The grid for the Canadian Grand Prix saw a number of changes after penalties were handed out to several drivers post Qualifying. Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda were all handed three-place demotions for incidents during the rain-soaked session at the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on Saturday.
Nico Hulkenberg had initially qualified second behind Max Verstappen, but he started fifth after being penalised for not slowing sufficiently when a red flag was put out for Oscar Piastri’s crash in Q3. As a result, Fernando Alonso began the Canadian Grand Prix on the front row alongside Max Verstappen while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell locked out the second row for Mercedes. Carlos Sainz unfortunately dropped from P8 to P11 after impeding Pierre Gasly at the final chicane in Q1, with Charles Leclerc starting the race from tenth place.
Overnight the FIA made alterations to the new barrier at Turn One after complaints by drivers. The barrier was installed for to prevent a situation where an out of control car could go off across the run-off area and hit a car on the exit of Turn Two. But the change meant that cars were having to take to the grass and make a right-turn back onto the circuit to go around the barrier, or U-turn back into oncoming traffic. The barrier was criticised by the Sky Sports F1 pundits and drivers after a number of run-offs over Friday and Saturday, and so for today’s race the final four metres of the barrier were removed.
After yesterday’s downpours, the sun was shining in Montreal today and it was set to be dry for the whole race. The FIA announced the risk of rain was just 10 per cent. The track temperature was climbing and before the race sat at 32*C with 15 minutes to go until lights out. But Friday evening and yesterday’s rain washed away any rubber that had been laid down so the drivers had to contend with a green track in the opening stages of this event.
We saw Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari car investigated by the mechanics just moments before the race start and lowered back to the track, but there were a few nerves in the Italian team’s garage as to whether that SF-23 was completely ready after damage was done to the floor. Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz said the Maranello team was still filling the engine with air just a few moments before the start. Surely the Monegasque has already had his share of bad luck for this Formula 1 season.
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The tyre blankets were off and the formation lap was about to get under way at the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. Most of the drivers were starting on the medium tyres, including Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The exceptions were Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas on the hard tyre, while Pierre Gasly was the only driver going for a soft-tyre start.
Max Verstappen got away well and comfortably held the lead, but Lewis Hamilton jumped Fernando Alonso up the inside at the first corner to take second. Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez were having a big battle for 11th place through the middle sector and it was the Ferrari driver who comes out on top going into the final chicane. The Spaniard clambered over the kerb at Turn 9, as Perez got ahead but the Ferrari was back in front at the end of the long straight approaching the penultimate corner. Kevin Magnussen was behind that battle between Carlos and Perez and had to take evasive action on the approach to the final corner to avoid going into the back of the Red Bull. He cut the final chicane and got back on track, but lost two places to Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll, dropping to P15.
There was a quick Virtual safety car as Logan Sargeant was told to stop the car at Turn 6 due to a “critical” issue and we were racing again. Fernando Alonso continued his attack on Lewis Hamilton while Charles Leclerc was pushing Lando Norris hard for eighth place.
George Russell then hit the wall and we had a full Safety Car: the British driver was trying to limp back to the pits and it was unclear whether he would be able to continue. It was a very busy pit lane as everyone pits including Verstappen, Hamilton and Alonso. Aston Martin had a slightly quicker pit stop than Mercedes and Hamilton was released into the path of Fernando Alonso! The pair nearly made contact.
Curiously, Ferrari decided not to pit Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who were now in fourth and fifth place. George Russell said over team radio after his crash that he was “out”, but Mercedes did some repairs and managed to get him back out on track. The safety car was coming in at the end of lap 16. Max Verstappen scampered away as he went for it out of the final chicane and pulled out five car lengths straight away. All calm behind him. The stewards confirmed that Lewis Hamilton was under investigation for that unsafe release, while Lando Norris was also under investigation for the same offence.
On lap 22, Fernando Alonso got second place back: he closed up on Lewis Hamilton on the approach to the final corner, and finally got past the Mercedes. The British driver attempted to fight back into Turn 1, but the Spaniard delivered some solid defence before beginning to pull clear. The Ferrari drivers were going along nicely, even though they didn’t pit, and Carlos Sainz said he felt he had “a bit of pace”. Charles Leclerc was 1.7s behind Hamilton, with Carlos within DRS range of his Maranello teammate.
Encouraging signs for Ferrari, as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz we’re setting good lap times on the medium tyres even after 30 laps. It would seem that the Maranello team made a solid step forward in terms of fixing its tyre wear issue. On lap 35, Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda collided: the pair brushed wheels at Turn 2, allowing George Russell to take advantage. Then, De Vries locked up at Turn 3 and took Magnussen with him. Both drivers reversed out of the run-off area but lost a lot of time. Unfortunately there was no Safety Car, which would have been great for Ferrari at this stage.
And in came Carlos Sainz for his first pit stop on lap 39: on went the hard tyres and Carlos Sainz emerged comfortably ahead of Alex Albon and Sergio Perez by five seconds. The following lap Charles Leclerc also made his tyre change and remained ahead of his Maranello teammate. The order from fourth was Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez just as they were before.
Lewis Hamilton was in from third place for another set of medium tyres. Aston Martin responded by bringing Fernando Alonso in. But, Alonso is on the hards, unlike Hamilton on the mediums. The Spaniard came out five seconds ahead of Hamilton. o surprise to see the Dutchman pit again. It was a 2.7s pit stop which sees the championship lead pit from the lead and stay in the lead by five seconds from Alonso.
We were all a bit bemused earlier when Ferrari decided not to pit either of their cars under the Safety Car, but the bold call appeared to have paid off. With the pit stops probably over barring a surprise shower, Charles Leclerc was fourth with team-mate Carlos Sainz just a place behind him in fifth. The only problem for them was Sergio Perez in sixth trying to track them down. Charles Leclerc was assured over radio that Carlos Sainz would not attempt to attack him.
Lewis Hamilton was still gaining on Fernando Alonso. The gap was below two seconds with 13 laps to the end and were in for an exciting finale here.
Another weekend, another brilliant performance from Max Verstappen. Red Bull have their 100th win in Formula 1, and Verstappen draws level with Ayrton Senna on 41 victories. Fernando Alonso came home in second, while Lewis Hamilton made it two podiums in the last two races.
P4 and P5 for Scuderia Ferrari at the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on a positive Sunday for the Maranello team. Hopefully the Maranello team can carry this pace on for next races to come and hopefully the good tyre wear is not specific just for this track.
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