LEWIS HAMILTON took his second podium of the year while Max Verstappen’s victory in Canada saw him open up a whopping 46-point lead in the championship.
Hamilton was third and had a box office seat for a thrilling finale, as Verstappen held off the late challenge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who finished second.
Max Verstappen is well on his way to a second world title
Lewis Hamilton secured a podium finish for just the second time this season
The Brit, who has endured a miserable season, crossed the line ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
A relieved Hamilton said over the team’s radio after crossing the line: “Great, great effort guys. Thank you so much, let’s keep pushing.”
It was a cracking end to an otherwise processional GP – yet there was already a simmering row before a wheel had even turned in anger in this contest.
Just 24 hours earlier from lights out, a regular catch up between the team bosses and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali descended into a slanging match.
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The argument was over the new F1 cars and their bouncing problem, which frustratingly continues to set the news agenda.
But some feel the aerodynamic phenomenon of drivers bouncing up and down in their cockpits has been hijacked in the latest political play in an attempt to rewrite the rules.
Of course, this is nothing new in F1.
You need only look back to the tedious rows over flexing rear wings last season and accusations over which team it benefitted and whether it was legal.
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This time, however, it seems different. Almost as if team bosses are slipping in to character to suit the heavily dramatised Netflix series, ‘Drive to Survive’.
After all, there had never been any such issues in the Saturday morning catch-ups in the past only this time – and for the first time – Netflix were allowed into the meeting to film it.
It all seems a little bit crass to imagine, but there is a distinct feeling that some are using the presence of a TV crew to peddle their own narrative in an attempt to write their own scripts.
Here, the bouncing row stems from Red Bull, who have the quickest car and are leading both championships, and are calling foul play on their rivals’, who are demanding changes are made in the name of safety.
It is pretty hard to disagree when you see the likes of Hamilton’s head pinging about before complaining of a bad back.
However, Red Bull’s argument is simple; they created a better can and the others can solve their bouncing by increasing their cars’ ride height, even if it slows them down.
It is all rather niggly but has served to stoke up the rivalry that exists between F1’s big three teams – Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari – and the fans will love it.
There is not any doubt about the impact the Netflix show has had in North America.
This race was a sell out and the scenes in Downtown Montreal on Saturday were like no other I’d witnessed in the city.
The bars and restaurants were packed and there was one funny moment when some Ferrari owners stuck their cars in neutral and revved the nuts off their engines to cheers from the F1 fans who were all filming on their phones.
Unbeknown to them, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton sat in the car in front; a modest Mercedes SUV being driven by his physio Angela Cullen while Hamilton laid low in the back seat, hidden by the tinted glass.
The Brit looked relaxed as he made his way to the grid having taken his best qualifying spot of the season the previous day.
Hamilton started in fourth and held on to the position at lights out while Verstappen powered away from pole.
The Red Bull man looked unstoppable as he opened up a comfortable gap over second-placed Feranando Alonso.
The 40-year-old two-time world champion had set himself the target of fighting Verstappen for the lead, but his challenge was blown away when he was passed by countryman Carlos Sainz on lap three.
Sergio Perez became the first car eliminated from the race on the ninth lap when he retired with engine failure while running in 10th place.
The Mexican’s retirement kick-started a flurry of pitstops with Verstappen coming in from the lead for fresh tyres.
The Dutchman returned to the track in third place behind Sainz and Alonso while Hamilton also stopped for tyres.
The Mercedes man moved back up to fifth when he overtook Esteban Ocon into turn one on lap 12.
And Hamilton got into the top three once Alonso then made his stop for tyres as the top three played out an intriguing battle.
The pressure began to tell as Verstappen anxiously messaged his team saying “my tyres are really starting to drop, mate,” before he was called in at the end of lap 43 for tyres.
When he came out of the pits he was behind Hamilton and blasted his team on the radio “why didn’t you make sure I am ahead of him?!”
The reply was telling as he was succinctly told “didn’t have the pace”.
It meant that it became the first time this season that last year’s rivals were able to race each other.
Sadly, it lasted for less than a lap as Hamilton was passed on the final straight and then opted to duck into the pits himself.
But there was still another twist. Yuki Tsunoda crashed out on lap 49, sparking the deployment of the safety car.
It set up a grandstand finish as Verstappen was leading Sainz while Hamilton was third and Russell in fourth.
At the restart, Verstappen held his nerve but he was not able to build a gap over Sainz, who was doggedly holding on while Hamilton also remained in the hunt.
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The Spaniard pressed Verstappen, trying to pressurise him into making a mistake in a gripping end to the grands prix.
However, Verstappen hung on for his fifth victory in the last six races to open up a commanding lead in the championship.
