George Russell retains Canadian GP victory after Red Bull protest rejected

George Russell can finally celebrate his Canadian GP victory in peace after Red Bull’s protest was rejected by race stewards — the decision came five and a half hours after the checkered flag.

The Mercedes driver had already sprayed champagne and received his winner’s trophy when his first win of the year came under threat as Red Bull filed two complaints with FIA stewards — with Max Verstappen having finished second.

The protests concerned Russell’s behavior behind the safety car that emerged after a collision between Lando Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claimed Russell braked erratically and fell more than 10 car lengths behind the safety car.

“We accept the driver of Car 63’s explanation of the incident and we are satisfied that the driver of Car 63 did not drive erratically in terms of his braking,” stated the stewards.

After an investigation involving Russell, Mercedes sporting director Ron Meadows, and engineering director Andrew Shovlin, stewards dismissed all seven Red Bull claims — including allegations of Russell’s unsportsmanlike conduct in reporting Verstappen had overtaken under safety car conditions.