Three winners and losers from Montreal

The Montreal Race Review

Formula One returned to the streets of Montreal for this first time in three seasons due to a worldwide pandemic, yet the only thing contagious was a positive buzz around a motorsport-mad city as they enjoyed a solid week of racing. There was a hangover from Baku on the Ferrari side of the pit wall after a less than impressive showing which saw two DNFS. Yet, life only got tougher for the Italian giants as they were forced to take a penalty due to excessive engine usage, not for great reading considering we are yet to hit the half-way mark this season. It’s not hindsight but rather it’s foresight to say that Max Verstappen was strong favourite this week to add to his race-win tally. Weather spiced up the proceedings as a wet qualifying session threw a spanner in the works, however all odds were proven justified as the Dutchman extended his lead for the world title.

Winners

1) Max Verstappen

Topping both practices, pole position by seven tenths in testing conditions and a race victory of course, Max Verstappen looks odds on to pick up another world title. He finds himself in a pretty similar scenario to last season where a double victory in Austria made the championship look as though it was his to lose, of course it turned out to be far from that simple. To me this year he seems in a far more assured place and it’s fair to say it is showing on track. There is a more mature side to his driving. He seems to be racing for the bigger picture and realises that taking it one race at a time is necessary. As well as this he doesn’t have the burden of the likes of Lewis Hamilton chasing down his back ,ready to pounce after any mistake, plus he has a teammate who will now no doubt be told to play the team game to suit the Dutchman’s title aspirations. It looks pretty nice, yes. As much as team orders can be a frustrating part of Formula 1, the Qualifying error that Perez made was one which it would be hard to see the Dutchman committing. While, in some tracks the Mexican has matched or even bettered his partner, Verstappen is the whole package. This week was hardly a turning point in the race for the championship however I dare to whisper it may be the end of it.

2)Lewis Hamilton

Last season Verstappen and Hamilton coming out of a weekend on a harmonious tone would have seemed unthinkable, yet in a completely different set of circumstances, and what feels like a different world to be honest, that is what we witnessed last week. In a car that he described as the worst he’s over possessed Lewis Hamilton took to the podium this week to celebrate just his second podium this season. A basketball of a Mercedes car which has struggled all year with proposing has held one strength, reliability. A strength which keeps them in the fight for runners-up in the constructors (fix the car soon maybe even the title itself). Although, after a horrific Monacco and Baku in which the seven times world champion was visibly injured it was a turnaround show in Canada. After practice one and two it looked as though another tough week was incoming, a car which was over and under steering in sync was a difficult watch for silver arrows fans. In qualifying though Hamilton pulled out a p4 which left him extremely satisfied, oh how times have changed. During the race he passed Alonso with ease and never looked back, at a point he even got in a duel with Verstappen. Although completely inferior equipment meant that an anti-climatic wait ended with a one-lap overtake. Positives to take though in the grand picture and with Silverstone being similar to Spain in many regards, there is no reason why he cant be fighting for the race win on home soil.

3) Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo hung in on a strong weekend to score decent points that have propelled them in the midfield battle. Not long ago Alfa Romeo were looking as though they could have been the third quickest car on one lap pace however an average-at best Baku and mildly underwhelming Monacco brought the Sauber team crashing back down to earth. One of the stories coming into this weekend was how unfortunate Zhou has been this season. While at the start of the season Valtteri Bottas was comfortably ahead, the first ever Chinese driver has been making progress and putting in solid performances. Yet three in four races were he hadn’t been able to finish through no fault of his own left Zhou with nothing to show for his solid performances. That would change this week though as he and Bottas both picked up crucial points in seventh and eighth. He was the victim of a DRS train as well in the early stages as he found himself stuck behind Esteban Ocon and to say the safety car was unkind would also be a fair statement, and in the end was the only reason he was beat by his Finish teammate. A successful weekend though for Alfa Romeo overall has put them comfortably above Alpha Tauri and breathing down the necks of an Alpine outfit.

Losers:

1) McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris both saw points go astray this week for reasons out with their control as the British team was left kicking themselves. When your team principle offers a public apology it’s usually a sign it was a weekend to forget. Yet, throughout the weekend they looked very competitive. In three practice sessions only Norris failed to get in the top ten on one occasion, which came in the opening practice session. The major positive was the competitivity of Daniel Ricciardo throughout the weekend, proving that Baku wasn’t just a one-off. It’s fair to say that even before Norris’s clear engine problems in qualifying two he looked as though he held the upper hand. While the Australian did manage it into qualifying three the car showed some real weaknesses again. Despite improving since Bahrain niggling drawbacks still get exposed with the straight line speed being a glaringly obvious problem. If there’s one thing to be learned from McLaren this year it’s that they hold real unpredictability, so what to expect from them at Silverstone? Your guess is as good as mine.

2) Mick Schumacher

Mick Schumacher still lacks points on his driving CV as another week of frustration passed. In Monaco, Schumacher had a rash crash which Steiner publicly showed frustration dismay for. Fast forward to Baku and a safe performance was a tad too safe. Abundances of pace was lost in Baku as the German drove too leisurely, clearly cautious about a crash. In Montreal though it seemed as though he had struck that balance. Running comfortably in the points yet another DNF occurred although this time it was simply out of Schumacher’s hands, as at the end of his sector 2 when overtook by Zhou his engine just gave way and made for another nearly story. In general a decent qualifying which saw himself finish 6th place and his teammate in 5th would have filled his guts with sheer optimism. Yet a qualifying car which has often failed to do the business in the race meant that it was another week of potential thrown down the drain for Haas and ultimately one to forget.

3) Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez was unable to finish both qualifying and race day meaning that he effectively cemented himself as second driver for the remainder of 2022. Title talk was in full spin after the Mexican put himself in the company of Monaco grand prix winners, yet he severely lacked the pace his Dutch counterpart had in Baku and found himself a distant second. A good weekend was essential however a pointless one it turned out to be. A frustrating qualifying session which saw him leave early and cause a red flag didn’t get much better as a technical failure on the car in the early stages meant that it was a day without reward. You have to feel he will be forced to give way to Max on all occasions now when leading, as he was hardly given equal status when level with him. He manages his tyres well though….

Photographs:

(Intro) Licence details

(Winner I) Licence details

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(Winner 3) Licence details

(Loser 1) Licence details

(Loser 2) Licence details

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