George Russell said Mercedes had high expectations for the Canadian Grand Prix after he claimed victory in Montreal.

Russell won from pole on Sunday, finishing ahead of reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen.

The Mercedes driver let pole position slip at the event last year, but made amends this time around with a smooth drive.

Indeed, the drama came further back, as McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris collided in the final stages, resulting in the latter crashing out.

Russell is 62 points shy of leader Piastri in the driver standings, while Mercedes moved up to second in the Constructors' Championship, though they are well behind McLaren.

"It’s amazing to be back on the top step, the last one for us was back in Vegas. I felt last year was a victory lost and then we got the victory today probably due to the incredible pole lap yesterday," he said.

"I’m so happy to see Kimi on the podium as well, it’s an amazing day to the team. Thanks to everybody back at the factory who have been working so hard to get us back fighting for victories and it feels good.

"We did have high expectations coming into this weekend and it worked out as we thought."

Asked if Mercedes would be able to build on this victory by succeeding in Austria at the end of June, Russell added: "Time will tell.

"We won Austria last year so maybe that’s a good omen, we will enjoy it for the time being."

Russell's team-mate Antonelli became the third-youngest driver to claim a podium finish in F1.

"It was so stressful but super happy," he said. "I had a good start, managed to jump into P3 and just stayed up there at the front.

History made

Kimi becomes the third-youngest podium finisher in F1 history with his stunning P3 in Canada pic.twitter.com/cIjSWbfCjC

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 15, 2025

"The last stint I pushed a bit too hard behind Max and I killed a bit the front-left, and struggled a bit at the end, but really happy to bring the podium home.

"Definitely this track has been good for us, the car has been incredible all weekend, and hopefully we can carry the same momentum into the next few races."

Verstappen, meanwhile, gained some ground on Piastri and Norris as he bids to defend his title, though he was unable to win the Canadian Grand Prix for a fourth straight season.

"It’s a long season, so you need to go race by race. We’ll always do the best we can," he said.