George Russell fantastically won the Canadian Grand Prix, never being troubled by the chasing pack as he took his and Mercedes’ first win of 2025. He was closely chased by Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman was more focused on watching his mirrors than attacking Russell. Behind the McLarens were recovering after an off-qualifying session which left them 3rd and 7th, but would come together in the closing laps to see their Championship lead reduced for the first time this year. Overall, it was an exciting race, with the strategies creating a nice offset that concertinaed the pack towards the end. I’m running out of time to write this (FP1 of the Austrian Grand Prix is less than 12 hours away) so let’s get into it.
George Russell – 8.8
George took a great pole on Saturday and led the whole way on Sunday, it was a great drive, just as talk is building about his future at Mercedes with the Verstappen link not going away. George has arguably been the driver of the season and this victory was thoroughly deserved.
Max Verstappen – 8.5
A typical Verstappen drive, didn’t have the fastest car but maximised the result. He held off Antonelli around the pit stops to solidify 2nd and ran quite a quiet race to the chequered flag. This level of consistency is what makes Max, Max.
Kimi Antonelli – 8.7
Antonelli became the 3rd youngest podium finisher in F1 history with a fantastic drive. He overtook the championship leader at Turn 1, threatened Verstappen around the pit stops and was holding on well in front of massive pressure from the McLarens in the closing stages. He earned this podium!
Oscar Piastri – 7.6
A slightly off weekend for the whole McLaren team in Montreal. Oscar qualified well to take 3rd but couldn’t hold on at the first corner and couldn’t pressure Antonelli in front to create an overtaking opportunity. His teammate who started 7th was able to catch him by the end of the race and should have passed, but we will get to Lando.
Charles Leclerc – 7.5
Another tricky weekend for Ferrari as the car just isn’t gelling at the moment. The upgrades don’t seem to be having the desired effect either. Charles found himself in no-mans land in fifth, but not as much as his teammate.
Lewis Hamilton – 7.5
Too many times this season have we found Lewis in the middle of nowhere mid-race. This time it was due to damage he picked up on Lap 13 after hitting a groundhog. He was driving well before that, keeping up with the leaders. This damage was costing him 1/4 second a lap which left him on his own for much of the race.
Fernando Alonso – 8.1
Points are like London buses for Fernando this season, wait ages for one and suddenly they come thick and fast. It was a great drive from Fernando to take best of the rest.
Nico Hulkenberg – 8.4
A great drive from Hulkenberg, took advantage of some first lap swabbles to get into position to score points and did well to keep them. Dragging this Sauber into the points is a great achievement and Nico has the experience and skill to do that.
Esteban Ocon – 7.9
A great drive from Ocon and a great strategy from Haas helped get the Frenchman into the points in Montreal. Starting behind his teammate, Ocon was able to move up the field and take his first points since Monaco.
Carlos Sainz – 7.9
Sainz recovered after a horror Spanish Grand Prix to take a point in Montreal. A nice dive down the inside of Bortoleto was a highlight after staring 16th.
Ollie Bearman – 7.3
Ollie just missed out on points in Montreal and would be disappointed to be beaten by his teammate but a solid performance from the team.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6.9
Yuki received a 10-place penalty in practice for overtaking under red flags, so he started from the back. He battled back but wasn’t able to get into the points. His performances are starting to go backwards again.
Franco Colapinto – 7.1
Franco beat his teammate in Canada, which is always a plus for him to maintain a positive reputation within the team. He didn’t trouble the points but the car isn’t really in that fight at the moment.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 7.2
Bortoleto is doing a decent job but being outperformed by his teammate more regularly, or at least Nico is getting the stand out performance from this car. Gabriel is in the fight though and building confidence.
Pierre Gasly – 6.9
An off weekend for Pierre. He was always towards the back and got in a few scuffles, notably with Lance Stroll. Beaten by his teammate that doesn’t happen very often.
Isack Hadjar – 6.1
Isack’s worst race in a long time. The Racing Bull didn’t look quick at all in Montreal and Isack got penalised as well for impeding in qualifying. He made it into Q3 but went backwards from there.
Lance Stroll – 6.5
I think Lance’s 10 second penalty was harsh, he did drift wide and Gasly dipped onto the grass but is that really worth 10 seconds? I think Pierre bought that a bit. Last on the road for his home race isn’t the result he wanted and probably didn’t reflect his actual pace, especially after coming back from wrist surgery.
Lando Norris – 5.5
Lando, Lando, Lando. A dodgy Q3 put him into the pack and he did really well to fight back in the race until a lack of judgement when overtaking his teammate cost him dearly. He looked for a gap that wasn’t going to open in time, when he probably would have got past around the outside of Turn 1. It was clumsy collision with the wall that cost him 10 points. Points that he needs.
Liam Lawson – 4.5
Lawson started in the pit lane after his team made lots of changes to his car post Quali. His race didn’t get much better as he retired early after not making any impression on the field.
Alex Albon – 5.9
Another tricky one for Alex, having qualified in the top ten, he was running well after getting pushed off the track on the first lap, which may have led to the issues that caused his retirement. The weekend started so promisingly but didn’t translate for Albon.
The Perfect Formula 