Montreal Recap: Brits take the fight to Verstappen as Ferrari flops in Canada
11 June 2024Mixed conditions caused chaos in Montreal as Verstappen returned to the top of the podium, followed by Brits Lando Norris in second and George Russell in third. Despite Russell's surprise pole appearance and Norris' valiant effort, the pair couldn't hold Verstappen back as the Dutchman extended his championship lead. For Ferrari, its magical double podium in Monaco was replaced with a double DNF in what turned out to be a miserable race in Montreal for the Maranello-based team.
Here's all the highlights and what we learned from the race in Montreal.
Russell takes the fight to Verstappen, grabs Pole and Mercedes first podium of the season
So far this season, Mercedes has been miles away from securing a podium, let alone being a championship contender but, thanks to George Russell's brilliant performance and pole position in Canada, the struggling German powerhouse can lay claim to its maiden podium of the 2024 season.
Remarkably, the time sheets showed +0.000 separating Russell from reigning champion Max Verstappen in qualifying, with the Brit ultimately coming out on top to start on pole.
Only a handful of drivers have proved a match for Red Bull's mighty Max Verstappen this season, but the race in Montreal miraculously saw Mercedes' George Russell and his fellow countryman Lando Norris take the fight to the Dutchman from the off. Unfortunately for Russell, the Brit slipped backwards during the race, falling into third, to grab Mercedes first podium of the season.
“It felt like a missed opportunity, to be honest,” Russell commented after the race. “We were really quick at the beginning of the race on the [intermediate tyres], and then obviously Lando came through really fast and then we jumped back onto the slicks.
“[I] made a couple of mistakes out there just pushing the limits, paid the price for it but, nevertheless, first podium of the year. We truly had a really fast car this weekend, and to be back in the mix fighting for victory was really fun.
“That’s what Formula 1’s about and that’s why we go racing.”
Norris narrowly misses out on win, back on the podium with P2 finish
McLaren's Lando Norris came painfully close his second race win in Montreal but instead, found himself runner-up.
Starting third, Norris went on to lead until he lost his advantage when his closest rivals - Verstappen and Russell - pitted under the first safety car, one lap before Norris was able to.
That safety car had been called to recover Logan Sergeant's stricken Williams and was deployed just as Norris approached the final chicane, which is next to the pitlane entry.
"It was chaos. It was eventful. To be honest, I felt like I drove a good race the whole time from start to finish," he said moments after the race, commenting that his mishap with the safety car that cost him the win had been "unlucky." But by the time the post-race press conference came about, the British driver had formed a stronger opinion, criticising his own team.
"We should have won today, simple as that. We didn't do a good enough job as a team to box when we should have done and not get stuck behind the safety car," he insisted.
"We should have won today, we're at the level now where we're not satisfied with second, the target is to win and we didn't do that. So frustrating."
Ferrari follows up on Monaco magic with massive flop in Montreal
From double podium in Monaco, to double DNF in Montreal - Ferrari's flop in Canada was disastrous.
Already struggling with pace in the build-up to the race, Carlos Sainz failed to break into the top ten and started the race in 12th. From there, the Spaniard's luck worsened as he made contact with Alex Albon at Turn 6 after spinning.
"It was one of those races where the pace never clicked. We had some damage in the car from a couple of contacts that we had during that crazy race but there was never really enough pace today to make any overtakes," he said after the race.
For his teammate, Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque driver had to cope with a power unit issue throughout the race, which he was initially told was costing him about half a second in the straights.
In a bid to remedy his issues, Ferrari took a gamble and put Leclerc on fresh hard tyres as the circuit was drying from the earlier rainfall - something that proved to be a mistake when a rain shower emerged later on in the race.
"I was a sitting duck in the straights [when it dried up], he told Autosport. "I knew we would finish out to the points whatever happened with that issue. So, we had to try something with the slicks."
Leclerc was told to retire the car on lap 43, shortly before his teammate Sainz crashed later on, bringing out the second safety car while the Spaniard returned to the pits.
Silly season continues with driver signings
Ahead of Montreal, we saw a number of drivers confirmed for 2025, but still eight seats remain vacant, with a few teams holding out for Carlos Sainz's signature.
RB confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda will continue to race for the team in 2025. After making his debut with the outfit in 2021, Tsunoda's made good progress, becoming a regular points-scorer, with top-10 finishes in five of the eight Grands Prix so far this season.
Over at Red Bull, Sergio Perez signed for another season before following up with a “horrible" weekend, in the words of Team Principal Christian Horner. "He'll need to come back strong in Barcelona," warned Horner.
For Carlos Sainz, the chance for the Spanish driver to land a seat at Mercedes in 2025 looked distant ahead of the race in Montreal, with more talk of Mercedes focusing on the young Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who turns 18 this August.
Team boss Toto Wolff has already said that Antonelli represents the team’s “future” and Wolff has reportedly told Sainz that there won’t be a seat for him at Mercedes in 2025.
Still, Sainz is thought to be delaying his decision in the hope that a vacancy at Red Bull will emerge after Verstappen showed signs of restlessness earlier in the season. Failing a Red Bull seat, Sauber – soon to become Audi – is interested, as is Williams, who made it clear they’d like the Spaniard to replace Logan Sargent next season alongside Alex Albon.
As the season now charges into a triple header, where Barcelona opens with the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, all eyes are on the front of the pack as four teams now look to be in contention for the top spots. Will we finally get clarity on Sainz's future? Continued improvement from Mercedes? Or another Lando win? The season looks to be seriously heating up, and these next three races look to be key for establishing the outlook for the rest of the season.
