Canada - Race

With the tires gathering over Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the drivers, the teams, and the fans were preparing themselves for a race to remember. In the end, although it wasn't the rain that made the Grand Prix memorable, all the action over the course of the 68 laps brought back the joy of watching Formula One that many fans have been missing since the infamous new regulations came into effect. 

Because of the looming threat of rain and the fact that, as the race was set to begin, the track was still wet, the tire strategies were split, with some teams opting for various kinds of slicks, and others believing that intermediates were a better alternative. When it came to the top contenders, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull all came out on track with the red softs, but McLaren went against the grain, instead showing off the vibrant green of the inters. 

The Grand Prix did not begin as quickly as many people expected it to. After the formation lap, the five red lights went on... And stayed red for far longer than it was acceptable. Due to the unexpected issue, the start was aborted, and the drivers were sent out onto a second formation lap. Unfortunately, not all of them managed to leave the grid. Arvid Lindblad could not start his car, reporting that it would not go into gear. He was pushed towards the pits by the stewards, ending his race much earlier than he would have liked and delaying the second starting procedure enough for yet another formation lap to be ordered by race control. The third time was the charm in Montreal.

As soon as the race began, Lando Norris made good use of his inters, overtaking both Mercedes ahead and moving into the lead. Despite getting pole, George Russell did not have the best start and ended up behind the McLaren driver and his own teammate, Kimi Antonelli. The two prides of Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, had a better beginning to the Grand Prix, both moving up a place after the first few corners. 

McLaren's risky strategy may have gotten them the lead, but it was not a great choice in the long run. Oscar Piastri pitted after only one lap, eager to change into slicks. His teammate followed suit a lap later, taking himself out of contention for the win. Within the span of a few minutes, all the drivers who began on intermediates made a visit to the pits. As soon as Norris was removed from the equation, the two Mercedes began a vicious fight for the lead. On lap 6, Antonelli drove off track, giving Russell the perfect opportunity to regain the lead. The young Italian didn't stay far behind, all but breathing onto his teammate's back, eager to return to the front of the field. 

Meanwhile, the situation was only growing worse for McLaren. Their two drivers were slowly making their way up the field when Piastri drove into Alex Albon's side, destroying his Williams enough for him to finish his race after only 13 laps. The contact also did some damage to the McLaren that caused it. Piastri made his second visit to the pits, this time spending over 14 seconds stationary as his team worked on the car. He rejoined the race towards the back of the field. A few laps later, he received a 10-second penalty for the incident. While Norris was not involved in a direct battle with another driver, he also made his stop after reporting reliability problems.

At the front of the field, Antonelli was still fighting Russell as Hamilton tried to chase down Max Verstappen for the third spot on the podium. On lap 24, the Italian did manage to overtake his teammate, but was told to give back the position since the move was not one that could be officially recognised. Their heated fight for the lead ended on lap 30, but not for the reasons the fans may have expected. There was no impressive overtake or racing-caused accident. Instead, Russell's engine simply gave out, forcing him to retire from the race despite his promising position. He wasn't the only driver put in such a situation. Fernando Alonso finished the Grand Prix on lap 27, Norris parked his car on lap 40, and Sergio Perez drove into the pits on lap 43. 

Out of all the retirements, it was Russell's that interfered with the race the most, as he was the only driver not to make it to a safe area before seeing his car give up. A virtual safety car was called when the crew began working on removing his Mercedes from the tarmac, and racing resumed only on lap 32.  

Leclerc had been all but invisible for the bigger part of the race, but came into focus once he began chasing Isack Hadjar for P4. The fight was close for a good few laps, including a controversial moment in which the Red Bull driver moved strangely on one of the long straights, almost causing a dangerous accident. In the end, he lost twofold: Leclerc overtook him on lap 40, and he was later given a 10-second penalty for the incident. It wasn't the only punishment he would receive over the course of the Grand Prix. Later on, he was also awarded a stop-and-go for an infringement of a yellow flag. 

With Russell out of the equation, the fight for the lead cooled off significantly. The same, however, could not be said about the fights for the two remaining spots on the podium. Hamilton was hungry for his best-ever finish in Ferrari and chased Verstappen for P2. He managed to overtake the Dutchman on lap 62, and although Verstappen did stick close to him, he never managed to regain the position. And so, the podium included the 19-year-old, alongside two drivers who had already won multiple World Championships. 

Order of the grid:

1. Kimi Antonelli

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Max Verstappen

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Isack Hadjar

6. Franco Colapinto

7. Liam Lawson

8. Pierre Gasly

9. Carlos Sainz

10. Oliver Bearman

11. Oscar Piastri

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13. Gabriel Bortoleto

14. Esteban Ocon

15. Lance Stroll

16. Valtteri Bottas

DNF: Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon

DNS: Arvid Lindblad