Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle summed up the results of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The top seven in the starting field were separated by just over a quarter of a second, with six of them believing they should have been in pole position, including Alonso in sixth and a confused Hamilton in seventh. They all felt that mistakes on the fast lap prevented them from achieving more.
In the end, Russell drove a lap on used tyres fast enough and early enough to get ahead of Verstappen, who showed an identical result, to within three decimal places. It would have been terrible for Formula 1 if we had gone to four or even five decimal places immediately.
McLaren’s Norris and Piastri took the second row, with Ricciardo starting fifth – he was happy with his attempt and did not claim he could have done better.
My Sky Sports F1 colleague Jacques Villeneuve has been very harsh on Daniel, but I have to say that I have a deep respect for all Formula 1 drivers, not least Daniel and Jacques, because I know how difficult it is to drive these formidable machines.
Daniel has won eight Grand Prix, including a remarkable victory in Monaco, reached the podium 32 times, and regularly demonstrated world-class talent. But these results were achieved a long time ago, and I wish he hadn’t left Red Bull at the end of 2018. It was an emotional and wrong decision, he should have faced Max in the fastest car, and then he would have definitely started to perform even better.
Ricciardo never became a former driver. Obviously, he still has the speed and skill, as we saw in the Miami sprint, but something in his psychology or approach is holding him back. If you’re looking for excitement off the track, consider visiting Stay casino online for some thrilling games and entertainment.
McLaren “significantly faster” in Miami than Red Bull
Periodic rain always makes racing more exciting, and this stage was no exception. In the early laps, Haas drivers Magnussen and Hülkenberg could be seen breaking through the peloton using intermediate tyres on heavy rain tyres. Haas decided to take the risk, but why not, as Kevin had managed to move up to fourth place. But the leading teams believed in the forecast, which this time proved to be accurate and helped their tyres in time.
Russell overtook Verstappen, the McLaren drivers maintained their positions, and soon everyone was looking for wet sections of the track to cool their tyres. A couple of confident overtakes led to Norris taking the lead and pulling away from the others. On the intermediate tyres, the McLaren was fastest and could have won simply by virtue of its pace.
The safety car after Logan Sargent’s accident came out at the wrong time for McLaren. They should have realised that the arrival of the safety car was inevitable, but as Lando was already close to entering the pit lane, they decided to leave him on the track. This cost him time and possibly the victory.
The rain intensified, fresh intermediate tyres were needed for a while, but Verstappen’s lone Red Bull continued to fight with two McLarens and, in fact, two Mercedes. The race featured a lot of aggressive defence and overtaking, and it didn’t become an all-time classic, but it was unforgettable.
The second conclusion is that Mercedes cars were the fastest on the dry track, and now they could win simply by virtue of their power. However, a critical mistake in Turn 8 under heavy pressure cost Russell his track position and the opportunity to attack Verstappen, who was struggling with the suspension while attacking the kerbs.
At one point, Hamilton was very fast, recovering from being behind Alonso in the first phase of the race. Later, Lewis called his performance one of the worst, which is not at all obvious to me. Perhaps he made a lot of small mistakes. The young drivers in front of him are still youthfully fast and fearless, but they are already quite experienced. To match them and win, Lewis needs to give 100% in everything.
While Verstappen was the star of the previous stages, Perez and Ferrari performed terribly. Despite the difficulties with the weather, rivals and the safety car, Verstappen scored his 60th Formula 1 victory. This further highlighted the dismal weekend for Perez, who recently extended his contract to drive the second Red Bull car. He qualified poorly, suffered front wing damage in the second corner, made little progress and then retired. It was horrible.
Ferrari didn’t have a much better race, if you can call it a race at all. From the start of the weekend, they lacked speed on the track named after one of the most famous Ferrari drivers of all time, both on dry and wet asphalt. Leclerc had engine problems. Starting in 11th place, he took a wild gamble with the slicks during a pit stop, during which he managed to get the power unit back on track after a restart.
Carlos Sainz, who started 12th, also did not progress very far, his turn knocking Alex Albon out of the fight in the Williams, who overtook two cars in a row in one jerk.
This meant that neither Ferrari nor Williams had a finisher. The Aston Martin drivers had a great chance.
The two Alpine drivers, who finished 9th and 10th, scored points with two cars for the first time this season. Some tension remained between them, but it was due to team tactics.
Both Haas cars were less than a second behind them, but did not score points.
New regulations for 2026
During the weekend, dramatic changes to the Formula 1 regulations for 2026 were announced. In fact, they were a cross between a draft regulation and a list of technical wishes, so they were received with scepticism by the teams and the press.
Approximately half as much power will come from the battery and half as much from the engine. Reduced downforce and drag due to active aerodynamics will make better use of this power. The cars will be slightly smaller and lighter, with the goal of reducing the overall weight by 30 kg.
I am positive about such ideas. It usually ends well when the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams combine their talents and resources. Over the decades, Formula 1 has had to evolve to stay cutting edge and relevant, while fulfilling its primary role of entertaining people.
Some people fear that the cars will be too fast on the straights and too slow in the corners with this aerodynamic format. Personally, I’m concerned about the steerable front and rear wings, which may not return to the correct position in a high-speed corner due to debris, damage or malfunction.
Another problem we will face in 2026 is that the engine will lose the MGU-H from the turbocharger, which is very convenient for generating electricity, and the new cars will not have battery regeneration from the front wheels. Therefore, especially on tracks with a lot of straightaways and few braking zones, it will be difficult to generate the necessary amount of energy for a larger battery. It remains to be seen how this will affect racing, but those celebrating the imminent abandonment of DRS should be careful what they wish for.
It will be difficult to shed 30kg from a car that is smaller but has a stronger safety system, active aerodynamics and a bigger battery. We’ll find out soon enough; they won’t be on the track for another 18 months, and the regulatory teams won’t be able to start working on aerodynamics until 2025.
I’ve been attending the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal since 1984, and this year was undoubtedly the least enjoyable in terms of the venue. The popularity and scale of modern Formula 1 has outgrown the capacity of the venue, and the rain that turned the access roads to mud didn’t help either. The police and security look increasingly aggressive and helpless due to the constant logistical problems.
The next race will be held in Barcelona, where everything depends on the chassis and handling, although the championship has recently visited several specialised and bizarre tracks. The stopwatch will determine who has really improved their cars.
