Could George Russell have won? Certainly. And Lando Norris? He had good chances too. However, it was Max Verstappen who triumphed, relentless and confident, with a clean drive despite a small error at the first turn that cost him nothing in terms of time. In contrast, Russell and Norris, who took turns leading, can't be satisfied with how the Montreal Grand Prix ended, finishing third and second respectively.
Russell, as has happened before, made crucial errors on at least two occasions, losing significant ground. Norris also contributed to his own defeat, but the biggest mistake was McLaren’s, failing to promptly call their driver into the pits during the safety car period. At that moment, Norris was leading. He lost precious time because other drivers pitted immediately, and when he rejoined the track after changing tires, he found himself in third place.
From that point on, having ceded the lead to Verstappen, Norris was unable to catch up or challenge him as he had in the earlier part of the race. In the first laps, Norris had intelligently managed his intermediate tires, building a good gap from the leading pair of Russell-Verstappen. But at some point, Lando started pushing hard while his two rivals were losing precious tenths on worn-out tires. He caught up and overtook them, gaining a significant advantage over the Red Bull. Then, Logan Sargeant’s crash, after several mistakes, brought out the safety car, leading to McLaren's indecision.
Everything went perfectly for Verstappen, who found victory again after the setback in Monaco, bringing his season total to six wins out of nine races. After Monte Carlo, there was hope for a change in the championship, but the Montreal GP rewarded the Dutchman, even though it seems that Mercedes and McLaren were faster than the RB20. The car is no longer as dominant as it used to be, a fact evident since Miami, but Verstappen always manages to set things right.
As expected given the weather conditions, the race was entertaining and unpredictable. The top three drivers provided a great show, and towards the end, Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth, joined the fray. Oscar Piastri performed well until a contact with Russell a few laps from the finish caused him to lose pace, possibly due to damage to his car.
In the midfield, Aston Martin stood out, with Fernando Alonso finishing sixth and Lance Stroll seventh, though they were never able to catch up with the three leading teams. Daniel Ricciardo scored his first points of the season, finishing eighth with Racing Bulls, while Yuki Tsunoda failed to achieve points this time. Alpine celebrated (so to speak) with both cars in the points: Pierre Gasly in ninth and Esteban Ocon in tenth.
The two Haas cars came close to the points after being in the zone for quite a while. Starting on wet tires, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg made great progress, with the Dane even reaching fourth place. However, they soon had to change tires as the track dried up. It was unfortunate for Alexander Albon, who could have finished in the top 10, but was hit by Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, causing a spin.
We haven’t forgotten the Maranello team. After a disastrous qualifying, things didn’t improve. Sainz never had the pace, battling against Williams, Sauber, and Alpine, until his mistake. Charles Leclerc immediately found himself without engine power and, after a long struggle, including the decision to switch to slicks in the rain, had to retire. It was a dramatic and inexplicable collapse for Ferrari in Montreal, just 15 days after the victory in Monaco and Sainz’s third-place finish.
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