Finally Lewis enjoys a champagne moment
Hamilton makes it on the podium as Max powers into the distance
LEWIS HamIlton climbed off his physio’s couch to claim third place in the Canadian Grand Prix that will act as balm in his season of torment.
Yes, Hamilton was behind victor max Verstappen, who coolly withstood late pressure to claim his sixth win of the campaign, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
But, as the fizzy wine was sprayed and Hamilton received the biggest cheers of the sun- drenched day, the 37-year-old Briton looked revitalised on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve stage where he scored his first of 103 wins way back in 2007.
His wide smile was redolent of Saturday, when coming fourth quickest in qualifying was celebrated as if he had conquered mount Everest.
that is a measure of mercedes’
woes this year. their porpoising car has bumped and dawdled since the new regulations came in at the start of the year.
So bad was it, let’s not forget, that, a week earlier, Hamilton could barely climb out of his torture machine in Baku. Even if there was a hint of am-dram in the essay of agony he portrayed, this revival was certainly way beyond expectation.
He left azerbaijan unsure of whether his aging spine would be up to the task of 70 laps around the montreal asphalt. But he slept well the night of Baku and awoke on monday determined not to let negative thoughts interfere with preparations for yesterday’s test.
Down the years, his competitive zeal has never let him down. He has always looked forwards, not back. ask him to recall races past and his mind turns hazy. It was that mindset coupled with his physio angela Cullen’s healing hands that made yesterday’s little landmark possible.
‘Great, great effort, guys,’ said Hamilton, who had recently called the car ‘undriveable’. ‘thanks so much. We’ve got something here. let’s keep pushing.’
let’s not get carried away, mind.
Verstappen would have been out of sight but for a late safety car. Hamilton and mercedes were also flattered by Ferrari’s Charles leclerc starting from the back after an engine change.
Hamilton acquitted himself well throughout the less-than-thrilling race. on newer tyres, he made one decent early pass on alpine’s Esteban ocon, whose resistance was supine. He gobbled up Fernando alonso in the other alpine on lap 24 without any great drama.
a word of applause for alonso in passing. He qualified second quickest six weeks shy of his 41st birthday, his abilities and hunger barely dimmed by age. the Spaniard desperately wanted to engage himself in the fight for the lead at the first corner, but Verstappen was away cleanly and for alonso it was now a matter of not slipping backwards. He finished seventh.
one moment of amusement, and possible jeopardy, came when Verstappen emerged from his second stop right into Hamilton’s path. the Briton muscularly held his own and stayed in front. However, showing the essential disparity in the relative speed of their cars, Verstappen soon zoomed straight
past his old adversary. Now you see me, now you don’t.
It was Verstappen’s 26th win in 150 races and the defending champion now leads the standings by 46 points, over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, going into Silverstone a week on Sunday. Max is currently the best driver in the world.
George Russell, in the second Mercedes, started eighth after taking on slick tyres on a drying track in qualifying, and finished fourth. He never looked likely to threaten Hamilton. You rather get the feeling this was the way the team wanted it.
Hamilton is the big-money No 1, on £40million a year, and the driver who seemed more damaged by their troubling run that left him podiumless since Bahrain on the season’s opening day nine long races ago.
Every time it went wrong during that dismal sequence, team principal Toto Wolff was on the radio to commiserate with him in self-flagellating reverence. ‘Not your fault
Lewis, we still love you,’ was the gist of the honey-coated words.
What else? Two virtual safety cars, when Perez and Haas’s Mick Schumacher suffered engine failure, and an actual safety car when Yuki Tsunoda bashed his AlphaTauri into the barriers. This delay bunched up the field and when the action restarted Verstappen was away cleanly.
Sainz, however, was tracking him doggedly. It was as good a pitch as the racing reached, with Verstappen vulnerable to the slightest slip in front of a crowd glad to be back after a three-year Covid-inspired hiatus. He did not make one, finishing just a second ahead.
In all, 338,000 fans came over the weekend, including the soaked souls who withstood the unremitting Saturday drizzle.
Leclerc carved his way up the field but managed only fifth, a sort of damage limitation but a result that leaves him 49 points off Verstappen, the man to beat.