Verstappen wins thrilling Canadian Grand Prix in wet conditions

Max Verstappen has returned to winning ways with victory in the Canadian Grand Prix. The Dutchman survived the treacherous conditions, two safety car restarts and various strategy debates to win in Montreal. At various times, both McLaren and Mercedes had a go at challenging for the win, but mistakes at key times proved the challengers still need to refine certain areas to beat Verstappen consistently. Lando Norris and George Russell rounded out the podium.

Ferrari's nightmare trip to Canada continued. After failing to get both cars into Q3 on Saturday, Leclerc only dropped backwards with an engine issue. Ferrari fixed the engine issue, but a wrong gamble to slick tyres ruined any remaining hope. Carlos Sainz didn't make much progress, and contact with Alex Albon ruined any remaining hope of a point. It was a double DNF on a day when they could've significantly closed the gap to Red Bull in the World Championship.

Sergio Perez's planned recovery also failed. The Mexican made very slow progress, and then a mistake damaged his rear wing. This contact with the barrier ended his day. This was on a weekend when his teammate matched the pole position time and won the Grand Prix.

How the Canadian Grand Prix unfolded

Rain had already played a big part during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, and the race itself started with a very wet track and a warning of more rain throughout. Russell started from pole position, with Verstappen from P2. They had both of the McLaren drivers breathing down their necks. All drivers started on the intermediates, apart from Haas, who opted for the full wets. During the formation lap, Hamilton already told his team he felt like he should've picked full wets.

The cars crawled off the line and tip-toed around the first corner, but it was a relatively clean start given the conditions. Daniel Ricciardo picked up a five-second penalty for a false start. Kevin Magnussen's wet weather tyre gamble paid off as he moved up to P8 by the end of lap one. He had gained six places, and Hulkenberg had gained five places. Russell had managed to open up a 1.5-second lead. By the time lap three started, Magnussen sat in P4 after attacking Piastri.

Magnussen's advantage on the wet tyres ended on lap six as a dry line started to emerge, benefiting the intermediate runners. The Danish driver pitted on lap eight. However, Logan Sargeant ran off the track and touched the barrier. He was able to continue. Charles Leclerc had engine problems, but Ferrari told him to keep pushing. At the front, Verstappen maintained his 1.5-second deficit.

On lap 15, Verstappen started to close the gap. More rain was coming, so drivers were being told to look after the intermediate tyres. Russell gained some breathing room after Verstappen made a mistake at turn one. The Dutchman ran wide and had to run across the grass. He lost almost three seconds and dropped back into Norris' path. DRS was then enabled, and he took advantage of it on lap 21.

Norris then made Russell his next victim one lap later. Russell then went onto the run-off area at the chicane, and then lost a position to Verstappen.

Pit wall nightmare

Sargeant had his second incident of the day, triggering a safety car on lap 25. With rain forecast to be three minutes away, picking the right tyre was a challenge. Race leader Norris stayed out on his used set of intermediates, but those behind opted for new intermediates. McLaren used the extra time to make a decision, and they opted for fresh inters as well. He came out in P3, giving Verstappen the lead. Meanwhile, Leclerc rolled the dice and pitted for hard tyres.

After the safety car restart, the front runners stayed in the same order as rain started to fall again. Ferrari's gamble on the hard tyres failed drastically, and the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix winner had to get out of the way and be lapped. He retired a few laps later. By lap 37, Verstappen opened up a 2.5-second lead.

With no rain forecast for the rest of the Grand Prix, teams had to consider timing the transition to soft tyres. Gasly was the first driver to try the hard tyres on lap 41. It was then Norris' turn to make a mistake at turn one, but it didn't cost him a position, though stewards put him under investigation. Hamilton was the first of the front-runners to try the medium tyres. Piastri also pitted, as Verstappen and Russell stayed out for one more lap. Norris remained on the intermediate compound and actually opened the gap to Verstappen initially. He pitted at the start of lap 48, but he didn't come out ahead of the Dutchman.

Russell made a major mistake, which ended his chance to hunt Verstappen. He also lost second place to Norris. A tangle between Sainz and Albon triggered the second safety car of the day. Mercedes pitted again for fresh tyres. The safety car resumed with 10 laps remaining, and the order stayed the same. Russell and Piastri squabbled, with Russell losing out and Hamilton taking advantage and moving to P4. Hamilton then had a go at Piastri and successfully made the overtake for P3. Russell then worked his way back to the podium in the closing stages.