The Canadian Grand Prix started with less than favorable weather conditions. Start on a wet track with intermediate tyres, except for Haas who decided to start with the full wet. The choice of the American team was impeccable and saw Kevin Magnussen pull off a good comeback in the first laps. George Russell also had an excellent start as he managed to keep the position on Max Verstappen.
After the sprint, the Englishman managed to keep the lead of the race for several laps, until Lando Norris, after overtaking Verstappen, put him in his sights. The McLaren driver came out on top thanks also to an off-piste move by Russell.
The two drivers battled several times during the race, exchanging positions. In a race also characterized by the entry of safety cars twice, George Russell still managed to finish in third place.
The situation is different for Lewis Hamilton. During the opening stages he was stuck behind Fernando Alonso. After the first pit stop, the Mercedes driver had some difficulty getting the tires up to temperature.
At the end, with the new tire change, he managed to overtake Oscar Piastri and battle with his teammate, finishing in fourth place. But there was no shortage of small digs at the team for the deliberate strategy that limited its action in the final phase of the event.
![](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Russell-111-jpg.webp)
Canadian GP 2024, Mercedes: Russell was aiming for victory
“It honestly felt like a wasted opportunity,” Russell began. We were very fast at the beginning with the intermediates, then Lando Norris arrived and he was also very fast and then I made a couple of mistakes going over the limit. But in any case, the first podium of the season, this weekend we had a fast car and getting back into the fight for the victory was fun. This race was the essence of Formula 1, this is why we race."
“I had the pace, Max was very strong in that part of the race. But in middle school I made that mistake when I tried to overtake Piastri. I lost position to Hamilton and it cost us, at the very least, second place. Maybe we could have fought with Verstappen too."
“I'll take the podium, I'm happy to continue the season in this way. The battle with Piastri was very close, in the end Lewis also arrived: it was tough but we were correct. It's very difficult when there is only one dry line, you have to be safe and trust your rival."
Canadian GP, Mercedes: Hamilton surprised by the team's choices
“My weekend could have been different with a better qualifying“. The seven-time world champion spoke to Sky Sport F1 without mincing words. “It was a shocking performance from me, today wasn't a great performance, in fact it was one of the worst. But the car felt good and the team did a great job this weekend, so the future looks promising with this progress“.
Always frankly, Hamilton showed more than one perplexity about a strategy that even from the outside seemed unclear: “Penalized in the second part of the race by tire choice? Yes. If I had known they were going to put me on hard tires I would have stayed out. I thought George and I would have the same tire – I came back and didn't realize George had middle school. I knew I would have the hard, but I thought we had the same tyre. If I had known George was in middle school I would have stayed out”.
A concept reiterated and underlined because, with a difference in compound, it was practically impossible to defend oneself from the attacks of one's colleague-rival. Running as a resignant, evidently, also involves this type of situation.
![Fp3 Canadian GP 2024 results](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Lewsi-Hamilton-Canada-jpg.webp)
Canadian GP, Mercedes: Toto Wolff avoids controversy
Toto Wolff avoided addressing the issue which will probably be analyzed in the camera caritatis. He simply photographed that the team missed an opportunity. And it is not the first time: "Today was a challenging race. When you finish in P3 and P4, given where we have finished in the last few races, then obviously it's positive. Both drivers know that we could have achieved more. We certainly could have taken one or two more positions and then maybe we would have fought for the victory. It's a bit bittersweet then, but in the end, if you had told us before the weekend that we would be third and fourth, then we would have accepted it“.
The manager then spoke of an encouraging weekend and a good development direction for a car that finally seems to make sense. “We are adding performance to every Grand Prix. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth continues to work hard and it's great to see their efforts rewarded with our first podium of the year. I hope we can continue on this positive trajectory“, he said at the end of the race. In Barcelona, a circuit that really puts the car to the test, Mercedes will really understand where it is.
Crediti foto: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team