Max Verstappen made it three consecutive Canadian Grand Prix victories in a race that started wet, went dry, got wet again and then dried out a second time, with a couple of safety cars thrown into the mix to make things more interesting.
The Red Bull driver fought a pitched battle with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes driver George Russell for most of the race before the field tilted in his direction during a safety car period at about one-third distance.
An accident on Lap 26 by Williams’ Logan Sargeant brought out the safety car at an inopportune time for Norris, as he passed the pit entry before it neutralized the race. Verstappen, Russell and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri all got new tires, while Norris needed to do another lap before pitting. When he finally got to the pit lane and back on track, Norris found himself third.
Verstappen led the field back to green on Lap 30 and never really looked back, despite complaining of suspension issues, to take his 60th career victory.
“It was pretty crazy race, a lot of things were happening and we really had to be on top of our calls,” said Verstappen. “I think, as a team, we just did really well today, you know, we remain calm. I think we pitted at the right time and, of course, the safety car worked out nicely for us. That was a lot of fun, but you know, those kinds of races, you know that you need them once in a while.”
In the end, Verstappen won the 70-lap race by 3.8 seconds, with Norris second and polesitter Russell third. Lewis Hamilton, in the second Mercedes, crossed the line fourth, with Norris’ teammate Piastri rounding out the top-5.
While disappointed by the timing of the safety car, Norris tried to be philosophical about the way things turned out, since the safety car helped him score his first F1 victory last month in Miami before taking one away in Montreal on Sunday.
“It is what it is; [the safety car] helped me out in Miami, so I’m not gonna be the one to complain,” said Norris. “It happens — that’s racing sometimes…I was in the lead by about 12 seconds and pulling away probably two or three seconds per lap — things were going beautifully. And of course it’s Montreal, so there’s always something that’s got to come into play.”
Canadian Lance Stroll finished the day seventh, just behind his teammate Fernando Alonso.
Russell started on pole and led early but Verstappen began to catch the Mercedes as a dry line started to form around Lap 10. Norris also added pressure and caught Verstappen, after the Red Bull driver made a mistake in Turn 1 on Lap 16 and went though the grass. Norris got past at the end of Lap 20 and set out in pursuit of Russell just a second up the road.
A lap later, Norris took the lead at the entry to the final chicane and Russell went wide and through the runoff, allowing Verstappen to take second. From there, Russell never really challenged the other two again.
“It felt like a missed opportunity,” said Russell. “To be honest, we’re really quick at the beginning of the race on the intermediates, Lando came through really fast and then we jumped back on to the slicks and made a couple of mistakes out there just pushing the limits. We’re truly in a really fast car this weekend and to be back in the mix fighting for victory was really fun.”
The early part of the race saw the Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenburg benefit from starting on full wet tires, while the rest started on intermediates. Magnussen climbed to third from 14th on the grid before pitting on Lap 8 and dropping to 12th. Hulkenburg got as high as seventh from 17th on his wets but his progress stalled as the track dried. The strategy ultimately didn’t work and both finished out of the points.
It turned out to be a day to forget for fan favourites Ferrari, with both cars retiring from the race. Charles Leclerc pulled out with engine problems, while Carlos Sainz ended his day after a late spin into Alex Albon that knocked the Williams driver out of the race and caused a second safety car period with a handful of laps to go.
Verstappen nailed the restart with 12 laps to go and cruised to the win.
“The last few races have been difficult,” said Verstappen. “But nevertheless, we won. That’s what’s important but we still have a lot of room to improve.”
