Verstappen defeats Norris to win Canadian GP thriller

Max Verstappen returned to his winning ways as Canada delivered another action-packed race in mixed conditions. But it was far from a runaway victory, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell putting up a strong challenge.

1. Verstappen wins, 3.879secs ahead of Norris
2. Russell beats Hamilton to take P3
3. Both Ferrari drivers retire

Verstappen beats Norris, Russell

Saturday’s qualifying session saw both Russell and Verstappen set identical lap times in Q3, but Russell started from pole.

The Mercedes driver held on to the lead in the early stages of the race, which started on a wet track. However, as conditions improved, it became apparent that Norris was the fastest driver out there. He soon caught and passed both Russell and Verstappen. Russell went straight on at the final chicane after being overtaken by Norris, and Verstappen took advantage of this error to move up to second place.

Norris started stretching his lead out at front, only for an ill-timed Safety Car (triggered by Logan Sargeant’s crash) to flip the script. While Verstappen, Russell and even Oscar Piastri pitted immediately for fresh intermediates, Norris missed the opportunity and had to complete another lap. This handed the lead to Verstappen, with Russell and Norris in tow.

Verstappen nailed the restart and held on to the lead through another spell of rain and even the switch to slick tyres. However, his lead was slashed when Carlos Sainz spun at the exit of Turn 7, taking out Alex Albon and bringing out the Safety Car again.

This time around, both Mercedes drivers – Russell and Lewis Hamilton – pitted for fresh tyres and rejoined the field behind Verstappen, Norris and Piastri at the restart. Verstappen streaked clear and went on to win the race, 3.879secs ahead of Norris.

“It was a pretty crazy race,” said Verstappen. “A lot of things were happening and we had to be on top of our calls. I think as a team we just did really well today. We remained calm and I think we pitted at the right time. Of course, the Safety Car worked out nicely for us, but even after that I think we were managing the gaps quite well. I loved it – that was a lot of fun.”

Podium battle

It was a three-way battle between Piastri, Russell and Hamilton for the final spot on the podium. Russell lost a place to teammate Hamilton after banging wheels with Piastri on Lap 64. Hamilton then passed Piastri to move up to third place.

But the battle was far from over. A late charge from Russell saw him overtake both Piastri and Hamilton to bag third place.

The Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished P6 and P7, respectively. Despite being hit with a five-second time penalty for a false start, Daniel Ricciardo finished in the points, crossing the line in eighth place. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10.

Ferrari, Haas lose out

While most of the grid opted to start on intermediate tyres, Haas put both Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg on full wet tyres. This strategy initially paid off, with Magnussen bolting from P14 to P4 at one point.

However, all of this was undone as a dry line emerged on track, prompting both Haas drivers to pit for intermediates. Magnussen lost even more time during the pit-stop, with the Haas crew seemingly unprepared for the stop. As a result, both drivers had to spend most of the race battling outside the top 10.

Ferrari also walk away from Canada with no points scored as Monaco GP winner Charles Leclerc retired after struggling with an engine issue.

Sergio Perez was another driver who retired after spinning off on lap 53 and damaging his rear wing. To add insult to injury, he’s been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Spanish GP for driving back to the pits with a “significantly damaged car”.

2024 F1 championship standings

Verstappen has now extended his championship lead to 56 points over Leclerc. Norris remains third overall, but he’s just seven points behind Leclerc now.

Next up is the Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 21-23.

2024 Canadian GP results

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