Max Verstappen wins his third consecutive Canadian Grand Prix whilst changing conditions saw the complexion of the race change at multiple points.
Rain was falling for the start of the race, which made getting off the grid rather difficult for the drivers, the majority of whom were starting on intermediate tyres, though aside from a minor coming together between Perez and Gasly, everyone was able to avoid making a mistake and crashing into one another.
The only team to start their drivers on full wets were Haas, and it initially seemed to be the right call, with Magnussen making it up to as high as 4th by lap 4. But almost as soon as those gains were made, they were taken away, as the racing line became dry enough for the intermediates to become the faster tyre, and the two Haas cars dropped back down the field getting onto the right tyre.
The early stages clearly indicated Norris in third to be the fastest driver on track, even after dropping back a bit in the opening laps. He first overtook Verstappen to take 2nd, before taking advantage of a Russell mistake to take the lead, with Verstappen able to follow him through for 2nd.
Norris had began to build up a decent gap to Verstappen before a crash from Logan Sargeant had evaporated that lead. The safety car came out at precisely the wrong time for Norris, who was unable to pit in time or beat the safety car in the same fashion he had in Miami, and would lose out to Verstappen in the process.
The rain began to show itself once more around this point, but teams knew it would not last long. Leclerc, who had already struggled with a poor qualifying and engine troubles, gambled on the hard tyres under the safety car, but he was just even slower than before. After putting on a new set of intermediate tyres, Ferrari would pull the plug on his race and retire the car as it became more and more clear that nothing could be salvaged from his race.
Lap 44 saw the first of the top 5 come into the pits for slick tyres as Hamilton went onto new hards. Piastri would come in just one lap later to protect himself from the undercut, whilst both Russell and Verstappen would leave it one lap longer. Norris however, continued to stay out, and was making gains on Verstappen, threatening to take back his lead. When he exited the pits a couple of laps later, he had gotten back into first for a moment, before cold tyres on a damp part of the circuit provided a severe lack of traction, which saw Verstappen fly by.
Norris would be overtaken by Russell on lap 50 to fall to 3rd place, but would regain 2nd just one lap later after Russell made a mistake that allowed Norris to come back past.
Sergio Perez was another driver having a tough time of things, having struggled to make his way through the field after getting himself knocked out of Q1 in qualifying. Then, on lap 53, he would spin into the barrier and broke his rear wing. The resulting damage made it impossible to continue, but he did drive himself back to the pits, though this action has given him a three place grid drop for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The incidents continued as just one lap later Carlos Sainz would round out Ferrari’s torrid weekend as he too would spin, collecting Alex Albon in the process. Both cars had to retire from the race, and the safety car would come out for the second time in this race.
Both Mercedes cars would come into the pits for new tyres during the safety car period, which made them strong contenders for the podium places. Russell would take new mediums, and Hamilton new hards, despite wanting to go onto used softs.
Verstappen would cruise away into the distance as soon as the race resumed, and it quickly became a fight for best of the rest. Russell was looking to take back third place from Piastri, but minor contact made between the pair during an overtake meant that Hamilton would pass his teammate, and then take third for himself.
Russell would come back though, and would eventually take 3rd place away from Hamilton with just a couple of laps to go, joining Verstappen and Norris on the podium.
