Canadian GP, Hamilton: a second place that removes every doubt
A brilliant second place in Montreal for Lewis Hamilton, who secured his best result so far in a Ferrari car. It was a performance that capped off a very strong weekend for the British driver, who remained consistently inside the top three throughout the Canadian Grand Prix.
This result is unquestionably positive and effectively puts an end to rumours and speculation about a possible retirement that had circulated in the two weeks leading up to the race. It is a milestone that clearly reflects the hard work carried out with the engineers, as Hamilton himself explained during Thursday’s press conference, but above all it represents an early answer to many of the questions left open by the 2025 season.
In Canada, Ferrari showed a completely different behaviour compared to Miami, a track that in some ways had been more suited to the SF-26 philosophy. In Montréal, however, on a circuit that suited the Mercedes power unit more closely, Hamilton was still able to make the difference.
Ferrari did not come alive in the opening phase of the race, partly due to the red soft tyre struggling to extract performance from both drivers. Everything changed after the pit stop and the switch to the medium compound: that is when the Scuderia truly came to life, allowing its drivers to close in on the Red Bulls. Lewis Hamilton eventually caught Max Verstappen, moved up into second place and secured another podium finish in the 2026 season.
Canadian GP, Hamilton: “An encouraging result”
Once out of the car, Lewis Hamilton appeared smiling and relaxed, with the clear feeling of having achieved something meaningful. Before giving his usual media interviews, he immediately went over to the mechanics to thank them for their outstanding work.
Speaking to Heikki Kovalainen on F1TV, the seven-time world champion began by showing appreciation to the Ferrari team:
“First of all I have to say a huge thank you to my team: these guys have welcomed me with open arms. It’s been a very tough year for me, my first one, and to find such a strong weekend right here is fantastic.”
He continued: “And on top of that, it feels amazing to be back on the podium, especially against these guys who are incredibly fast. I also had a great battle with Max. We have an amazing crowd here, so thank you very much to everyone. I’m really happy, I love this track and I can’t wait to come back.”
He then moved on to analysing Ferrari’s performance: “Definitely it’s extremely encouraging. If we look at this weekend, Mercedes brought a big upgrade package. Many teams brought updates here, while we brought one major upgrade in Miami.”
These comments are important, as they not only highlight the effectiveness of Ferrari’s upgrades, but also underline that the car is still trailing its rivals despite their technical developments. “The team is working extremely hard back at the factory and we hope more parts will come along the way,” Hamilton added.
He concluded: “Considering this is usually a track where we struggle, the fact we managed to get such a strong result gives me a lot of motivation and hope for the races ahead. But we need to keep pushing and extract even more from our potential.”
Canadian GP, Hamilton: Ferrari’s goal is crystal clear
Later on, Hamilton also spoke to Sky Sport. With the emotion of the moment settled, he was able to analyse the race in a more composed and realistic way.
He immediately highlighted the gap to Mercedes, stating: “We would never have been able to catch the Mercedes today, they were too fast. We kept their pace for a while, but then they pulled away from both me and Max. When I was in third, maybe the battle would have been a bit easier if I had stayed closer to Max; then I had a lock-up, went straight on, and had to work really hard to close the gap again.”
He also took time to praise the team’s work and congratulated Kimi Antonelli for securing his fourth consecutive career victory. Hamilton also acknowledged his former team Mercedes, saying that if Ferrari cannot win, he is happy when they do — but the goal remains unchanged.
“I want to bring my current team back to the top, because I think this team has gone through many difficult years and deserves to fight for victories again. That’s why I’m working as hard as I can together with Fred, who is doing a fantastic job as team leader, with our engineers and everyone back at the factory.”
He concluded with a message that sums up his ambitions for the rest of the season: “It’s a long process to make progress, but if we were able to achieve this result on a power-sensitive track, then I think on circuits where power matters less we can do even better.”
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