Verstappen wins the Canadian GP in a rain-shortened race

Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix in challenging weather conditions, beating Lando Norris and George Russell. The race was influenced by several safety car interventions.

The Red Bull driver maintained his position ahead of George Russell during pit stops to switch to intermediate tires, taking advantage of a safety car triggered by Logan Sargeant. Lando Norris, who was leading at the time, had to stop a lap later after passing the pit entry when the safety car was called.

Norris came out in third place and had to follow the cars ahead, waiting for a dry line to recover the pace that allowed him to overtake Russell in the first stint. When the track started to dry, the leaders chose to pit together on lap 45, but Norris attempted to overtake Verstappen by staying out for two more laps. This briefly put him ahead of Verstappen, but he lost control exiting the pits, allowing Verstappen to regain the lead.

Verstappen faced a second safety car when Carlos Sainz went off the track and pushed Alex Albon into the wall. However, the Red Bull driver managed the restart perfectly and was not threatened by Norris again.

At the start of the race, Verstappen couldn't overtake Russell and fell more than two seconds behind the Mercedes driver. However, Norris started lapping faster than the leaders and closed in on Verstappen, indicating that the Dutchman was within Russell's DRS range. Norris took advantage to overtake Verstappen on the back straight at the end of lap 20 and repeated the move on Russell at the end of the next lap. Subsequently, Russell went off at turn 14, allowing Verstappen to advance.

Norris started building an impressive lead over Verstappen at a pace of more than two seconds per lap, but his progress was interrupted by a safety car when Logan Sargeant crashed at the exit of turn 5. The safety car allowed Verstappen to make a stop for fresh intermediate tires due to the threat of more rain, followed by Russell and Oscar Piastri. Norris had to wait an extra lap to make his stop.

After the restart, Verstappen maintained a lead that did not exceed three seconds as the rain continued. When the rain stopped on lap 42, Pierre Gasly was lapping at the same pace as the leaders on hard tires, indicating it was time to switch to slicks. Verstappen and Russell pitted at the end of lap 45, opting for medium and hard tires, respectively, but Norris, confident in his pace, stayed out for two more laps with the intermediates trying to overtake both.

This worked temporarily and Norris exited the pits with medium tires ahead of Verstappen for a few seconds. However, with minimal grip exiting the pit lane, his McLaren lost traction, allowing Verstappen to regain the lead.

Russell won his battle at the end of the race with Hamilton, securing Mercedes' first podium of the season. Hamilton finished fourth, ahead of Oscar Piastri, who ended up in a lonely fifth position. Fernando Alonso finished sixth, followed by Lance Stroll. Daniel Ricciardo resisted pressure from the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon to finish eighth, securing his first points of the season.