Montreal!!! Nothing but excitement. Honestly that is what we all want to see. 3 race leaders, 3 team on podium, 4 different compounds, changing weather and safety cars. If F1 was like that every week it would be bliss. Fanboy over. Now let’s take about it.

First of all what a crazy qualifying RUS and VER set the exact same time 1:12:000. In fact the top 6 were extremely close within 2.5 tenths. See below.

After that crazy qualifying session things were destined to be even closer with heavy showers before the race. This caused the teams to mostly start on the intermediate tyre, with the exception of the HAAS duo on the full wet.

At lights out the cars were slow off the line trying to find that traction early on. RUS kept his lead into the first corner with the top 5 staying relatively the same with the exception of RIC dropping into 7th. It is also worth noting that RIC had a false start receiving a 5 second penalty. Visibility was a bit of an issue in the early stages with the amount of standing water on the track.

The first few laps we saw the HAAS pair absolutely flying through the field on the wet tyre. Seeing MAG go from 14th to 4th and HUL into the top 10. The Wet option was short lived as the crossover timing quickly approached. The whole weekend we saw the dry line quickly developing and the race was no different, however off line was incredibly slippery and it was very easy to lose grip.

As the dry line started to become more clear it was apparent that the McLarens had far more pace. VER struggled to hold off NOR and the McLaren managed to fly through on the back straight. This gave RUS some breathing room as VER was closing. That breathing room was short lived though as 2 laps later NOR took the lead in the same place he took VER. RUS didn’t manage to make the corner and fell into 3rd.

NOR and the McLaren was so dominant on the inter that they had a 9 second lead at one point.

Let’s remember it is Canada GP and of course the first safety car of the day came when SAR hit the wall in turn 3 and 4 ending his race early on lap 26. NOR missed the pit as he was so far ahead. He had to adhear to the delta and this caused him to come out in 3rd almost 4th. NOR was a victim on the safety car on this occasion. The TOP 3 restarting were VER, RUS, NOR.

LEC was no where in this race however decided to try the Hard compound and was about 10 laps too early. After being lapped by the top 5 LEC retired from the race. That is a fall from grace but let’s hope Ferrari bounce back in Spain.

Second Stint saw the cars changing from inters to slick tyres. The track dried up very nicely showing a very dry line. Most drivers opted for the Mediums however a few went for the Hards. The Inters were however still competitive as NOR stayed out hoping that the Slicks would take longer to warm up, allowing him to gain some extra time. Operation overcut was on. He probably held out 1 lap too long as by the time he pitted VER had closed to gap to just over 18 seconds. NOR had a snap at the pit exit after being too quick on the throttle and VER secured the lead. It took a while for those slicks to warm up on the McLaren and we saw NOR briefly lose 2nd to RUS.

Next incident was PER hitting the wall. Although he managed to get the car back to the pits he has been given a three place grid penalty due to the spread of debris across the track. This adds to PER’s cost to the team. His value to Red Bull is to not compete with VER, it is to help VER win. He is under performing right now.

PER’s effort avoiding a safety car were in vain, as shortly after the safety car came out again as Sainz span out and hit Albon, leaving Albon stuck on the grass of turn 7. An absolutely abysmal weekend for Ferrari as Sainz had to retire the car. Red Bull now have a buffer in the constructors.

As a result of this incident there was yet again a pit stop for more slicks for some cars. RUS changed from Hards to Mediums and HAM from Mediums to Hards. In hindsight HAM should’ve used another set of mediums even commenting that it was his tyre of choice. Lap 58 racing was back.

The final 12 laps saw a shuffle among the podium places. PIA and RUS came into contact after RUS close the gap into turn 13 having to take the exit. This left PIA in 3rd. There was nearly another wall of champions victim.

This also gave HAM the opportunity to pass through into 4th. RUS dropping into 5th. HAM quickly made it into 3rd and the Hard seemed to be working until they weren’t. RUS managed to work his way around PIA and then approach HAM. He took 3rd off of his teammate on Lap 68/70. Regardless it would’ve been a Mercedes on the podium.

A crazy race to watch however very eventful. 3 pits stops, changing weather, 3 race leaders. It is exactly what you want to see on a Sunday. At one point the top 3 were on 3 different compounds. It was all going on.

Tyre Analysis

As you can see from the visual below there was a hell of a lot going on. Saving those inter tyres in practice was crucial. The wet tyre was definitely fastest tyre until the racing line developed and they quickly then dropped off. Inters were the optimal strategy however the HAAS’ had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I think the Medium was the best choice as the racing line was extremely dry and the hard compounds are notoriously hard to warm up. This made it difficult for those on the hard as if they slightly went off line they lost considerable amount of temperature in comparison to the mediums.

Watch Highlights Here

This is a must watch race but if you haven’t got the time then here are the highlights. The most fun watch of the season.

Standings

VER has massively pulled away now with a 56 point lead due to LEC retirement. The double DNF for Ferrari has now put them under pressure form the McLarens in both the drivers and constructor. Bring on Spain.

News Podium

1 - Williams team boss James Vowles has stated in no uncertain terms that Carlos Sainz is now at the top of his wish list to partner Alex Albon next season. Read More

2 - Red Bull's Sergio Perez had a weekend to forget at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and he has been penalised for a safety incident when driving back to retire his car. Read More

3 - Jacques Villeneuve chastised Daniel Ricciardo for making it “personal” after the 1997 World Champion questioned whether the Honey Badger still deserves a place on the F1 grid. Read More

Lights Out!