Wild Formula 1 GP in Canada
Verstappen strikes back at bitter Ferrari weekend
09.06.2024, 21:53
Weather chaos and failures: World champion Max Verstappen wins the F1 Grand Prix in Canada and is on course to defend his title, while the competition makes mistakes. The Red Bull driver returns with his sixth win of the season, both Ferraris are eliminated.
Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix, which was torn apart by the weather, and extended his lead in the Formula 1 World Championship. The defending champion triumphed in Montreal with his Red Bull ahead of the two Britons Lando Norris (McLaren) and George Russell (Mercedes), giving a fitting response to what he saw as a botched race in Monaco.
Not only did Verstappen drive almost flawlessly to his sixth win of the season, he also benefited from a very weak performance by his rival Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver, who had recently won his home race in the principality, was eliminated in Montreal and remained without any points.
Verstappen thus extended his lead over Leclerc to 56 points. Norris is third in the World Championship and 63 points behind the Dutchman. Nico Hülkenberg (Emmerich/Haas) drove a decent race and, in eleventh place, won the team-internal duel with the Dane Kevin Magnussen again. Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez (Mexico) retired after a driving error at the end of a weak weekend.
Verstappen makes a rare mistake
“The biggest challenge will be the weather,” Russell said on Sky shortly before the start of the race. But despite the difficult conditions, he was “definitely” confident of winning. The Mercedes driver got off to a good start and maintained his lead ahead of Verstappen and Norris quite confidently. While the field carefully lined up one after the other due to the poor visibility on the wet track, Hülkenberg and Magnussen moved quickly forward.
The two Haas drivers were the only ones to use rain tires, while the rest of the field was on intermediates. The tactic initially worked, and Magnussen was already in fourth place on the fourth lap after numerous overtaking maneuvers. But because it dried out afterwards, the two had to go into the pits and put on other tires, which meant they found themselves further back.
At the front, Verstappen made a very rare mistake while chasing Russell, which meant that Norris suddenly got close. The McLaren driver then quickly took the lead on lap 21 with two strong overtaking maneuvers against Verstappen and Russell. Shortly afterwards, Verstappen also overtook Russell when the latter went off the track.
Collision between Sainz and Albon
But Norris’ lead was soon history when the safety car came out because the American Logan Sargeant (Williams) had crashed into the barrier. Verstappen and co. then came into the pits for a tire change, Norris only caught up on the following lap – and then found himself in third place.
Verstappen seized this opportunity decisively and managed his lead confidently until he came into the pits for another tire change. This briefly pushed Norris into the lead, but Verstappen overtook him again after the Briton stopped again. Another safety car phase after a collision between Carlos Sainz (Spain/Ferrari) and Alexander Albon (Thailand/Williams) then created more tension.