In the build up to the Canadian Grand Prix, much was said about Verstappen’s heated Montreal press conference and Hamilton’s great form. Perhaps this allowed Sebastian Vettel to slip under the radar and fully focus on the race.
Flag error was a big talking point
The Grand Prix Heineken du Canada will perhaps be remembered more for the race where the chequered flag was waved too early but this was a great day for Vettel and Ferrari. Vettel looked comfortable from the start and the outcome never really seemed in doubt.
Hamilton loses 1st place in the title race
Hamilton had issues with engine temperatures that curtailed his hopes of extending his lead in the title race. Finishing in fifth, this enabled Vettel to go one point clear of him with 121 points. Verstappen had been in the headlines for all the wrong reaonss recently and a solid third place will have gone some way to help him recover his Formula 1 form.
Mercedes ‘fallen behind in every aspect’
Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff was clearly rattled by Hamilton’s failure to extend his lead in the driver standings. Mercedes are now just 17 points ahead of Ferrari, with Ferrari claiming 3 wins to their 2. Wolff sounded exasperated as he gave his thoughts after the race: ‘We have fallen behind in every aspect. This is a track where we should have maximised points.’
Mercedes were unable to bring any engine updates to Canada and this was to have a huge impact on the race. Despite Bottas claiming second, this simply was not good enough for the Mercedes team at a racetrack that has been so illustrious for them in the past.
The French Grand Prix is up next
As F1 racing goes, the Canadian Grand Prix was a relatively low-key affair in terms of the racing itself. There were no big incidents to reflect upon, or any real jostling or clashes between F1’s leading drivers. Verstappen will be happy that his race was incident-free after his run of recent crashes. All attention now turns to the French Grand Prix on 22-24 June to see whether Hamilton can take back his lead from Canadian Grand Prix victor Sebastien Vettel.
