Ferrari arrived in Montreal expecting the Canadian Grand Prix to be one of those weekends where damage limitation would be the primary objective. Instead, by the end of the race, the Scuderia walked away with an impressive second-place finish thanks to a superb Lewis Hamilton drive, along with a fourth place for Charles Leclerc despite the Monegasque enduring a far more difficult weekend than usual.
Of course, weekends like these also require taking every opportunity that comes your way. The retirements of George Russell and Lando Norris certainly helped Ferrari’s final result, as did mistakes from the McLaren pit wall and issues for Oscar Piastri. But that does not take away from Lewis Hamilton’s remarkable race pace, with the seven-time world champion overcoming some of the SF-26’s limitations, hunting down Max Verstappen in the closing laps and securing a hugely valuable second-place finish.
Speaking to Sky Sport F1 after the race, Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur did not hide his satisfaction, admitting that Ferrari’s performance in Montreal had exceeded expectations.
“If I’m honest, we didn’t expect to be in such a strong position here in Montreal. Mercedes and McLaren brought major upgrade packages, and we expected to struggle a bit. However, from the very first day, our pace was better than anticipated, and even in qualifying Lewis Hamilton was able to fight for second place in both Q2 and Q3, which is the positive takeaway. Overall, the pace was good. In the end today, he had the opportunity to chase Max, he pushed like crazy, and eventually he made it happen.”
While Lewis Hamilton was unquestionably Ferrari’s standout performer, Charles Leclerc’s struggles throughout the weekend offered a stark contrast. Even so, his fourth-place finish represented far more than simple damage control.
“Charles Leclerc did not arrive in Canada with great confidence because he has struggled here in previous years as well. He found it very difficult to build the right confidence with the car, and even during the race today he had two or three significant moments of concern. The important thing is that he brought the car home and scored plenty of points.”
With Canada now behind them, Ferrari heads into two circuits that could present real opportunities, albeit for different reasons. First comes Monaco, a venue that Maranello may already have marked as a major target, with the SF-26 potentially capable of challenging for victory on a layout that suits different car characteristics.
After that comes Spain, where Ferrari could introduce significant upgrades, according to Frédéric Vasseur, as the team continues its aggressive development push.
“We’ll see what position the FIA takes in the coming days. Our focus now has to be Monaco, a very special circuit where a specific approach and a completely different kind of preparation will be required. Then we go to Spain. But we are pushing extremely hard at the factory to improve the car’s performance every single weekend, and we hope Spain will bring a major step forward.” – the French manager concluded.
Frederic Vasseur’s pragmatic post-race debrief therefore highlights a resilient Scuderia Ferrari squad that is successfully over-delivering during transitional phases of the development war. By weaponizing Lewis Hamilton’s aggressive tyre-management loops to snatch a late podium from Max Verstappen, the team secured a massive boost in the constructors’ standings while working through Charles Leclerc’s handling anomalies. As the focus shifts to the tight barriers of Monaco and the high-speed aero demands of Barcelona, maintaining this high level of operational flexibility remains paramount. If the Spanish upgrade package delivers the projected simulator metrics, Ferrari’s ability to consistently extract maximum points on their difficult weekends will ensure they remain a lethal, sustained threat at the absolute sharp end of the world championship.
Leave a Reply