The Canadian Grand Prix was a nail-biter from start to finish. Multiple drivers DNF, Heavy rain and sunny skies, and an abundance of overtakes,
The race started with George Russell at pole position, then Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. George had an excellent start off the line and kept his place in front of Verstappen. All drivers were on Intermediate tires, while the Haas team took a risk and put their drivers on Extreme Wet tires. The risk immediately was rewarded after Kevin Magnussen, who started in 14th place, soared his way up into P4. However, the risk would not be worth the reward after the track began to dry and the Magnussen needed to pit to put on Intermediate tires. The pit stop would leave him where he started, at 14th place.
Daniel Ricciardo was noted for having a false start at the beginning of the race. On a replay, he was seen barely creeping across the tire long. After an investigation, he received a 5-second penalty to be held at his first pit stop. However, this information did not discourage him. He found the second Haas driver before him and overtook Nico Hulkenberg for P7.
Back at the front of the pack, Lando Norris was in third place but was the fastest on the grid. He was 4.5 seconds behind Max Verstappen but gained 1 to 2 seconds every lap. By the 17th lap, the McLaren driver surpasses the 3-time world champion. A few laps later, Lando locked horns with George Russell, but in the end, Lando would be victorious and pass Russell in first place. Max Verstappen immediately sensed an opportunity to pass George Russell and seized the moment. At the front were Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and then George Russell.
(Lando Norris passing Max Verstappen - Image Source: Formula 1 via x.com)
Lando Norris would not enjoy leading the pack for long. A safety car would be called only a few laps after Logan Sargeant shunted his vehicle into the barrier. Norris had a 15-second gap between himself and Max when the safety car was called. Unfortunately, he was too far from the pit lane to pit under the safety car, but Max Verstappen was on time to pit. After another lap, Norris was able to pit and came out behind George Russell, who was in second place.
Not far behind, in fourth, Lewis Hamilton pitted before Fernando Alonso, who was in front of him the whole race. With Fernando Alonso no longer expertly defending against the Mercedes driver, he was free to challenge Oscar Piastri. The McLarens were fast, but in this Grand Prix, the Mercedes rivaled them.
McLaren’s usual rival, Ferrari, was having a dreadful weekend. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc started the race in 10th and 12th position; however, by mid-stage, Charles Leclerc was called to retire his vehicle. The Monegasque was battling engine issues the whole race. After being dubbed “King of Monaco” at the last Grand Prix, it was shocking that he could possibly qualify in 12th and then DNF. His counterpart also did not have a pleasing Grand Prix week. He struggled in practice and in qualifying.
The drama and wonder of who would win continued throughout the entire race. George Russell, who has only one Grand Prix victory under his belt, was determined to retain another victory. He saw Lando just before him and overtook the fellow Brit. Much to Russell’s dismay, Lando would overtake him after Russell went too deep into a turn, allowing Lando to confiscate his position back. Max was heavily under pressure from George Russell and Lando Norris, with only 1 to 2.5 seconds separating the three drivers. The timings starkly contrast what we saw at the beginning of the season, where Max Verstappen would lead the race by almost 30 seconds.
Behind Max was his teammate, Sergio Perez, in 16th place. He would not gain any more positions after he locked up and smacked his rear wing into the barriers. Sergio Perez would be the third person to DNF. The accident comes after a massive accident in Monaco and the news that Sergio had signed with Red Bull until 2025. The news left many F1 fans scratching their heads while others rejoiced.
(Rear end of Sergio Perez’ Red Bull - Image Source: Formula 1 via X.com)
Another yellow flag was called only a couple of laps later, which eventually turned into a safety car. Carlos Sainz hit some water, which made him slide across the track and into the grass. The Spaniard kept the engine going and began a maneuver to exit the grass, but the grass was wet and slippery. As he was zigzagging in the grass, his rear tires finally met the sturdy tarmac, but disastrously, Alex Albon was directly behind. Sainz punted Alex across the circuit, which resulted in Albon being snug against the wall. Sainz hobbled his way to the garage, but Alex Albon would need a tractor to get his vehicle off of the track. With Sainz and Albon out of the race, Ferrari and Willams were out of the race.
(Carlos and Albon accident - Image Source: Formula 1)
During the safety car, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton took a risk by putting on slick tires, which resulted in George being in 4th and Lewis in 5th. George Russell came out of the pits close to Piastri, but Hamilton was closer to Russell. Hamilton zoomed past his teammate and took 4th place, but with his momentum, he overtook the McLaren driver for 3rd place. In the final couple of laps, DRS was enabled after being disabled to the rain, and Russell used that to his advantage. Hamilton was still closely in front after overtaking Russell only a few laps ago. With DRS, he managed to squeeze past Lewis and retake 3rd place.
(Oscar being chased by both Mercedes drivers - Image Source: Formula 1)
Results of the Canadian GP:
Max Verstappen
Lando Norris
George Russell
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri
Fernando Alonso
Lance Stroll
Daniel Ricciardo
Pierre Gasly
Esteban Ocon
Nico Hulkenberg
Kevin Magnussen
Valtteri Bottas
Yuki Tsunoda
Zhou Guanyu
Carlos Sainz - DNF
Alex Albon - DNF
Sergio Perez - DNF
Charles Leclerc - DNF
Logan Sargeant - DNF
Image Sources:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-beats-norris-to-victory-in-thrilling-wet-dry-canadian-gp.6ytkbh7iDTWC3pJBwiaboI
https://x.com/F1/status/1799885462586397000/photo/1
https://x.com/F1/status/1799873194993524745
This was a fun race to watch and your write up was just as exciting!