Here’s Giles Richards’ race report.
George Russell: “Yes. It felt like a missed opportunity to be honest. We were really quick at the beginning on the inters and then Lando came through really fast and then we jumped back onto the slicks and made a couple of mistakes, pushing the limits and paid the price, but nevertheless it was our first podium of the year. We had a really fast car this weekend and to be back in mix fighting for a victory, that’s what F1 is about.”
Lewis Hamilton: “I’m not much really different [to how he felt in qualifying on Saturday]. Over the weekend, it was a poor performance from myself. Some other things came into it yesterday, mostly myself and then today, it was one of the worst races I’ve driven, lots of mistakes.
“I think this weekend, the car was capable of winning, it’s such a great feeling. We’ll take points and keep on trying.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who finished second “It was [wild]. It was chaos, it was eventful to be honest, I felt like I drove a good race, the whole time, from start to finish.
“The first two stints were strong, I had amazing pace, then the safety car had me over, just like it helped me in Miami. It’s now had me back over. Honestly, I thought it was a pretty perfect race from my side, just a bit unlucky but it was good fun overall.”
Some quotes, from Max Verstappen.
“It was a pretty crazy race, a lot of things were happening and we had to keep on top of our calls. As a team we did really well today, we remained calm and we pitted at the right time, the safety car worked out nicely for us but even after that we were managing the gaps quite well.
“I love it, that was a lot of fun, those kind of races you need once in a while.”
The top 10
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
7. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
8. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
RACE CLASSIFICATION 🇨🇦
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9, 2024
Spins, collisions, five DNFs... and a 60th career victory for Max Verstappen 🤯#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/XO0VJPnipz
Updated
“What a race guys, not easy, but we did it.” Verstappen says he enjoyed it. He had the benefit of a safety car. Lando Norris seems happy enough in his cockpit.
Updated
Max Verstappen wins the Canadian Grand Prix!
Norris is in second, George Russell is third, Hamilton fourth, Piastri in fifth. A hat-trick of wins for Verstappen. Hamilton sets the fastest lap. Alonso in sixth.
69/70: Verstappen is in the clear, and Hamilton will chase Russell with one turn using DRS.
Russell takes third!
68/70: Russell is chasing Hamilton, who hasn’t had a podium finish all season. DRS did the job. “Keep it clean,” says the Mercedes man on the radio. And they do.
Updated
67/70: Yuki Tsunoda almost ended the race with a safety car but just about saves himself. He will however, drop from the points.
66/70: Russell is woebegone but gets past Piastri to go into fourth.
65/70: Hamilton, having passed Piastri, is after Norris.
64/70: Hamilton has DRS and is chasing Piastri now. Russell was on pole, but is back in fifth.
Contact between Russell and Piastri!
63/70: Russell takes on DRS, Piastri hold his line, Russell goes off, and Hamilton takes fourth from his teammate.
62/70: Verstappen with the fastest lap. Russell takes to the battle with Piastri who holds on to third place. Norris forges on ahead. Hamilton will follow that group.
61/70: George Russell sets a fastest lap, and those Mercs look to have the benefit of those fresher tyres.
60/70: The two McLarens struggling to catch up Verstappen who has gone with the wind.
Back away after the safety car
59/70: Off goes Verstappen with no issues, and leaves Norris and Piastri in his wake. Russell dropping back.
58/70: The safety car fun continues….the track is dry with wet patches.
57/70: Mercedes changing their tyres could be crucial, but for now the safety car is in session.
56/70: Verstappen has to hang on, and his tyres maybe not as reliable as the Mercs and the McLarens.
55/70: Five cars out – Sargeant, Perez, Sainz, Albon and Leclerc. That’s three big-name drivers.
Updated
54/70: Both Ferraris are out. Both Mercs into the pits.
53/70: A safety car is called upon. Sainz and Albon involved in a spin.
Updated
52/70: To many mistakes from Russell? It looks that way.
