Max Verstappen wins crash-filled Canadian GP as Russell piles on Lewis Hamilton misery
Max Verstappen held off the challenge to claim a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix victory.
Max Verstappen fended off challenges from Lando Norris and George Russell to claim victory in a rain-affected Canadian Grand Prix. Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton lost a podium on the penultimate lap to his team-mate.
With the rain lashing down ahead of the race, Haas opted to fit Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg with full-wet tyres. This turned out to be a masterstroke, and both drivers began scything through the field. Within three laps, the former of that duo had climbed from well outside the points to P4.
Unfortunately for the Dane, a pit-stop error from the Haas team cost him dearly as he swapped out his overheating full-wets for a fresh set of intermediate tyres. Elsewhere, there was trouble for Daniel Ricciardo, who picked up a five-second time penalty for a false start.
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Further forward, the battle started to heat up as the track dried out. Verstappen kept Russell honest, but it was a charging Norris who posed the biggest threat to the polesitter, snatching P2 on lap 20 before placing his McLaren at the point on the following lap.
After taking the lead, Norris moved 11 seconds clear of the championship leader, but that advantage was wiped out when Logan Sargeant crashed at Turn Four, bringing out the first safety car of the race. Unfortunately for the McLaren driver, the ensuing pit stops shuffled him to third place, and Verstappen to P1.
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The race settled down after the safety car as the track dried out. Pierre Gasly was the first to try hard tyres on lap 41, but a tumultuous out lap made it clear that the changeover point was some way off yet. A few laps later, Hamilton became the first of the frontrunners to make the gamble.
Verstappen retained the lead when the pit stop cycle was complete, streaking clear of Norris, and the Miami Grand Prix winner lost another position to Russell after running deep into the sector three hairpin. However, those spots were inverted a couple of laps later following a slip-up on the kerb by the Mercedes man.
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An eventful race looked to be simmering out, but on lap 54 the safety car was called into action again after Carlos Sainz spun his Ferrari and tagged Alex Albon in the process, ending the race for both drivers.
Verstappen wasn't challenged at the restart though, keeping his distance to Norris as Russell and Hamilton tussled over the final place on the podium.
