Formula 1 2024: Canadian Grand Prix
Track Insights:
The Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, first held in 1967 at Mosport Park, has become a staple in the racing world. Over the years, the event has taken place at various locations, including Mont-Tremblant and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The race has seen legendary drivers like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton triumph on its challenging circuit. Known for its high-speed straights and tight chicanes, the Canadian Grand Prix never fails to deliver excitement for fans worldwide. The race's rich history and its significance in the Formula One calendar make it a must-see event for both drivers and spectators alike.
This track sees drivers go through another set of 14 curves, corners and chicanes. There are 3 DRS zones and a lap length of 4.361km. The drivers will be asked to navigate this circuit- notorious for it’s instantaneously changing weather conditions for 70 laps for a total of 305.27km.
Starting Grid:
Pole Position: George Russell: Mercedes
P2: Max Verstappen: Red Bull
P3: Lando Norris: Mclaren
P4: Oscar Piastri: Mclaren
P5: Daniel Ricardo: VCRB
P6: Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin
P7: Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes
P8: Yuki Tsunoda: VCRB
P9: Lance Stroll: Aston Martin
P10: Alex Albon: Williams
P11: Charles Leclerc: Ferrari
P12: Carlos Sainz: Ferrari
P13: Logan Sargeant: Williams
P14: Kevin Magnussen: HAAS
P15: Pierre Gasly: Alpine
P16: Sergio Perez: Red Bull
P17: Valtteri Bottas: Sauber
P18: Niko Hulkenburg: HAAS
P19: Zhou Guanyu: Sauber
P20: Esteban Ocon: Alpine
Race Highlights:
Montreal, you did not disappoint. Our first wet weather race of the year really brought the drama with five retirements throughout the race and a rather unlikely winner in my opinion. Let’s start with the real winner- Mother Nature and her scheming. She knew we were due for some drama and she did not disappoint. The race started in the middle of a beautiful rain storm that really put tire strategy to the test. All teams except HAAS opted for Intermediate tires while the American born team went for wets. For those of you wondering- intermediates can be compared to medium tires and wets to softs in dry conditions.
George Russell and Mercedes sat on Pole for the first time this year and with a slow but good start, he was able to keep that position for several laps until the charging Mclaren of Lando Norris overtook both Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and the Merc. However, as Red Bull put it, what goes around comes around and an incredibly ill-timed safety car around lap 24 which gave Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton and few other front runners the opportunity to pit for a fresh set of intermediate tires while Norris missed his window and had to go around the circuit again. This gave both Max and George the opportunity to overtake him once the safety car came in at the end of lap 29. Unfortunately, this would be the point in the race where the damage was done and even though Lando pushed as hard as possible he came up just under 4 seconds short.
Ferrari, who were coming off their strongest weekend this season with a win in Monaco struggled significantly. Leclerc was on the radio relaying constant power unit issues while Sainz was struggling with front wing damage from scrapping in the midfield. A stark contrast to what we saw in Monaco. Eventually, both Ferrari’s would be unable to finish the race with Leclerc’s engine issues and Carlos spinning out with the Williams of Alex Albon. Overall just a disastrous race for the Italian Stallions. If we want to go there though, Williams also suffered a double DNF- begs the question of whether or not Albon’s contract extension was worth it and should Logan be given one last chance in 2025.
As the race wound down to it’s final laps, Norris charged ahead in a bid to make Max really work for this win (which he did). But the real drama was for the final podium spot which was a fight between both Mercedes and Oscar Piastri’s Mclaren. Russell would eventually take the podium spot from his teammate- we can get into his behavior later because I have some strong feelings on his very apparent lack of willingness to work with Lewis as a team. Any who, at the end of the day, Red Bull was back in the top spot- with no help from Sergio Perez who also crashed out around lap 51. Mclaren and Mercedes made significant strides in closing the gap to the Austrian team. Ferrari has their work cut out for them as we start the European triple header in Spain next weekend. Both Aston Martin’s brought home points as well as the VCRB of Daniel Riccardo. In a surprising turn of events, Alpine rounded out the points with a double finish from both Gasly and Ocon. HAAS, who started off strong, finished just outside the points in 11th and 12th. Like I said earlier, we start our triple header in Madrid next week and it will hopefully be just as fun as this one was.
Podium:
1st: Max Verstappen: Red Bull (25)
2nd: Lando Norris: Mclaren (18)
3rd: George Russell: Mercedes (15)
