MONTREAL — George Russell kept his Canadian Grand Prix victory after a late Red Bull appeal came to nothing on Sunday night.

Red Bull had protested the result due to two alleged infringements Russell had made under the safety car which guided the pack home at the end of the race.

Red Bull’s complaint was thrown out as “not founded” five and a half hours after the race finished.

Red Bull stood to inherit the race win if they were successful, with Max Verstappen finishing behind Russell.

A time penalty would likely have shuffled Russell down the order, with the pack finishing closely together at a reduced pace.

But Red Bull’s protest was unsuccessful, with the stewards throwing out the complaints.

Red Bull had focused in on two moments — one where Russell had slammed on the brakes while following the safety car, which briefly meant Verstappen went past Russell having been caught unawares. The second came shortly afterwards, where Russell appeared to have dropped too far behind the safety car — the rules say a the lead driver must not ever be more than 10 car lengths behind.

Red Bull’s protest had included the accusation that Russell had displayed “unsportsmanlike intent”.

Speaking to the media shortly after Verstappen and Russell had gone to see the stewards, Red Bull boss Christian Horner had suggested the same.

Asked if Russell had been trying to get Verstappen a penalty and the ban that might come with it, Horner said: “I think you could hear from George’s press comments yesterday, you know, his objective was reasonably clear. I don’t think there was any surprises with that”.

The stewards rejected both accusations — taking over five and a half hours to confirm the race result.

On the heavy braking, the stewards said Russell “braked where he did for two reasons. First to ensure he kept a gap to the safety car. Secondly, to keep temperature in his brakes and tyres.”

They were satisfied with Russell’s insistence he had not done so to try and catch Verstappen out, adding that the Mercedes driver was not convinced the race would end behind the safety car and that he was trying to keep heat in his tyres.

Furthermore, it noted Russell’s application of the brake was 30PSI, adding that this was “not severe.”

The verdict added that Verstappen should have been ready to anticipate Russell trying to get heat into his tyres.

As for the complaint about 10 car lengths, the stewards noted that can happen when a driver hits the brakes at the same time the safety car applies the throttle.

That verdict confirms Oscar Piastri’s championship lead at 22 points — the Australian had stood to gain three points if Russell had dropped below him.

Piastri’s title rival and teammate Lando Norris had driven into him with three laps left, triggering the safety car period which set the backdrop for the Red Bull complaint.

The finishing laps under the grid kept the stewards busy in the hours after the race.

First-time podium finisher Andrea Kimi Antonelli was given a warning for passing under the safety car, but nothing more, the same outcome for Piastrii, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Haas driver Esteban Ocon, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

The outcome to those might also give Red Bull cause for frustration, given that Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda was given a 10-place grid penalty for passing Piastri’s McLaren in final practice after the Australian was crawling back to the pits with a puncture.