Despite the weather throwing a spanner in the works, Max Verstappen took advantage of a perfectly timed safety car intervention to outstrip Lando Norris and George Russell, securing a victory in the action-filled Canadian Grand Prix. Starting from the third position, Norris efficiently exploited the shifting conditions to initially take the lead. However, a twist of fate similar to Miami’s situation placed him in second place when the safety car emerged at an inconvenient moment.
Despite a series of challenges, pole qualifier Russell fended off team-mate Lewis Hamilton during the final laps, marking Mercedes’ inaugural season’s podium. With Verstappen tying Russell’s qualifying time, the qualifying session last Saturday turned out to be a stimulating one, where less than three tenths of a second separated the top seven.
Roughly 90 minutes before the race was set to start, a severe downpour commenced. As a result, 18 out of the 20 vehicles started with intermediate tyres, while the Haas duo, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, ran on wet tyres from 14th and 17th positions, respectively.
Despite an initial successful run, the Haas pair were soon back in the pit after the rain eased, with Magnussen retiring on the eighth lap. Additionally, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who began the race from the 11th position due to a disappointing qualifying round in Monaco, was informed of an engine problem that was causing half a second per lap delay.
As clear skies returned and the track began to dry, Verstappen, a triumvirate world champion, made a remarkable recovery. However, an early move on a kerb at turn one placed him under immense pressure from Norris. Before long, the McLaren champion overtook Verstappen on the 20th lap with a DRS boost and Russell soon followed. But a slip up by Russell in the final chicane allowed Verstappen to also overtake. Expanding his lead by eight seconds was Norris, but Logan Sargeant’s crash into the wall summoned the safety car, cutting short Norris’s lead.
In a turn of events, Norris was placed at a considerable disadvantage when both Verstappen and Russell made pit stops ahead of him, resulting in the 24-year-old coming back in third position. Verstappen’s engineer communicated a known phrase to him: “what comes around comes around,” alluding to a previous race in Miami where Norris beat the Dutch driver with the help of a safety car.
At the time when the rain made a comeback and racing resumed, Ferrari decided to equip Leclerc with slick tyres. This decision, however, proved disastrous as the racer from Monaco had to return to the pits only two laps later, was overtaken by the leading drivers and eventually acknowledged defeat on the 43rd lap.
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, strategically opted for slick medium tyres from his fifth-place position. In an unexpected move, Norris, two laps later, stayed out on intermediate tyres when McLaren decided to take a gamble.
As Norris came level with the frontrunner, Verstappen, on the pit exit, he found his car had lost all grip, enabling the current world champion to maintain his lead. Despite this, 20 laps out, Russell managed to overtake Norris, but their positions were swapped again when Russell ran wide just two laps later. At this point, Toto Wolff, the chief at Mercedes entreated George Russell to maintain his focus through the radio.
The adrenaline rush escalated as Sergio Perez crashed into the wall, followed by Carlos Sainz spinning out and colliding into Alex Albon, forcing the Williams driver into the wall and leading to the second safety car being released with just 16 laps remaining.
As the top three drivers stayed out, both Russell and Hamilton leveraged the opportunity to pit for new tyres. Once the safety car left the track, the last 11 laps to the finish line transformed into a frantic battle. A clash occurred at the final chicane between Russell and Oscar Piastri, causing Russell to fall back and allow Hamilton to take the lead.
Not one to easily admit defeat, Russell managed to reclaim his position, ensuring a gripping end to the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and further expanding Verstappen’s championship lead. “What a race, guys. Not easy but we did it,” Verstappen declared. – PA