Verstappen triumphs over Norris in thrilling wet/dry Canadian GP
MONTREAL, Canada — Max Verstappen and Red Bull redeemed themselves from their Monaco struggles with a scintillating victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, overcoming unpredictable weather, multiple Safety Car interventions, and intense competition to clinch the win. Verstappen led home a resilient Lando Norris in what turned out to be one of the most thrilling races of the 2024 season.
Verstappen initially trailed behind pole-sitter George Russell of Mercedes during the wet early stages. However, Lando Norris capitalized on improving track conditions to overtake both Russell and Verstappen. The dynamics shifted when a Safety Car was triggered by Logan Sargeant's crash, which demoted Norris to third.
Verstappen seized the opportunity, maneuvering past Russell and mastering the restart. He then skillfully managed further rain showers to maintain his lead. As the track dried and the field switched from intermediate tyres to slicks, Verstappen held his ground even after a second Safety Car period caused by a collision between Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
The reigning world champion ultimately surged towards the chequered flag, while Norris secured second place after an intense mid-race battle with Russell. Russell, after some late-race skirmishes with teammate Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's Oscar Piastri, settled for third.
Russell and Hamilton, who both opted for fresh slick tyres during the second Safety Car period, put the Mercedes pit wall on edge as they battled wheel-to-wheel on several occasions. Russell executed the decisive move for P3 on the penultimate lap.
Behind the top five finishers, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and local hero Lance Stroll achieved a double points finish, while Daniel Ricciardo marked his first points of the season with an eighth-place finish, following up on his strong qualifying performance.
Ricciardo’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, was also in contention for points but a late mistake sent him sliding across the grass, dropping him down the order and allowing Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon to secure a double top-10 result.
Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen initially made significant gains as the only drivers to start on wet tyres rather than intermediates, but narrowly missed out on points, finishing 11th and 12th respectively.
Tsunoda ended up 14th after his costly error, positioned between Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. Notably, only 15 of the 20 cars reached the finish line in this dramatic race.
Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, who were vying for points, both retired after their collision. Ferrari faced further woes with persistent power unit issues forcing Charles Leclerc into retirement, leaving the team scoreless despite their triumph in Monaco.
Sergio Perez was the fifth and final retiree, spinning off and damaging his rear wing, adding to his woes after a Q1 exit in qualifying.
In parc ferme, Verstappen celebrated triumphantly, boosting his championship lead from 31 points to 56, fully capitalizing on Ferrari and Leclerc's misfortunes.
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