Canadian Grand Prix: F1 Race Results

After a Titanic battle for pole position who took the spoils in Montreal?

James Phillips 7 min read

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The Canadian Grand Prix became a race of strategy and attrition, with the victor pushing hard to the chequered flag.

Canadian Grand Prix: F1 Race Results (Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool/Getty Images)
Canadian Grand Prix: F1 Race Results (Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool/Getty Images)
Pre-race

After a dramatic qualifying session, anticipation built in the lead-up to the Canadian Grand Prix. A downpour as the cars arrived on the grid before the pre-race ceremony threw further uncertainty into an already exciting afternoon.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen pulled out a spectacular lap to join pole-sitter George Russell on the front row. Mercedes’ fortunes have reversed spectacularly since the introduction of its new innovative front wing. Russell said he was realistically targeting his first win since Brazil 2022.

For the first time since 1997, two drivers set an identical pole position lap time down to one-thousandth of a second. The top five were covered by one-tenth of a second, with four different teams.

By stark contrast, Ferrari was gloomy ahead of the race, just two weeks after its Monaco triumph. Both drivers were eliminated in Q2 after the team ran out of new soft tyres and were forced to complete their final laps on used sets.

Following an understated national anthem, the drivers prepared for one of the year’s most popular races. Esteban Ocon’s trying weekend continued as his car developed an issue before the formation. His team worked down to the last seconds to repair the car. The two Saubers opted to start from the pit lane following a poor qualifying.

The two Haas cars opted to start on full wet tyres, while the rest of the field chose intermediates. With light rain still falling as the cars finished the formation lap, who would avoid the famed Wall of Champions to take victory in changeable conditions?

Lights out and wet-to-dry tyre games

Russell nailed his start and led the field into the first corner, Verstappen snapping at his heels. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were the primary movers, as the field all navigated the first corner without incident.

Charles Leclerc ran wide into the hairpin while teammate Sainz went straight on at the final corner. The RBs also suffered at the start, with Ricciardo and Tsunoda losing positions.

Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly collided at the first corner, but the stewards decided no investigation was necessary, both drivers continued.

Haas’s gamble on the wet weather tyre looked to have paid off as Hulkenberg and Magnussen began moving up the order. Magnussen moved into P5 by the end of lap 3, the Dane enjoying grip the rest of the field did not have.

The wet tyres performed well as the sun came through the clouds. Hulkenberg, having started down in P17, took P7 from Russell at the start of lap 6. Magnussen’s lightning pace saw him set the fastest lap, then start to fall back as the track began to dry.

Leclerc’s trying weekend took a further turn for the worse on lap 5, as Ferrari confirmed an issue with his engine. Logan Sargeant hit the barrier but was able to continue.

Magnussen dived into the pits on lap 8 for a nightmare 8.6-second stop. Fitting intermediate tyres, the hard work of the opening lap was all undone by the unprepared pit crew. Hulkenberg opted to stay out but slowed to over three seconds off the leading pace as a dry line started to appear.

A large train formed behind the Haas, as Daniel Ricciardo became the first to pass the German but then was awarded a five-second time penalty for a false start. Hulkenberg finally pitted for intermediate tyres on lap 12.

Battle for the lead intensifies

With Russell being told to cool his tyres, Verstappen rapidly closed on the leader but could not pass the Mercedes. Lando Norris, back in P3, also began to close on the top two as Russell and Verstappen’s pace dropped off to cool tyres.

More rain was expected, and the teams were still determining whether to pit for slick tyres or wait for the next downpour to arrive. Half of the track was wet, the other half dry.

Verstappen felt the pressure, running wide into the first corner on lap 17, allowing Norris to close onto the Red Bull’s gearbox. Race control enabled DRS on lap 18, but Norris was now stuck behind Verstappen, the conditions making passing difficult. Both were honing in on Russell’s Mercedes.

Norris took P2 on lap 20 and looked to replicate the move to take the lead from Russell, passing him on the back straight. Russell ran wide at the final corner, almost colliding with Verstappen as he rejoined. Norris then pulled out a six-second lead in just four laps.

Further back, Alex Albon’s Williams passed Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari now firmly out of the points. Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were also engaged in a tight battle for P5. The two eldest drivers on the grid fought hard but fair, with Alonso’s Aston Martin having the advantage.

Safety Car and more rain

Logan Sargeant’s difficult afternoon ended with a spin at turn three, bringing out the Safety Car. Norris’s large gap meant he missed the chance to pit as his competitors pit for new intermediate tyres. He pitted at the end of the next lap, fitting intermediate tyres, but now down in P3.

