George Russell ‘surprised’ Helmut Marko long before Red Bull’s Canadian Grand Prix protest by doing something unexpected

Red Bull failed with their protest against Mercedes ace George Russell after the 2025 F1 Canadian Grand Prix, as the team tried to steal the win away for Max Verstappen.

Any penalty at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Sunday would have stripped Russell of his first win of the 2025 F1 season and handed glory to Verstappen. But the race stewards rejected the claims Red Bull raised that the Briton drove erratically behind the safety car in Montreal.

Red Bull also alleged that Russell acted in an unsportsmanlike manner when the 27-year-old informed Mercedes that Verstappen briefly overtook him behind the safety car while he was braking heavily to warm his tyres. The FIA found no evidence to justify Red Bull’s allegations.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called Red Bull’s Canadian GP protest ‘embarrassing’, and thinks Verstappen would ‘never’ back his team trying to steal Russell‘s win via a protest. The Briton had controlled the race up until Lando Norris crashed into Oscar Piastri in the Canadian GP.

George Russell ‘surprised’ Helmut Marko as Mercedes did not suffer high tyre wear in the Canadian GP

Verstappen was unable to stay with Russell through the Red Bull driver’s opening stint in the Canadian GP last Sunday. The four-time defending champion was even under pressure from Andrea Kimi Antonelli before Verstappen pitted on Lap 12 of 70 while 2.575s behind Russell.

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Russell even opened a greater lead over the Dutchman before Verstappen made his second pit stop on L38, and maintained a 2.638s margin until the safety car from Norris’ retiring on L66. Antonelli was also 2.416s from Verstappen when the race-ending safety car was called.

Red Bull had ‘expected’ Mercedes would suffer from higher levels of tyre wear, given the 50° circuit temperatures and slow stop-and-go corners increasing the likelihood of graining. But Helmut Marko admits Mercedes’ lack of tyre wear in the Canadian GP was a huge ‘surprise’.

“Our tyre wear was surprisingly high,” Marko noted, via quotes by Motorsport-Total. “I think Max pushed too hard in the first stints to keep up with Russell. But the biggest surprise was Mercedes. They were really fast in the race and didn’t have the tyre problems we expected.”

Toto Wolff was also ‘surprised’ by Mercedes’ lack of tyre degradation in the Canadian GP

Like Red Bull motorsport adviser Marko, Wolff was ‘surprised’ Russell did not suffer from the high temperatures in the Canadian GP as managing their tyres has been a recurring issue for Mercedes. The Silver Arrows coping with the issue also got both of their cars on the podium.

Antonelli earned his first F1 podium in Canada, becoming the third-youngest driver to stand on a Grand Prix rostrum so far after Verstappen and Lance Stroll. Sunday’s meet in Montreal further marked Russell’s fifth podium this year and his first since scoring P3 in the Miami GP.

Mercedes will hope their lack of tyre degradation was thanks to the improvements that they have made to their car and it was not a flash in the pan result. Russell and Antonelli reverted to Mercedes’ rear suspension upgrade in Canada, after they shelved it in Monaco and Spain.