George Russell’s title campaign takes a major hit
It’s gone from bad to worse for George Russell since his Australia win. Ahead of Montreal, Kimi Antonelli had won three races in a row — and in Miami Russell himself clearly struggled, allowing the gap to grow to 20 points. A gap, he said ahead of the Montreal weekend, doesn’t worry him that much.
“There’s really no need to panic at all. And as we said, we’re four races down, 18 at least to go,” he noted. “And I actually look back on my F2 season, which is obviously the last time I fought for a championship, and I was P6 after four races in F2 and about 35 points down. So, at this point it means nothing.”
Well, now that gap has doubled.
And it’s not the only reason to be worried. That young Italian George is sharing a garage with seems like a good kid — but he’s definitely a completely different driver to the version of himself a year ago. A lot fewer mistakes, always on the pace, and showing absolutely no signs of being shy on track.
George Russell’s DNF in Canada is Mercedes’ first of the year
Photo by: Mario Renzi / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Canada showed Antonelli isn’t going to back off if he feels he’s faster and has a chance to attack his team-mate. And it’s not too often that he’s slower…
– Oleg Karpov
Hamilton ditches the sim and delivers his best Ferrari result
Lewis Hamilton said after the Miami Grand Prix that he would not use the simulator to prepare for Canada, and the move appeared to pay off.
The seven-time world champion had recently been outperformed by Charles Leclerc, but in Montreal – historically one of Hamilton’s strongest tracks, as evidenced by his seven victories there – he managed to beat his team-mate in sprint qualifying and would likely have finished ahead in Saturday’s race too had it not been for contact with the Wall of Champions.
Hamilton then outqualified Leclerc again in main qualifying and converted that pace into a second-place finish on Sunday, overtaking Max Verstappen on track to secure his best result since joining Ferrari last season.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Hamilton’s two podium finishes with the Scuderia have come in China and Canada, two of his strongest venues. The next challenge will be to show he can replicate that form elsewhere.
Monaco, traditionally one of Leclerc’s strongest circuits, should provide an interesting test.
– Federico Faturos
Despite Verstappen’s complaints, Red Bull is making progress
Verstappen was far from pleased after qualifying on Saturday. Speaking to Dutch media in the paddock, he revealed that Red Bull had not listened to his set-up feedback and that the team now finally sees that the direction it chose had not worked.
Laurent Mekies had already clarified over the team radio that Saturday was certainly “painful”, but that it had provided his team with “an important data point”. After all, learning what doesn’t work is just as much part of the learning process with a new car as finding out what does.
On Sunday, the situation did not prove so disastrous after all. Admittedly, Russell and the McLarens would probably have been ahead of Red Bull on outright pace, but the picture is undeniably a lot more encouraging than it was during the opening races of the season. The Miami upgrade package has also shown some cautiously positive signs in Montreal.
Does that mean Red Bull is back? No, not quite. There are still crucial areas that require improvement, such as the car’s ride over bumps and kerbs. But Red Bull is no longer stuck in no man’s land, as it was before the April break.
– Ronald Vording
McLaren gamble didn’t pay off
McLaren decided to start the race on intermediate tyres on a track that was only partially wet — and the gamble failed spectacularly. Lando Norris led out of Turn 1, but quickly had to pit to switch to slicks, and by Lap 5 both papaya cars were already down in 14th and 15th.
Then Oscar Piastri collided with Alex Albon, while Norris suffered a reliability issue that would later force him to retire. But all of that came after the wrong decision at the start.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
McLaren keeps improving its car in an attempt to catch Mercedes — and it looks like it’s working. Despite Mercedes bringing upgrades of its own to Montreal, McLaren still looked competitive at one of the strongest tracks for the Silver Arrows.
Yet Andrea Stella’s team keeps losing points, and that’s making it increasingly unlikely it will be able to defend even one of its titles.
– Jose Carlos de Celis
Montreal rarely disappoints
The battle between the two Mercedes drivers shaped the opening 30 laps of the Canadian Grand Prix and provided plenty of entertainment, but one factor should not be overlooked: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve itself.
The layout in Montreal is perfectly suited to this kind of racing. It is no coincidence that we have witnessed some of F1’s most unpredictable races here. The track on the beautiful Ile Notre-Dame offers very little grip, places the walls close to the circuit (meaning mistakes are punished, as it should be), and the weather is almost always a variable as well.
Montreal is always one of the highlights of the F1 season
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
The rain never really materialized, but even without that the racing proved entertaining. The layout means drivers – especially this weekend – struggle with tyre temperatures, slide around even more than usual, and the succession of chicanes lends itself to excellent wheel-to-wheel battles.
Moreover, Montreal offers the best of both worlds: a race in a major city, which F1 values from a commercial perspective, while still being a proper track that appeals to the sport’s most diehard fans.
– Ronald Vording
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