Canadian Grand Prix; A weekend of expected rain, team dramas and more.

It was a weekend in which we expected rainy weather again, except we did not necessarily get that. As the formation lap was beginning, there were various tyre strategies going on, including the McLaren pairing on a set of intermediate tyres each. This would cause dramas on the first few laps, given both drivers were not confident in the tyre choice. We had multiple formation laps, after the initial race start was aborted due to Arvid Lindblad’s car had a gearbox/clutch failure, which meant he was unable to get going again.

By the end of the race, there was significant drama. Kimi Antonelli won yet another race weekend making that 4 so far this season. He continues his lead in the championship, extending it away from his teammate. Joining Antonelli on the podium was Lewis Hamilton who was able to finish the race in P2, after a battle with Max Verstappen in the dying laps, which would result in Max Verstappen finishing P3.

A very elated podium in Canada; Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

Charles Leclerc managed to finish the race in P4, although 44 seconds behind the top 3 drivers, still gave Ferrari another double point scoring weekend. Another driver who ensured a double points scoring weekend was Isack Hadjar, who ultimately finished the race in P5. A very great result and an impressive drive from the young Redbull driver, proving his capability in the seat alongside Verstappen.

Alpine had a great result also scoring double points. Franco Colapinto had his best finishing result so far of his career, finishing in p6. His teammate Pierre Gasly would finish in P8, although disappointing for a driver of his capability, proves how Alpine are able to start stepping up with the assist of the Mercedes engine as well.

The final three drivers within the top 10 were all carrying their teams to points on the weekend. Liam Lawson was able to score Visa Cashapp some points with the unfortunate DNS of Lindblad. Lawson would go on to finish P7. Carlos Sainz was the next solo driver representing their team within the top 10, finishing P8, and being able to help score some small number of points that could later prove essential to the constructor’s championship. Ollie Bearman was the final driver taking out the last point scoring spot in P10. Bearman had a somewhat quiet weekend, keeping to himself and helping Haas keep within the championship fight.

A difficult weekend but ultimately resulting in points for Ollie Bearman.

Oscar Piastri had a difficult time during the race. An incident with Alex Albon would prove costly, giving him a 10 second time penalty that he would serve later in the race. But unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to score points, having to settle for P11 and being lapped 2 times by the front runners.

Audi are showing that they can get better results with a weekend where there were things going wrong left and right. In this instance, although no points were scored, it was a step in the right direction for Audi. Nico Hulkenberg went on to finish P12, whilst Gabriel Bortoleto finished P13.

Esteban Ocon seems to be having a difficult start to his season, with another race result where he had been outscored by his younger teammate. With rumours floating around about possible changes to the driver lineup, Ocon needs to prove to the team why he is still able and willing to put in the effort for the team. Ocon would ultimately finish P14.

Lance Stroll wasn’t having the weekend he intended to have at his home grand prix. A P15 result, would not have been the position he was hoping for, but given Aston Martins difficulties so far this year, having finished the race would be a huge result for him and the team.

A weekend to forget for the hometown hero, Lance Stroll.

Valtteri Bottas was our final driver finishing P16. Like Ocon, with rumours going around, Bottas has some catching up to do. Given Cadillac wanted drivers with previous experience, they have had that with Bottas and Perez. They still show plenty of potential for the future, but we knew Cadillac was going to have a tough few years ahead as they worked everything out.

Whilst the weekend was impressive for Antonelli, it was a race to forget for teammate George Russell, who would DNF on lap 29, due to power unit issues. Russell was extremely frustrated and ended up with a fine post-race for throwing his headrest out of the car.

A very sad day for George Russell after power unit issues caused him to DNF.

Sergio Perez would DNF on lap 39, after the suspension on one part of the car exploded. It appeared to be a bizarre situation, given he seemed to know something was wrong having chosen to get into the pitlane, but an unusual experience, nonetheless.

Lando Norris faced a DNF as well. The result of his DNF was due to a terminal mechanical issue within the car. Norris lost all power and could not continue in the race and was forced to pull the car over and call it a day.

Fernando Alonso was forced to DNF in Canada due to a seat issue. The Aston Martin has been experiencing vibrations all year so far, and the seat issue was causing pain each lap. Alonso opted to not finish the race for his health and wellbeing instead.

For Alex Albon, it was a weekend he’d rather forget. An incident between himself and Oscar Piastri resulted in a collision and a DNF from Albon. A tough result, given how Albon needs to prove himself to the team, but sometimes things cannot be helped.

A collision with Oscar Piastri cost Alex Albon the opportunity for a good race.