Canada. I genuinely don’t know where to start.
This is the race you tell your non F1 friends about.
With the rain lashing down, we’ve got 18 drivers on inters and the 2 Haas drivers on full wets. Lights go out and the drivers crawl away – spray everywhere, absolutely no grip and zero visibility. The wet tyres are an immediate winner – Magnussen and Hulkenberg sail across the puddle-filled track, with Magnussen taking P4 from Piastri in Lap 3, having started P14, and Hulkenberg leading the midfield at P7. Their success is short-lived as the rain clears up and the inters get to work. Both Haas cars relinquish their early advantage and pit, having caused sufficient carnage up at the top.
Let’s talk about the Top 3. Russell and Verstappen set identical qualifying laps, with Russell’s earlier lap time awarding him pole. Norris follows in P3, but not for long. Lap 20 he overtakes Verstappen for P2, before moving straight onto Russell and nabbing P1 in Lap 21. Then we have a safety car in Lap 25 (Sargeant meets a barrier). Norris gets unlucky and misses the first pit opportunity, so comes out behind Verstappen and Russell. There’s another round of pits, and while Verstappen and Russell dive in at Lap 45, Norris stays out for a couple of extra speedy laps out in front, giving him a gap to pit and jump up to P2 as he rejoins the track. A sneaky overtake from Russell gives him P2, but Norris retaliates and retakes the position. Meanwhile, Verstappen is on the radio concerned about his suspension – the Canadian kerbs are aggressive and wreak havoc with Red Bull’s set up. Nevertheless, it’s another win for Red Bull, and a well fought P2 Norris and P3 Russell.
I’m exhausted just writing this.
Anyway, let’s turn to the teammates of the Top 3. Red Bull has yet more damage on their hands thanks to Perez’s Lap 53 slide – he manages to crawl into the pits but his rear wing is rather wonky. His car is retired. Again. McLaren have a solid race, with Piastri coming in at P5 – having at one point been asked by his team if he could chase down Verstappen for P1. He is narrowly beaten by the 2 Mercedes, whose last-minute tyre changes give them a handy advantage in the closing laps of the race. Russell challenges Piastri in Lap 64 – making brief contact before his teammate Hamilton sneaks ahead of both of them. Russell replies and Hamilton has to settle for P4.
5 cars do not finish the race, with 4 of them belonging to Ferrari and Williams. Leclerc has engine issues from the get go, in Lap 28 it looks as if his 47 second pit stop sees him reset the car, but by Lap 43 he is instructed to retire. Sainz has a big slide in Lap 54, taking Albon with him – both having to retire their cars. He joins his teammate Sargeant who retires in Lap 25, following a barrier hit.
Midfield is competitive right to the chequered flag, with Aston Martin leading - Alonso takes P6 and Stroll P7. Ricciardo manages P8, despite a 5 second penalty for his false start, while his teammate Tsunoda finishes down at P14. Both Alpines nab points – Gasly at P9 and Ocon at P10, followed by the 2 Haas cars with Hulkenberg P11 and Magnussen P12. Sauber sandwich Tsunoda as Bottas takes P13 and Zhou P15.
An eventful race, and perhaps one to forget for a couple of teams.