Max Verstappen wins a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix with Lando Norris in P2 and pole-sitter George Russell in P3. Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri rounded out your top five in what was the race of the season so far.
Racing is back. Max Verstappen wins a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix with Lando Norris placing second and pole-sitter George Russell placing third. The race finished with neither a Ferrari driver nor a Williams driver remaining on the grid. Verstappen’s teammate joined them.
Lap 1-10
Magnussen and Hülkenberg started on full wet tyres, while every other driver opted for intermediates. This choice could prove wise. Some drivers reported during the warm-up lap that they would need extreme wet tyres if the rain intensified.
The lights went out, and the race began. The drivers crawled away from the grid, but each got going safely despite the weather. George Russell made a perfect start, retaining his P1 position ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Daniel Ricciardo dropped to seventh behind Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Carlos Sainz had a horrible start, cutting the final chicane and ending the opening lap in P15.
Heavy rain arrived on Lap 2, which worked perfectly for Haas. Magnussen and Hülkenberg had the grip they needed, with Magnussen flying up to fourth place.
By Lap 5, the rain began to ease. Magnussen still sat in fourth and was 1.6 seconds faster than Russell in the lead. On the next lap, the intermediate tyres started improving in pace, ending Haas’ charge to the top.
Elsewhere on Lap 6, Charles Leclerc reported an issue with his engine to Ferrari. This was not what the Monegasque driver wanted after his race win in Monaco. The Italian team confirmed they were investigating, but instructed him to continue pushing.
Logan Sargeant had a good weekend until Lap 7, when he went off at Turn 6 and hit the barrier. He reversed out and continued with a small amount damage but fell to P20.
The sun came out on Lap 8. Intermediate tyres became the optimal choice, so Magnussen dived into the pits and re-joined the race in P13. The pit stop was slow because the team was unprepared for him, ruining his hard work from the beginning.
On Lap 10, the stewards noted Ricciardo for a potential false start. This was not what the Australian wanted on a weekend, he aimed to silence his critics.
Lap 11-20
On Lap 11, Russell started to be caught up by Verstappen, with just 1.1 seconds between them. The pair were nine seconds ahead of Norris in third.
Ricciardo was under investigation for a potential false start and received a five-second time penalty for it.
Hülkenberg could not make his wet tyres last beyond Lap 12. Ricciardo and hometown hero Lance Stroll passed the Haas driver on what was a seven-car train. Hülkenberg then soon pitted for a set of intermediates and re-joined in P19.
By Lap 15, both Russell and Verstappen began to slow, allowing a rapid Norris to catch up. The gap went from eight seconds to four in just a few laps. On Lap 17, Verstappen locked a brake and cut the second corner, losing two seconds to Russell and ending up eight-tenths of a second ahead of Norris.
By Lap 20, Verstappen and Norris were quickly catching up to Russell. Russell no longer looked quick enough to win.
Lap 21-30
On Lap 21, Norris used DRS to overtake Verstappen. McLaren had the fastest car on the grid. Shortly after, Norris overtook Russell for the race lead. The Mercedes driver’s pace worsened dramatically. Russell then cut the chicane, allowing Verstappen to capitalise on his mistake and pass him. Norris led from Verstappen, with Russell dropping to P3.
By Lap 23, Norris was in a league of his own, leading Verstappen by five seconds.
Safety Car – Lap 26
Sargeant crashed at Turn 4 and could not restart his car, triggering the first safety car of the race. Norris opted not to pit while everyone behind him did for new intermediates.
A lap later, Norris pitted after everyone else and re-joined in third. Verstappen now led the race and was told, “What goes around comes around,” referencing the safety car incident in Miami that had helped him win his first race in America.
Hamilton managed to overtake Alonso during their pit stops and moved up to P5. His future teammate Leclerc gambled with a pit stop for a set of hard tyres, coming out in 19th in a move he was not happy with.
Verstappen restarted the race and got it safely back underway in P1.