51/70: Norris has a wobble again, and so does Russell. Verstappen is being handed this race.
Updated
50/70: Russell is able to overtake Norris.
Updated
49/70: Now Russell chases Norris while up ahead Verstappen is complaining about his suspension as he tries to stay away.
48/70: Norris pits, and then comes out first, and Verstappen speeds onwards to go back in front. His tyres are warmer and he goes four seconds clear.
47/70: Lando almost has a pit in hand on Verstappen here. The gap is 21 seconds. Nobody knows what the right tyres are.
Updated
46/70: Verstappen pits, so does Russell, and Norris goes into the lead. He stays out, rather than change his tyres.
45/70: Hamilton pits, and then does Carlos Sainz.
Charles Leclerc abandons
44/70: The second place driver, the Monaco winner, is out.
43/70: Russell complains he was delayed by Norris’s wobble.
42/70: Lando Norris has a wobble at a bend, and now has Piastri chasing him. Hamiltion is close to both of them.
41/70: Pierre Gasly into the pits and he takes on slicks. What will the rest of them try to do?
40/70: Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest lap as he gives chase to Piastri in fourth.
39/70: The sky is dry, but the track isn’t. The DRS is enabled. Norris is looking to overtake Russell again.
38/70: Sergio Perez and Magnussen doing battle over 15th and 16th.
37/70: The air has dried, and there will be no more rain this afternoon in Montreal.
36/70: Leclerc is set to be lapped.
35/70: Norris is giving chase to Russell and Verstappen, and he looks the best bet to unseat Verstappen.
34/70: Verstappen has taken full advantage of the safety car, with nine seconds ahead of George Russell.
33/70: Carlos Sainz and Valterri Bottas have an encounter, but all seems fine for now.
32/70: Alex Albon jumps to sixth with a supreme act of driving, taking out three places. Leclerc limps into the pits.
31/70: Here’s the rain, and Leclerc’s car is struggling on the slicks.
Safety car off
30/70 Verstappen sets off, and wants to double his lead on Russell. Here comes the rain.
Updated
29/70: Charles Leclerc comes in and it briefly appears the Ferrari’s race is done. The sky is gloomy now, and more rain is coming.
28/70: “What goes around, comes around,” says Christian Horner, a reference to a safety car helping Norris in a previous race.
27/70: Another lap of safety car fun.
26/70: Norris didn’t pit, the rest did. Russell almost steals a place in the pits on Verstappen. Logan Sargeant’s crash is causing problems. He’s in an awkward place and Norris gets time to find some intermediate tyres. Norris comes out third, just ahead of Piastri. Sargeant’s car is going nowhere.
25/70: Yellow flag: Logan Sargeant into the tyres. The pits ready themselves, but what to do about the tyres. Safety car it is.
24/70: The clouds are darkening. Norris continues to open up a lead on Verstappen.
23/70: Norris has the fastest lap and leads by four seconds. The McLaren team is flying. The battle for fifth and sixth is Alonso being followed by Hamilton.
Norris takes Verstappen, and Russell back to third
22/70: Norris hits the DRS, rounds Russell and then the Englishman brakes and Vertappen takes over as Russell wobbles as he has to make way.
21/70: Piastri is the quickest on the track, the McLaren cars flying.
Norris overtakes Verstappen!
20/70: They continue to give chase to Russell. Lando Norris wants to chase down Verstappen, whose braking is shaky, and DRS means Norris overtakes Verstappen.
19/70: Lando Norris got the fastest lap, and both he and Verstappen catch up Russell.
18/70: Verstappen wanted DRS but now it will be used by Norris in chasing him.
17/70: Verstappen failed to take a chicane, and his brakes locked up. Lando Noriis is the quickest on the track. Russell is up ahead and clear.
16/70: Hello, Max Verstappen has a spin…
15/70: The sun is out, and the temperature is 26 degrees. Norris is after Verstappen and Russell. Both drivers looking for water to cool the tyres.
