Kimi Antonelli told the ‘genuinely’ crucial role he played in George Russell winning the Canadian Grand Prix

Andrea Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s third youngest podium finisher when he crossed the line in third place during the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Italian managed to finish inside the top three after starting from fourth on the grid, pulling off an overtake on Oscar Piastri in the opening stages of the race.

He then managed to fend off the McLaren driver for most of the race, keeping him at bay right up to the moment both Piastri and Lando Norris collided in the closing stages, which brought out the Safety Car.

This effectively secured the podium and the win for teammate George Russell, who withstood the pressure from Max Verstappen.

Discussing the performance by the 18-year-old on the BBC Chequered Flag podcast, former F1 test driver Sam Bird outlined the important role Antonelli played in the race.

Sam Bird outlines crucial role Andrea Kimi Antonelli played in Mercedes Canada win

Antonelli chose to pit before Verstappen in the second stint of the race, putting pressure on Red Bull to respond after they stopped the Dutchman earlier in the race.

By pitting the Italian, it meant Verstappen had to take life out of his hard tyres early in the second stint to maintain his second place, effectively preventing him from catching Russell towards the end.

“Genuinely, I think Kimi Antonelli is one of the reasons why George Russell had a comfortable afternoon with that opening stint,” said Bird.

“Applying the pressure towards the latter phases of the first stint onto the back of Max Verstappen and forcing Max Verstappen, who was uncomfortable on those medium compound tyres at that point.

“Then to make such an early pit stop, Kimi Antonelli then counterpunched and couldn’t quite make the overcut work with those medium compound tyres fading compared to Max Verstappen going onto the hard compound tyre.”

Youngest F1 podium finishers

Antonelli is among F1’s youngest podium finishers, with Verstappen topping the list from his coming of age season at Red Bull in 2016.

The other driver to beat him is surprisingly Lance Stroll, who was two months younger when he earned his first podium at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

With his podium secured, there was a brief scare for Mercedes and Antonelli when the stewards said they were investigating him, among several other drivers, for a Safety Car infringement.

The stewards would later issue him a warning, having deemed that he overtook cars after the chequered flag under yellow flag and safety car conditions.