Lewis Hamilton’s relentless Max Verstappen chase earns praise from Fred Vasseur after Canada podium. Frederic Vasseur praises Lewis Hamilton after Ferrari’s strongest Grand Prix result.

Ferrari secures its best Grand Prix result of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Canada

Best Ferrari Grand Prix result so far for Lewis Hamilton

“Thank you, everyone!” Lewis Hamilton celebrated in Italian over the team radio after securing second place at the Canadian Grand Prix, a result that marked the seven-time Formula 1 world champion’s best Grand Prix finish since joining Ferrari, as well as the strongest overall Grand Prix result for the Scuderia so far in the 2026 season.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur reflected on the race in an interview with Sky, openly admitting that the outcome exceeded the team’s expectations after a weekend in which several key events shaped the final result, including McLaren’s dramatic collapse and George Russell’s technical retirement.

“If I’m honest, we didn’t expect to be in such a strong position here in Montreal,” Frederic Vasseur said. “McLaren and Mercedes brought major upgrade packages, so we expected to struggle a bit. But at the same time, Lewis Hamilton had the pace to fight for the front row in both qualifying sessions.”

Frederic Vasseur also highlighted Lewis Hamilton’s late-race determination, pointing to the British driver’s pursuit of Max Verstappen as a defining moment in Ferrari’s Canadian Grand Prix performance.

“In the end, he also had extra motivation because he had Max Verstappen ahead to chase down. He pushed like crazy, and he managed to do it,” Frederic Vasseur added.

After collecting a valuable haul of points in Montreal, Ferrari can now head into the upcoming rounds with growing confidence, encouraged by what was clearly its most competitive Grand Prix weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign so far.

Frederic Vasseur’s post-race analysis therefore highlights the massive psychological and technical boost that Lewis Hamilton’s second-place finish delivers to the entire Scuderia Ferrari organization. By exceeding initial factory simulations and capitalizing flawlessly on the operational errors of their immediate rivals, the team has proven they can extract premium results even when facing a temporary aerodynamic upgrade deficit. The Briton’s relentless drive to hunt down and overtake Max Verstappen in the final laps perfectly illustrates the elite racing mindset that Maranello secured for their 2026 campaign. As the championship caravan shifts back toward Europe, maintaining this level of operational agility and tactical execution will be vital. If the engineering department can successfully layer upcoming performance updates onto this resilient baseline, Ferrari will remain a persistent thorn in the side of the championship leaders.