George Russell has nothing but praise for his Mercedes team, calling the W16 “probably the fastest car” on track at the Canadian Grand Prix.

It was a dominant drive from Russell, who took his first victory of the 2025 season after losing out on victory in 2024.

George Russell praises Mercedes’ “fastest car” after Canada win

Several pundits have pinpointed Mercedes’ George Russell as a potential dark horse for the F1 2025 World Championship thanks to his consistent performances and regular appearances on the podium — and his Canadian GP victory will only help bolster those claims.

On Saturday afternoon, Russell powered his Mercedes W16 to a strong pole position at a track that certainly suits it. Cooler temperatures and a smooth track surface brought out the best in the W16, and the British racer was well suited to take advantage of it.

However, hotter temperatures on race day for the Canadian Grand Prix raised concerns that the W16 might falter.

Instead, Russell launched well to hold a clear lead into Turn 1, from which point he was largely unchallenged.

While fellow front-row started Max Verstappen remained within DRS range for a few laps, Russell eventually built up a gap ahead of his first stop.

Varying tyre strategies collided in the closing laps, but by that point, Russell had assumed firm control of the race.

He was leading when a late-race Safety Car neutralised the action, with the race ending under those conditions. Behind, team-mate Kimi Antonelli held onto third, giving Mercedes its first double podium of 2025 along with its first win.

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“It’s been great to get the win,” Russell enthused.

“Seeing Kimi up here as well on the podium — really, really pleased for him.

“As a team, we’ve been performing so well this year; up until the last triple header, we’d maximise every single race weekend, whether it was the P2 Bahrain or the other podiums we had, but coming into Canada, we knew we did have the potential to fight for pole and for the race win, and ultimately, it came down to that quali lap yesterday.

“There was obviously not much movement in terms of positions, shuffling around, but really pleased with the job.”

Russell admitted he had been concerned given Sunday’s the hotter conditions but was pleased to find that his tyres never overheated.

“Even though it was hot, it’s a very smooth tarmac here in in Canada, there’s quite low speed corners, so the tyres aren’t under much stress,” he explained.

“I think we expected a bit more tire overheating considering the track temperature, but we’re under no illusions that this [event] really suited the strengths of our car the same way as it did last year, but for a majority of the circuits, we know it’s a bit of a challenge.

“It’s great to see that when we get the chance, we take it.”

Though in control, Russell spent much of the race with Verstappen in his wheel tracks.

However, aside from the opening laps when he was at his most potent, the Dutchman’s threat was comparatively toothless.

It meant the British driver was unbothered by his rival’s presence, even allowing for the added ‘noise’ of their clash last time out in Spain.

“For the last couple of weeks, obviously, there’s lots of noise going on. Obviously, I thought happened in Spain as well,” Russell said.

“But from my side, you put it to a side. You know that if you make a good start, you get into a groove. I knew I had potentially the fastest car today. You’ve got to dial into that and put all of the additional noise to one side.”

Put it to the side he did — and he was also able to keep an eye on team-mate Kimi Antonelli on the televisions.

“It was a good day,” he confessed, “and I feel proud of myself, feel proud of the team, especially after this time 12 months ago, when it was a victory lost”

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