Thrilling conditions often bespoke a thrilling race. Which is exactly what Formula One provided in Canada. Featuring a three-way battle for the win, incidents aplenty and Alex Albon making the overtake of the year, Canada delivered a wet-to-dry classic that fans will be talking about for years to come.

After an equally thrilling qualifying, which saw George Russell and Max Verstappen set the exact same pole time, conditions at the start of the race were incredibly wet. As all the runners on the intermediate tyres struggled for grip, one team made moves across the field. As Haas had elected to start on the wet tyres, they were instantly the fastest cars on the circuit. My favourite chaos merchant Kevin Magnussen made fine use of his extra grip, moving from fourteenth to fourth in the space of a few laps. It seemed like Haas had made a fantastic gamble, but within a few laps, as the track started to dry, conditions moved towards the intermediate runners. It was at this point that Haas needed to bring Kevin in for a pit stop. They did this, albeit forgetting to bring the tyres. So, Kevin’s work was all for nought, as he fell down the field, throwing away a chance of points. It was a shame to see Kevin’s performance yield no rewards, as he reminded everyone that when he’s not courting controversy, he’s a damn good racer.

As all the midfield chaos was occurring, George Russell was leading with Verstappen hot on his tail. The Mercedes showed a surprising flash of pace this weekend, likely bolstered by their upgrades and the colder conditions in Canada. After not being close to the podium all season, Russell was a legitimate contender for the win. It was a great turnaround, though as the two frontrunners fought, the McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri were getting closer and closer. McLaren had set their car up to prioritise tyre wear and this began to pay off, as Norris overtook both Verstappen and Russell to lead the race. He then began to pull away from the field and it began to appear like Lando’s second win was on the horizon. Then Logan Sargeant crashed and bought out the safety car. From here, things began to fall apart for Lando.

When the safety car was called, McLaren had just enough time to bring in Lando for a pit stop.[1] Unfortunately for them, they missed their opportunity, continuing an under-scrutinized trend of McLaren making poor strategic decisions at vital moments. As all the other front runners pitted, Norris had to complete another lap behind the safety car, resulting in him falling from first to third when he finally did pit. Norris would never regain the opportunity to win the race from this point onwards, despite attempting an overcut when switching to dry tyres. Whilst finishing second, this result was not was Norris was hoping for. Combined with the near miss at Imola, Norris has missed out on possible victories in two of the last three races. For a team that finally seems to have a championship contending car, McLaren have to take these opportunities.

As the race reached its dry zenith, it was the Mercedes of George Russell that looked to have the pace to challenge for Verstappen for the win. Yet, a series of small, costly errors throughout the race consistently put Russell into fights with other frontrunners that he could have avoided. This is a consistent trend many have noticed about George Russell. He is a fantastic driver, with supreme qualifying abilities and great race pace, but he makes mistakes at the exact wrong moments. At minimum, he could have finished second with his pace towards the end of the race, but instead had to settle for third. It was still a fantastic performance throughout the weekend for George, but he’s got to have to turn this narrative around soon. If Mercedes’ upgrade path is as fruitful as some are predicting, perhaps that opportunity could arise in Spain. If it does, George has to take it.

With such a fantastic race, the only thing that could possibly make me upset would be if Ferrari were to have an absolute howler. If, for example, they were to both qualify outside the top-10, then have race-ending engine issues on my favourite driver’s car, I would be upset. I would be even more upset if Ferrari’s other driver then proceeded to spin out of the race, in the process hitting my second favourite driver, who up to that point was having a brilliant race. For the sake of praising one of the best Formula One races of the last few years, I am going to choose to no longer ruminate on the fact that these exact events occurred.

So, despite certain events, this race had everything. Three teams fighting for the win, battles across the field, strategy gambles and Max Verstappen delivering a masterclass performance to remind everyone that even without a dominant car, he is a dominant driver. I won’t be forgetting this one anytime soon.

[1] Mark Hughes, MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: Norris would likely have won in Canada had he pitted under the Safety Car – so why didn’t he?, (10 June 2024) https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/monday-morning-debrief-norris-would-likely-have-won-in-canada-had-he-pitted.1Dyef4xy7eJDmKpNAYgdKY