14/70: Verstappen lies is wait for Russell, who sounds a tad panicky on the radio.
Updated
13/70: The chase is on for the front two. Rain shower coming in 20 seconds. Hulkenberg drops to 18th after his pit. His tyre experiment didn’t come off.
12/70: Max is flying and this time it’s Russell under fire. Hulkenberg is still on those tyres, and he’s slowing people down too. Ricciardo has been penalised five seconds for a false start. He’s in seventh.
11/70: Russell, Verstappen, Norris. That’s the podium as it stands.
10/70: Russell being told to cool his tyres to stay in front. The rain is next expected on the 33rd lap.
Updated
9/70: Perez and Gasly were the two to clash in that opening lap, and Perez is still way down the field. Perez can be no use to Verstappen when he’s there.
LAP 5/70
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9, 2024
The top three are as they started 👀
That Magnussen start though 🍿#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/lQuXisbRgD
Updated
8/70: Intermediate tyres for Kevin Magnussen but his pit are rather slow to serve him. He drops back after his early surge.
7/70: Hamilton in Alonso, in 6th and 7th, almost go close to each other but show their street smarts.
6/70: The inter tyres are now quicker than the wets, so let’s see some changes in the field. Logan Sargeant comes off at Turn 5, spins but is back up and running.
5/70: Leclerc, with problems in his engine, is in discussions with the radio. Russell and Verstappen are in front and keeping from trouble.
4/70: The rain is starting to slow down. The Nico Hulkenberg, on the same tyres as Magnussen, has come from 17th to seventh. Magnussen is lapping far quicker than Russell.
3/70: The mist coming off reminds of Japan 1976, James Hunt, Niki Lauda and all that. Magnussen is ahead of Piastri and in fourth. He’s having the time of his life. It was Gasly involved at the start in a slide, but all good, everyone’s back on.
2/70: Leclerc is back in 10th, Sainz drops back to 15th, and it could have been worse. The rain has come down now, and the track is deluged. Magnussen is up to sixth in those wet weather welles, and past Hamilton, and then fifth. Everyone else is skating around.
Away we go.....
They crawl away and Russell holds off Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton and Ricciardo look to clash before Hamilton goes clear to go up a place. There’s someone off the track at the first turn. Great stuff from Russell. Kevin Magnussen in his Haas, with wet tyres, makes progress. Carlos Sainz almost comes to grief.
Updated
The drivers are out of their coats and into the cars but a downpour is expected imminently. The parade lap takes place amid a swirl of mist from the cars. Some panic over the tyres among the drivers. The weather will add a further dimension.
Martin Brundle is on his pit walk, and much of the talk is of moisture.
It sounds like a rave out there on track, as the drivers get ready for the off. Rain is going to cause some trouble here.
It’s soggy out there.
The racing has already got underway! 😅 #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/b7UyIMJsGY
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9, 2024
It will all change in 2026 – with no DRS.
The Red Bull wobble that gives the rest hope.
Saturday’s events covered here.
Preamble
Mercedes on pole? It’s been a long wait, since 2022, for a Merc win, and George Russell, as he will do from next season, carries the flag. Max Verstappen was denied by having set the same time later so it’s not as if he’s off the pace despite a couple of doubts creeping in. Let’s see how we go in Montreal, where Mercedes feel in the ascendancy for the first time in a while, and Red Bull a little more doomy about prospects.
Starting grid:
1) George Russell
2) Max Verstappen
3) Lando Norris
4) Oscar Piastri
5) Daniel Ricciardo
6) Fernando Alonso
7) Lewis Hamilton
8) Yuki Tsunoda
9) Alex Albon
10) Lance Stroll
11) Charles Leclerc
12) Carlos Sainz
13) Logan Sargeant
14) Kevin Magnussen
15) Pierre Gasly
16) Sergio Perez
17) Valtteri Bottas
18) Nico Hulkenberg
19) Zhou Guanyu
20) Esteban Ocon*
