Raceday Recap: Mercedes Mania in Montreal!
The F1 circus arrived in Montreal this weekend for the fifth round on the calendar, putting on a show described by commentator Crofty as “Drive to Survive, but live.” As Mercedes begin to look more and more like their old team circa 2016, the drama is high and the excitement even higher. Let’s debrief everything that happened this weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix!
George Russell won the sprint race on Saturday in the last few turns, with a predictable lineup of Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli joining him on the sprint podium. The sprint race saw dramatic lockups and contact between the two Mercedes drivers, and their arguing over who was in the wrong was the news highlight of the weekend by far. During qualifying sessions, tensions only increased as Russell took pole, while Antonelli started the race from P2 on the grid. Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri occupied the second row for a decent showing from last year’s Constructor’s Champion. Lewis Hamilton qualified 5th, followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in P6 and Isack Hadjar starting from P7. Charles Leclerc qualified in 8th, with Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto completing the esteemed group of drivers that made it into Q3 on Saturday.
All smiles on the sprint podium even after a CRAZY sprint race! Photo courtesy of Race Fans.
The formation lap showed a wide variety of tire choice across drivers, from softs to mediums and even to intermediates to adapt to the weather. Just as the lights were about to go out, Lindblad radioed in that his car wouldn't go into gear, signaling an additional formation lap and his heartbreaking retirement from the race. Then, there was an issue with the lights - viewers had deja vu as a third formation lap was called! Finally, the race began and Norris shot up to the race lead after an incredible start due to his immediate grip, but then was called into the pits, proving that intermediate tires may not have been the move. Antonelli took the lead after Norris pitted, with Russell and Hamilton completing the top 3 on lap 2. On lap 6, Russell made an extremely risky move to steal the lead from Antonelli, almost causing a collision in the process. Verstappen overtook Hamilton in Turn 1 of lap 9, taking 3rd place as Hamilton complained to his team about having no power. Pierre Gasly passed Ollie Bearman for P9 but was then passed himself by Norris, still in the points. On lap 12, Antonelli and Russell sparred for first, with Russell keeping the position into the chicane and holding on to it nervously through lap 13. A track hazard brought out the yellow flag, which was caused by damage to Alex Albon’s car that led Piastri to pit for a new front wing and also forced the Williams to retire on lap 14. Piastri received a 10 second time penalty for the incident. Norris was called in to box again on lap 16 for “a reliability problem,” according to his race engineer. The Mercedes drivers went side by side for the majority of laps 17 and 18, with Russell still coming out in front - until lap 23 when Antonelli reclaimed the lead, held it for one lap, and then lost it to Russell yet again!
On lap 30, Russell veered off the track, allowing Antonelli to claim P1. Raging, Russell climbed out of the car and was forced to retire from the race after an unimaginable battle for first, creating an even greater gap in the WDC. A virtual safety car was called, encouraging many of the drivers to make a pit stop on lap 31. Around lap 35, Hadjar and Leclerc contested for 4th place, getting a little too close for comfort on track. Meanwhile, Hamilton increasingly gained on Verstappen to compete for P2 - two separate battles between Red Bull and Ferrari! Leclerc finally took 4th on lap 40, while Hadjar received a 10 second penalty for his multiple attempts to block Leclerc. Then, Norris faced a worse fate and retired with a mechanical issue, adding to McLaren’s already rough weekend. Another brief VSC happened on lap 46 as a marshal ran on track to retrieve a piece of debris. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas took a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane - yikes! On lap 55, Hamilton got under a second behind Verstappen, allowing him to finally use the overtake energy and move up a step on the podium on lap 62. On lap 63, Croft announced that Hadjar was issued a stop-and-go penalty for yellow flag infringement - not the best news for the Red Bull driver!
A teary-eyed champion Lewis Hamilton embraces Antonelli after his 4th consecutive victory. Photo courtesy of the Guardian.
Kimi Antonelli claimed his 4th Grand Prix victory in a row, as Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in 2nd for his best result of the season. Max Verstappen settled for P3, followed by Charles Leclerc in 4th and Isack Hadjar in 5th. Franco Colapinto claimed a career best finish in P6, with Liam Lawson behind in P7 and Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly sneaking his way to 8th place. The last available points were claimed by Carlos Sainz in 9th and Ollie Bearman in 10th. George Russell will be investigated after the race for the way he exited the car and threw his headrest onto the track and potentially face consequences for his (valid) crashout.
All in all, this race weekend was just another episode of “the Antonelli show” (thanks Crofty), and an incredibly unpredictable competition. The next race will be in 2 weeks in Monaco - thank you for reading this article and I hope you’ll join me for the next! And also, don’t forget to follow @thewinningformulablog on Instagram for weekly creative and fun F1 content.
Lights out and away we go,
Lucy xx
