Canadian Grand Prix | Verstappen wins crazy race, Stroll finishes 7th

George Russell led. Lando Norris too. It was ultimately Max Verstappen who received the victory trophy at the end of what was undoubtedly the most thrilling race of the season, Sunday, at the Canadian Grand Prix. Quebecer Lance Stroll, at Aston Martin, finished in 7^e place – we’ll come back to that.

Norris, who delivered a furious race, crossed the finish line 3.8 seconds after Verstappen aboard his McLaren. And Russell overtook his teammate Lewis Hamilton at the end of the race to take the third step of the podium. A crazy and thrilling ride.

Accidents, overtaking, rain and safety cars: things happened in this Grand Prix that five drivers – including the two from Ferrari (!) and Sergio Pérez, from Red Bull – did not finish.

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For a rare time, victory was not easy to achieve for Verstappen. He had to work a little harder than usual to achieve his sixth triumph of the season and his third in a row in Montreal. The champion did not complain about it, on the contrary.

“I wouldn’t want it to happen too often because it’s stressful, but I had a lot of fun today,” he said.

This result is all the more satisfactory as Red Bull once again had a difficult weekend, in continuity with the last three Grands Prix.

Let us venture into the description of this eventful race. It was Russell who started first, followed by Verstappen and Norris, on a wet track; a ranking that has often changed within 70 rounds.

At 18^e lap, Norris approached Verstappen, playing patiently before attacking two laps later. The Briton superbly overtook the Dutchman with the DRS (drag reduction system) in the penultimate straight. Both then overtook Russell in this same sector.

Norris only moved away afterwards, until he gained more than 7 seconds ahead of Verstappen. At 25^e lap, the safety car was necessary after Logan Sargeant (Williams) went off the track. While Verstappen, Russell and Oscar Piastri all pitted, Norris remained on track. He ran one lap too many, which dropped him to third place.

Norris regained the lead later, during another pit stop from Verstappen, but once again fell behind during his own tire change.

The McLaren driver said he was disappointed, even frustrated, at a press conference. “We should have won today and we didn’t,” he said. He talked about bad decisions made by both him and his team. “A second place remains a good result,” he nevertheless clarified.

Russell’s “Too Many Mistakes”

For his part, Russell spoke of a “missed opportunity”, even if it was his first podium of the season. “I think I made too many mistakes at key moments, which prevented us from being in the fight with them,” he explained.

A lot happened on Russell’s side at the end of the race. At 67^e lap, he overtook Piastri to take 4^e rank, before finding himself behind Hamilton. In his earpiece, his team told him that he could pass his teammate. “Do it properly,” he was told, which he respected.

Although Russell would have preferred a victory, Mercedes’ results remain excellent. Both drivers achieved their best ranking of the campaign, which highlights the progress of the English team.

“If you had told us we would have the lead and third place before this weekend, we probably wouldn’t have believed you,” admitted Russell. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made and I’m proud of the team. »

Is Mercedes back in the constructors’ title race? The question is legitimate, but the Briton remained cautious.

“It’s no secret that Red Bull has struggled with its cars over the last three races, so I think we’ll have to wait and see how they perform in Barcelona [au prochain Grand Prix], which is a slightly more conventional circuit. »

“This increase in pace on our part this weekend is not a surprise for us because everyone at the factory had warned us that we would experience good performances with these improvements. Barcelona will be interesting for everyone, but I am hopeful that we can be in the fight. »

Best race of the year for Aston Martin

There is still a long way to go for Aston Martin. However, without making too much noise, the team achieved its best performance of the season by grabbing 14 ranking points, courtesy of Fernando Alonso’s sixth place and Lance Stroll’s seventh.

The Spaniard was able to hold on to his starting position, while his teammate gained two ranks.

Stroll was obviously satisfied to have seen his team collect “a lot of points”, but even more to have held on during the “toughest race in a long time”.

“You had to choose the right tires at the right time, make the right decisions, predict the weather,” he said. And in Montreal, every little mistake penalizes you really quickly. » Despite “very difficult conditions”, “we made it to the end! », he rejoiced.

Alonso, for his part, described a “lonely” event, especially after he overtook Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) himself overtook him.

“The cars in front were too fast [pour qu’on les rattrape], and there were not many threats behind it, he analyzed. Lewis was very fast, so it was a matter of time before I lost my position. »

The 42-year-old veteran highlighted how difficult the “execution” had been for “all 20 riders on the track,” especially with only one dry lane for much of the race. “I’m surprised nothing happened for so long!” “, he exclaimed.

With Simon-Olivier Lorange, The Press