Max Verstappen wins the Canadian GP. For the fans who haven’t been following F1 for the last month or so, that might sound ominous, but given the result in the last 3 races, the Canadian GP was anything but ominous. Mercedes, McLaren, and Red Bull are all fighting for the win with Ferrari’s nowhere to be seen. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand looked like he would challenge for a podium but was in the end left frustrated as he ignored Toto Wolff’s post-race consolation.
The 7X champ has a great record around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve being the joint holder for the record of most wins around the track. Hamilton had never qualified outside the Top 5 at Montreal but that changed yesterday after his teammate took pole and he was left in P7, albeit just a few tenths shy of Russell. The race started and Hamilton showed his pace sticking on to Alonso’s gearbox but unable to overtake in the tricky conditions.
After the first safety car, he came out ahead of Alonso from the pits and was then involved in the fight for the lead with Verstappen, Norris, Russell, and Piastri. Soon the track dried and all the top runners eventually pitted over the duration of 5 laps, still close to each other and in for a race win. Hamilton was on the medium like all the others in the Top 5 except for Russell, who was on hards.
audio for this ~ after toto says it you can see lewis just shake his head. no response back on the radio. https://t.co/ULdHe9pv1I pic.twitter.com/ljA7oXS4ZZ
— sim (@sim3744) June 9, 2024
The second safety car came out with about 15 laps left in the race, and Hamilton who had a buffer to Alonso in P6 pitted for fresh rubber. Unfortunately, he was put on the hard tires while Russell ahead pitted onto the medium. Having the tire advantage, Mercedes was expected to hunt down the Top 3 but a mistake from Russell put him on the backfoot and allowed Hamilton to overtake.
Hamilton and Russell then overtook Piastri. The 7X champ was in the podium spot at this point but was overtaken by his teammate, in a very dangerous manner by going onto the wet line towards the final chicane. Hamilton didn’t want to pit for the hards but was still asked to pit during the second safety car. Arguably, the hard tires did cost him a possible podium in the end.
Having a miraculous record around Montreal, Hamilton would’ve at least expected the podium given the pace Mercedes had. After the chequered flag, the downbeat Hamilton was radioed by Toto Wolff who had words of consolation for the 7X champ as he said, “Lewis, the positive is the car is back in performance. And we get on from here.” Hamilton was downbeat and did not reply to the message and was seen shaking his head in disapproval.
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