By Carol M. Creasey
The Canadian Grand Prix holds a special place in Lewis Hamilton’s heart. In the past it has been a great circuit for him, having won there 7 times.
It is also the site of his first Formula 1 victory in 2007. He won that race as a rookie, and against double world champion Fernando Alonso nonetheless. To commemorate this, Lewis put up a post on his Instagram account reminiscing about how special it had felt.
This year, at the press conference on Thursday, Lewis was asked whether the updates on the car might bring Mercedes nearer to a podium finish, and he agreed that hopefully they might not be too far away. He also confirmed that he now has Mercedes’ new front wing that George Russell ran at the last race.
During the practice sessions Lewis was flying, his pace was great, and all the fans were holding their breath in anticipation, wondering if this form could carry though to qualifying. During the first part of qualifying, Mercedes were 1st and 2nd, and Russell managed to carry that through to Q3, where he ultimately was able to put his car on pole.
Lewis, however, was not so lucky. When he did his push lap in Q3, the wind had got up and he made an error. With such small margins between the drivers, he ended up in P7. He was very despondent when interviewed afterwards, saying he had no idea why when he gets to Q3 he seems to lose two tenths. But in spite of his disappointment, he was quick to congratulate George on his pole position.
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On race day it was mixed conditions, the track was wet as it had been raining, so when the drivers set off, spray was going everywhere. It was an eventful race with 4 safety cars, and the lead of the race changed several times. Russell was overtaken by Norris and Verstappen, with the latter ultimately winning the race. Norris was 2nd, Russell 3rd, and after a valiant effort Lewis rose up to 4th place, making up 3 places from where he started the race.
Russell was delighted to be on the podium, even though he had not won, but Lewis, as always, very self-critical. He declared it was his worst race in a long time. What especially frustrated him was the fact he felt if he had qualified better, he could have won the race. He made a comment about getting his head together to qualify higher.
The fact that he came 4th, his highest result this year did not satisfy him, but for the fans it’s a positive. It means that Mercedes have definitely improved their car, and with the British Grand Prix coming up in July, and 3 British drivers in contention, that will make it a very exciting race. Although Verstappen did prevail this time, the gap is closing, so the second part of the season will be an exciting time.
Be sure to follow Carol on X @eagertogo and visit her website www.carolmcreasey.com!
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