Lap 31-40
The rain quickly intensified, and DRS was disabled. Alex Albon used this to his advantage, overtaking both Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon in the braking zone for the final chicane. He moved up to P9, earning a points position for Williams.
The dry line disappeared as the rain intensified. Leclerc was forced to pit to swap the hard compound for intermediates, marking a tough race for him. Elsewhere, his teammate Sainz lost part of his front wing after light contact with Bottas.
By Lap 36, a dry line began to appear around most of the track, but it did not improve Leclerc’s race. The top five lapped the Ferrari driver.
Lap 41-50
Verstappen led Russell by over two seconds while his Mercedes teammate Hamilton was on the charge, right on the gearbox of Piastri for the fourth.
Alpine took a gamble with Gasly, who pitted for a set of hard tyres.
On Lap 42, Norris locked up and cut the first two corners, losing significant time to Russell. Piastri and Hamilton were right behind him. By Lap 43, Verstappen extended his lead to 3.5 seconds.
With a horrible end to his weekend, Leclerc was called into the pits on Lap 44 to retire, a devastating blow for a driver already 31 points behind Verstappen. Hamilton took a gamble and pitted for a set of medium tyres, hoping to make a pivotal move.
A lap later, Piastri pitted for medium tyres as well, while Verstappen and Russell pitted for slick tyres. Norris did not pit. Mercedes got it wrong with Hamilton, as he remained behind Piastri.
Between Laps 46 and 48, Norris was put under investigation for re-joining the circuit unsafely after cutting the first two corners earlier. He then pitted and lost the race lead to Verstappen. Fortunately for Norris, he received no penalty.
Verstappen led, but all was not well with his RB20. He reported that his ride was “very bad” and that touching the kerbs could knock him out, a potentially detrimental issue for the Dutchman.
Lap 51-60
Russell had a big moment and made a mistake, losing second place to Norris. His error allowed Verstappen to extend his lead to 5.5 seconds.
On Lap 53, Pérez hit the wall, causing his rear wing to hang off the back of his car. He limped back to the pits to retire but left parts of his rear wing on the circuit.
Lap 54 – Safety Car #2
The action intensified further on Lap 54. Albon crashed into the wall on the exit of Turn 6, while Sainz spun on the inside of the corner. Both drivers were forced to retire, leaving neither Ferrari nor Williams with a driver on the grid.
LAP 56/70
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9, 2024
❌ DRIVERS OUT SO FAR ❌
Sainz 📸
Albon
Perez 📸
Leclerc
Sargeant#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/FP9X3Q1wuw
Russell pitted from third and re-joined in fourth, while Hamilton pitted from fifth and remained there. This could have been significant for Mercedes, as they now had the freshest tyres until the end of the race.
The race restarted on Lap 59. Verstappen had a stunning restart and led by 1.5 seconds from Norris. However, it was not all good news for Red Bull. It was confirmed that Pérez would be investigated after the race for returning to the pits with his rear wing hanging off.
Lap 60-70
Verstappen led by two seconds. However, Russell’s new tyres were working well, and he was right behind Piastri in the fight for third. On Lap 64, Piastri and Russell made contact at the final corner. The Mercedes driver bounced over the kerb and took to the escape route. This hard but fair racing dropped Russell to fifth and promoted Hamilton to fourth, who now had DRS on Piastri.
With the help of DRS, Hamilton overtook Piastri for third and set the fastest lap of the season. The seven-time World Champion looked impressive.
Following the contact between Russell and Piastri, the pair were placed under investigation. Two laps later, Russell overtook Piastri for fourth, and Tsunoda spun out of ninth place.
There was a battle for P3 between the Mercedes drivers. Hamilton did not have the pace to catch Norris in P2, nor did he have the pace to prevent Russell from diving down the inside of him. Russell overtook for third place, having started on pole.
Max Verstappen wins a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix
Verstappen led by 3.3 seconds ahead of Norris in P2 and Russell in P3 to win the Canadian Grand Prix. What a race.
Back on top 💪#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/FSvzZj0arn
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9, 2024
Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
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