“It was a good race, although we had trouble with the tires in the first two stints,” says Max Verstappen. “In the last stint we were able to connect, the tires performed better with less fuel. This was the maximum achievable today. The season is long. As for the championship, I look at it from race to race.”
FINISH – The result:
DNF Norris
DNF Lawson
DNF Albon
FINISH – George Russell wins the Grand Prix of Canada! Max Verstappen finishes second and Kimi Antonelli takes his first podium in third place.
1 lap to go – The last lap is running in Canada. So we are indeed going to finish behind the safety car.
2 laps to go – The standings:
3 laps to go – Norris drops out. Piastri can just continue. What a final phase of this Grand Prix!
3 laps to go – The safety car neutralizes this race, which will most likely finish behind the safety car.
4 laps to go – CRASH BETWEEN THE MCLARENS! Norris crashes into Piastri and drops out. Piastri seems to be able to continue miraculously.
4 laps to go – Both McLarens are completely connected to Antonelli. The Mercedes driver is 2.4 seconds behind Verstappen.
5 laps to go – Piastri is now also in the DRS of Antonelli, who has never scored a podium.
6 laps to go – Verstappen is 2.5 seconds behind Russell and doesn’t seem to be winning today.
8 laps – Norris is looking, but doesn’t dare to attack his teammate yet. The Brit’s tires are about eight laps newer than Piastri’s.
9 laps – The fight is now between the McLaren drivers, coincidentally also the numbers one and two in the World Championship standings. Piastri is fourth, Norris fifth.
10 laps – Russell seems to have saved up and is driving away from Verstappen again in clear air. The difference is now 2.2 seconds.
12 laps – Verstappen sees Russell drive away a bit again and in turn is not yet rid of Antonelli. The top five are within six seconds of each other. The situation:
14 laps – Verstappen benefits from a large group of stragglers and suddenly drives almost within DRS of Russell! What are we going to see here?
15 laps – No more pit stops, this is a sprint race to the finish. Piastri fights with Antonelli for the third spot.
16 laps – Verstappen is still only two seconds behind Russell. Does the Red Bull driver have anything up his sleeve?
18 laps – There is the pit stop of Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver switches to the medium and comes back onto the track in sixth place. He is seventeen seconds behind leader Russell and ten seconds behind number five Norris.
20 laps – Piastri (fifth) is told that Leclerc is no threat to the win. “The fight is between you, Verstappen, Russell and Antonelli”.
21 laps – Verstappen is about three seconds behind Russell. In the past lap he was two tenths faster than the Brit.
22 laps – Albon is the first dropout of the day. The Williams driver parks his car in a safe place with technical problems.
24 laps – Fastest man on the track: Charles Leclerc (second). The Ferrari driver will have to stop again, because he has only driven on the hard tire.
26 laps – Pit stop Piastri. The McLaren driver gives the lead to teammate Norris. He comes back on track behind Verstappen and Antonelli.
28 laps – Verstappen is 3.6 seconds behind the Mercedes driver.
28 laps – Russell also makes his second pit stop from the lead. He comes back on track in fourth place, so in front of Verstapen.
30 laps – Verstappen is told that he will not stop anymore. The standings:
32 laps – That doesn’t make any difference between Verstappen and Antonelli, but the Red Bull driver remains just ahead of the Mercedes.
33 laps – Antonelli also comes in directly.
34 laps – Pit stop Max Verstappen. The Dutchman switches (again) to the hard tire and comes back onto the track in sixth place between the Ferraris in clear air.
34 laps – Russell is six tenths faster than Verstappen in the past lap. The difference is already more than five seconds.
36 laps – Verstappen’s pace drops. He is now four seconds behind Russell.
38 laps – Verstappen: “I simply don’t have the speed. There is nothing I can do.”
39 laps – The standings:
40 laps – Verstappen reports that his tires are starting to get worse. In the past lap he also loses four tenths on Russell. The gap is now 2.2 seconds.
41 laps – Verstappen is 1.8 seconds behind leader Russell.
42 laps – Norris also comes in, making Russell the leader again. Verstappen climbs to second place.
43 laps – Leclerc comes in and gives Verstappen the third spot. He is two seconds behind number two Russell.
44 laps – Verstappen fights his way directly within DRS of Leclerc. Will there be an attack next round?
45 laps – There is the overtaking action of Russell on Leclerc. The Mercedes driver climbs to second place. Can Verstappen follow directly?
45 laps – Russell drives within DRS of number two Leclerc. Verstappen remains at a distance of one and a half seconds for now.
46 laps – Fastest man on the track: Max Verstappen. Everything is still possible for the Red Bull driver during this exciting Grand Prix.
47 laps – Verstappen is driving almost within DRS of number three Russell.
49 laps – Verstappen is clearly doing a lot better on the hard tire than on the medium tire. Last round he was three tenths faster than number three Russell. The difference between the two is 1.6 seconds.
51 laps – The standings:
54 laps – The situation: Norris and Leclerc lead on the hard tire and still have to stop. They did start on the hard tire and can therefore continue longer than the rest. Russell is third and has a 2.3 second lead over Verstappen.
54 laps – Verstappen moves up to fourth place thanks to a pit stop from Piastri.
55 laps – Verstappen outwits Hülkenberg. Hamilton and Alonso make a pit stop, putting Verstappen back in fifth. He is two seconds behind Russell.
56 laps – Antonelli comes back on track behind Verstappen. The Red Bull driver is still stuck behind Hülkenberg in seventh place.
56 laps – Antonelli also makes his pit stop. Does he come out in front of Verstappen again?
57 laps – Russell comes back on track in seventh place, right in front of Hülkenberg. Verstappen is therefore driving behind there.
57 laps – There is also George Russell already with a pit stop. Antonelli thereby takes the lead.
58 laps – Verstappen has come back onto the track behind Hülkenberg.
58 laps – Pit stop Max Verstappen. Red Bull tries to take back the initiative and immediately brings Verstappen in. The Dutchman switches to the hard tire and comes back onto the track in ninth place.
59 laps – Antonelli has completely closed the gap to Verstappen and is lining up for an attack.
60 laps – Norris passes Alonso and climbs to sixth place.
61 laps – Verstappen says that his car and also his tires feel bad. Antonelli is driving almost within DRS of the Red Bull driver.
62 laps – Verstappen is now one and a half seconds behind Russell. Antonelli is catching up a bit on Verstappen and is 1.4 seconds behind the Dutchman.
63 laps – The standings:
64 laps – Russell is now driving Verstappen out of his DRS. Can the Dutchman close the gap again like that?
65 laps – The place where it would possibly have to happen for Verstappen is at the end of the straight towards the chicane. He is still just too far away for an attack.
65 laps – Verstappen and Russell are driving away from the rest. Verstappen is looking at Russell, but is not yet launching an attack. Great opening phase of this Grand Prix!
66 laps – Verstappen connects with Russell and seems to have more speed than the Mercedes driver in the absolute opening phase of the race.
68 laps – Favorable for Verstappen is that number three Antonelli does not have DRS. Verstappen keeps Russell in his sights.
68 laps – Verstappen is trying to stay within a second of Russell to keep DRS. The difference on start-finish is six tenths.
69 laps – The first lap is complete. Russell leads, ahead of Verstappen, Antonelli, Piastri and Hamilton.
START – The feared start crash does not occur. All cars come through the first sector unscathed.
START – Russell stays ahead of Verstappen in the first corner! Antonelli outwits Piastri and climbs to third place.