dominant pace across all five race weekends so far this season.