Esteban Ocon’s Alpine was the big winner from the Safety Car pit stops, moving into P9 after his nightmare start. Hamilton got his Mercedes past Alonso by timing his pit stop to perfection. Leclerc pitted for a lengthy pit stop to perform resets on his engine software, rejoining on dry tyres in a gamble.

The Safety Car pulled in at the end of Lap 29 just as the next spell of rain arrived. Leclerc’s gamble did not pay off, his Ferrari skating across turn one. Realising their error, Leclerc pitted on lap 32 for new intermediate tyres.

Down the order, Alex Albon passed two cars in one corner, moving past Daniel Ricciardo on the back straight, then dispatching Ocon’s Alpine in the final corner. Carlos Sainz braked too late into the hairpin and rear-ended the Sauber of Valtteri Bottas. Both were able to continue.

The top four managed the pace of their tyres, targeting long stints. Leclerc’s miserable afternoon was compounded on lap 37 as the leaders lapped the Ferrari. The second Red Bull of Sergio Perez struggled to make an impression, passing Magnussen for a lowly P15.

Racing to the dry line

DRS was enabled again on lap 40, as a dry racing line appeared on the circuit. Teams now faced the earlier dilemma of when to pit for dry tyres once again. Gasly became the guinea pig, pitting for hard compound tyres on lap 41.

The front runners did not join the Frenchman in gambling, all deciding more time was needed for a dry line. Norris’s intermediate tyres locked into turn one, the British driver being able to rejoin without losing a place. Charles Leclerc’s race ended, and Ferrari chose to retire the car.

Hamilton dived into the pit on lap 44, choosing to gamble on medium tyres. Race leader Max Verstappen and Russell opted to pit a lap later, responding to Hamilton, Verstappen on mediums, Russell on hards.

Norris chose to continue but was now under investigation by the stewards for leaving the track and gaining an advantage from his earlier excursion. Setting the fastest lap, Norris was attempting an overcut on Verstappen. Pitting at the end of lap 47, Norris fitted medium tyres.

Although Norris exited ahead of Verstappen, he lost the lead to the Dutchman thanks to his cold tyres on his way out of the pits. Surviving the first lap, he locked up into the hairpin, allowing Russell’s Mercedes past. But Russell hit a kerb two laps later, allowing Norris to retake P2.

Ferrari’s terrible race causes Safety Car

With twenty laps to go, it transpired all was not well with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman complained of suspension issues, needing to stay off the kerbs.

Sergio Perez’s terrible afternoon ended by hitting the barrier, severely damaging his rear wing. Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz also collided. Sainz performed a spin on the grass and rejoined while Albon’s (and Williams’) afternoon came to a disappointing end. Ferrari’s afternoon came to a dismal end when the team opted to retire Sainz.

The subsequent safety car saw a flurry of activity in the pits. Russell and Hamilton both pitted for medium tyres. Losing track position, both Mercedes cars now had fresh tyres and a chance to use them.

A dramatic finale

The Safety Car peeled into the pits on lap 58, with a 12-lap sprint to the flag. Verstappen sprinted off to fend off the assault from the McLarens and Mercedes cars. By the time the cars completed the lap, Verstappen was almost two seconds clear of Norris and Oscar Piastri.

With ten laps to go, the Mercedes’ fresh tyres began to find pace, and Russell started to close on Piastri, setting the final lap in the process. Russell attempted to pass Piastri going into the final corner, but the McLaren remained ahead.

He tried again on the next lap, but he and Piastri lightly touched. Russell took to the escape road, losing a position to his teammate. Hamilton set the fastest lap, steaming past Piastri. Russell finally passed the McLaren on lap 67.

In the battle for the lower points, the RBs of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were struggling on their tyres, locked in a tight battle with the Alpine cars. Tsunoda dropped out of the fight, running wide and nearly taking himself out of the race.

Russell and Hamilton engaged in a fierce battle in the closing laps. Russell dived down the inside, going to the final corner, taking P3. Hamilton tried to retake the position but ultimately. had to concede defeat.

Max Verstappen took victory from Norris, Hamilton completing the podium. Russell finished P4, Piastri P5. The Aston Martins of Alonso and Stroll finished P6 and P7, with Ricciardo, Gasly and Ocon completing the top ten.

Classification

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Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool/Getty Images

 

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