Verstappen keeps his cool to beat Norris and Russell to win Canadian GP
Max Verstappen and Red Bull bounced back from their Monaco struggles as they returned to winning ways in an action-packed Canadian Grand Prix, overcoming rain showers, multiple Safety Car periods, restarts and a stern challenge from behind to lead home Lando Norris.
Verstappen followed pole-sitting Mercedes driver George Russell in the wet early stages of the race until a charging Norris overhauled them both in improving conditions, only for an ill-timed Safety Car – brought out when Logan Sargeant crashed – to drop the McLaren man to third.
Verstappen mastered that restart and further showers to maintain his lead, which he also protected when the track dried up and the field switched from intermediate tyres to slicks, and again following a second Safety Car period triggered by Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon colliding.
While the reigning world champion ultimately surged towards the chequered flag, Norris took second via a fierce mid-race battle with Russell, and the latter made do with third after some late scrapping with team mate Lewis Hamilton and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
Russell and Hamilton, who had both pitted for fresh slick tyres under the second Safety Car period, raised heartrates on the Mercedes pit wall when they went wheel-to-wheel on several occasions – the younger Briton making the decisive move for P3 on the penultimate lap.
Behind the top five finishers, Fernando Alonso and home favourite Lance Stroll collected a double points finish for Aston Martin, while Daniel Ricciardo followed up his strong qualifying performance to log his first Grand Prix points of the season in eighth.
Ricciardo’s team mate, Yuki Tsunoda, had been in contention for points as well, but a mistake in the closing stages saw him slide across the grass and tumble down the order, promoting Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, who also gave Alpine a double top-10 result.
Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen initially flew up the order as the only drivers to start the race on wet tyres, rather than intermediates, but ultimately just missed out on a reward as they crossed the line in 11th and 12th respectively.
Tsunoda wound up 14th after his costly error, between Kick Sauber pair Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, with only 15 of the 20 cars reaching the finish in what turned out to be one of the most dramatic races of the 2024 season so far.
Sainz and Albon, who were in the hunt for points, both retired after their coming together, while persistent power unit issues also forced Charles Leclerc into retirement and meant Ferrari failed to score a single point after their Monaco triumph.
In addition to the aforementioned Sargeant, Sergio Perez was the fifth and final retiree after he spun off the track and damaged his rear wing, forcing the Mexican back to the pits and adding to the misery of that Q1 exit in qualifying.
When the podium finishers arrived in parc ferme, Perez’s race-winning team mate Verstappen punched the air in delight as he boosted his championship lead from 31 points to 56 – taking full advantage of Leclerc and Ferrari’s woes.
