Max Verstappen took home the win in a rain-drenched and chaotic Canadian Grand Prix, snatching victory from Lando Norris with a bit of help from a timely safety car.
Red Bull’s Verstappen managed to hold his position over polesitter George Russell during a pitstop for intermediate tires. This pitstop was prompted by a safety car brought out after Logan Sargeant crashed. Norris, who was leading at the time, missed the pit entry when the safety car was called, forcing him to stop a lap later.
“Yeah, it was a pretty crazy race and we had to be on top of our calls,” Verstappen said. “We remained calm, pitted at the right time, and the safety car worked well for us. After that, we were managing the gaps. [McLaren and Mercedes fought us] in different stages as well, so it was a lot of fun out there.”
Norris came out in third after his stop and had to follow the cars ahead, waiting for the track to dry out so he could regain his speed. When the track started drying, both leaders decided to pit on Lap 45, but Norris chose to stay out for two more laps. This strategy briefly put him ahead of Russell and Verstappen, but a snap of oversteer as he exited the pits allowed Verstappen to retake the lead.
The Dutch driver had to navigate another safety car period after Carlos Sainz went off track and pushed Alex Albon into the wall. Verstappen handled the restart without any issues and remained unchallenged by Norris for the rest of the race.
At the start, Verstappen couldn’t get past Russell and fell two seconds behind. But Norris began to close the gap on Verstappen as the track dried, eventually overtaking both Verstappen and Russell on consecutive laps around Lap 20. Russell then went off at Turn 14, letting Verstappen slip past.
Norris built an impressive lead of over two seconds per lap but saw his progress halted by another safety car due to Sargeant’s crash. Verstappen took this opportunity to pit for fresh intermediates, followed by Russell and Oscar Piastri. Norris had to wait until the next lap to pit, which pushed him back to third.
After the rain stopped, the track began to favor dry tires. Gasly’s pace on hard tires was comparable to the leaders. Both Verstappen and Russell pitted on Lap 45, switching to medium and hard tires, respectively. Norris, still feeling confident, stayed out for two more laps on intermediates. This allowed him to undercut both and briefly emerge ahead of Verstappen. However, lacking grip, his car slid, and Verstappen regained the lead.
Russell managed to fend off Hamilton towards the end to secure Mercedes’ first podium of the season, with Hamilton taking the fastest lap in the closing stages. Both had passed Piastri, who finished comfortably with Alonso over seven seconds behind in sixth. Stroll took seventh, while Ricciardo held off Alpine’s Gasly and Ocon to finish eighth – his first points of the season.
The Canadian Grand Prix was a rollercoaster of a race filled with rain, strategy changes, and intense battles. Max Verstappen’s calm and calculated approach ultimately secured him the victory over a determined Lando Norris.
Source: Motorsport ˙ Youtube
