Canada Grand Prix

There’s been intermittent rain in Montreal (same as here in Toronto) so the track has lost a lot of grip; there might even be rain during the main sessions.

Reminder: OCO has a 5 grid spot penalty carried over from Monaco having caused the collision with teammate GAS
Coincidentally Alpine announced a few days ago that they’ve decided not to renew OCO’s contract for next season
Meanwhile Red Bull have re-signed PER

Qualifying

A few minutes before Q1 the official forecast says 80% chance of rain
Air temperature 20°C; track 33°C; humidity 69%

Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
There’s a queue forming at pit-out, waiting for the lights to change and hoping to set a time before the rain arrives
Green light
Radio for NOR reporting light rain in Turns 7 and 8
ZHO 1:25.702
VER 1:15.194
NOR 1:14.585
SAI runs wide and aborts his lap
STR 1:14.519
ALO 1:14.418
RUS 1:14.012
STR got very close to hitting the Wall of Champions
NOR 1:13.541
VER 1:13.368
Brief yellow flag as RUS locks up, cuts a corner
STR clearly hits the wall on this lap
RUS 1:13.242
PIA reports being impeded by TSU and HAM
LEC complains on traffic as he approached Turn 1
5mins left; bottom 5 are PIA, PER, GAS, OCO, ZHO
GAS jumps up to P2 – that shows no-one is safe
NOR 1:12.959
HAM 1:12.851
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are RIC, OCO, ALB, HUL, ZHO
RIC P12, VER P16
VER 1:12.360, BOT P16
ALB P4, PER P16
Back of the grid: PER, BOT, OCO*, HUL, ZHO
*OCO’s 5-place penalty means he’ll start P20

Qualifying session 2
RUS 1:13.121
HAM 1:13.104
VER noted for not following the Race Director’s instructions
PIA 1:12.462
Spots of rain on the camera on the main straight
RUS 1:12.323
Radio from VER whining that RUS blocked him (dubious!) and accuses him of doing it deliberately (wah, wah)
Williams mechanics having problems with ALB’s car – a cross-thread on the right-rear?
Forecast says rain in 9mins, which will be the start of Q3
5mins left; bottom 5 are TSU, STR, SAR, ALB, GAS
RUS had a scary slide in Turn 4 but kept it out of the wall
NOR 1:12.201
RIC P4 then teammate TSU P2
HAM 1:11.979
RUS 1:11.742
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are SAI, SAR, ALB, MAG, GAS
ALB P6, LEC P11
MAG P14
Middle of the grid: LEC, SAI, SAR, MAG, GAS – wow, both Ferraris out

Top 10 shootout is between RUS, HAM, NOR, TSU, PIA, ALB, VER, RIC, ALO, STR

Qualifying session 3
7 cars head out; RUS, HAM and ALB remain in the pits … ALB heads out too; everyone on used slicks
Why are Mercedes waiting? Isn’t there rain coming soon?
PIA 1:12.713
VER 1:12.358
NOR P3
ALO P3
STR P4
TSU P6
ALB P5
RIC P8
RUS 1:12.000
HAM P2
Order after the first run: RUS, HAM, VER, PIA, ALO, STR, ALB, TSU, NOR, RIC
PIA P2
NOR P2
STR P6
RIC P4
ALO P5
ALB P9
Chequered flag; order is RUS, NOR, PIA, RIC, ALO, HAM, VER, STR, ALB, TSU
TSU P8
VER P2, on exactly the same time as RUS
NOR P3
Front of the grid: RUS, VER, NOR, PIA, RIC, ALO, HAM, TSU, STR, ALB

Provisional grid: RUS, VER, NOR, PIA, RIC, ALO, HAM, TSU, STR, ALB, LEC, SAI, SAR, MAG, GAS, PER, BOT, OCO*, HUL, ZHO
*OCO’s 5-place penalty means he’ll start P20

Race

Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
BOT and ZHO will start from the pit lane because their cars had changes (including larger rear wings) in parc ferme
Provisional grid: RUS, VER, NOR, PIA, RIC, ALO, HAM, TSU, STR, ALB, LEC, SAI, SAR, MAG, GAS, PER, HUL, OCO; BOT, ZHO
Alpine mechanics are working frantically on OCO’s car with just moments before the start

Air temperature 16°C; track 21°C; humidity 79%
It’s been declared a wet race; everyone has to start on full or intermediate wet tyres; it’s be a standing start, not behind the Safety Car
Zak Brown said “It looks like more rain is coming but not for the entire race, so I think today could be an interesting, exciting, on and off again. I think it’s going to be a race that is won on pit wall today.”

RUS leads everyone (except BOT & ZHO) away on the formation lap
MAG and HUL starting on full wets; everyone else on inters
Radio for VER telling him there’s standing water (puddles) in Turn 2, and the rain will ease off in a minute or two
Radio for RIC, however, tells him “Rain is coming and should last 10 to 15 minutes”

01/70: RUS leads into Turn 1
Everyone gingerly off the grid
Yellow flag – collision between GAS and PER but they’re both still running
MAG up to P9 making the most of his full wet tyres; now P8… and P7

02: RUS, VER, NOR, PIA, ALO, HAM, MAG, RIC, STR, LEC
MAG takes P6 from HAM
Haas definitely made the right call for these initial laps
Radio for RUS telling him this level of rain is the worst they expect
MAG past ALO for P5

03: MAG started P14; he’s right on PIA’s tail… and takes P4

04: RUS fastest lap 1:36.556
MAG f/lap 1:36.134
Radio for LEC – there’s a problem with the engine

05/70: RUS, VER, NOR, MAG, PIA, ALO, HAM, HUL, RIC, STR, LEC, TSU, ALB, SAI, SAR, OCO, PER, GAS, BOT, ZHO
MAG f/lap 1:33.993

06: HUL on HAM’s tail
Yellow flag – SAR is in the tyre wall but he’s reversed out and his front wing seems to be intact

07: ALO cuts the chicane; returns the place
VER f/lap 1:32.634
HAM cuts Turn 1 and also returns the place
Radio from LEC asking how much time he’s losing; told to keep pushing; snaps back at his engineer “I don’t want that sort of answer when I am asking please tell me”; he’s told “half a second”

08: RUS f/lap 1:30.974
MAG pits from P4; inters weren’t ready; rejoins P14

09: VER f/lap 1:30.766
RIC under investigation for a false start

10/70: RUS, VER, NOR, PIR, ALO, HAM, HUL, RIC, STR, LEC, TSU, ALB, SAI, MAG, OCO, PER, GAS, BOT, ZHO, SAR
I’m surprised HUL hasn’t pitted to switch to inters
VER f/lap 1:30.159
NOR f/lap 1:29.860

11: VER f/lap 1:29.295
Radio for MAG telling him he’s faster than the two cars ahead

12: NOR f/lap 1:28.032
RIC given 5-sec penalty for false start

13: Radio for RUS, “Expecting another rain shower in about 20 minutes”; VER is told rain is about 15 laps away
HUL pits for inters; rejoins P19

14: HAM almost within touching distance of ALO

15/70: RUS, VER, NOR, PIA, ALO, HAM, RIC, STR, LEC, TSU
NOR f/lap 1:26.857
NOR slowly catching VER
The overhead shots show the track is rapidly drying

16: RUS only 0.5secs ahead of VER

17: NOR 1:26.553
VER ran wide in Turn 1; recovers

18: DRS enabled
NOR will be first to benefit from DRS – he’s about 0.5sec behind VER
PIA 1:26.412
ALB takes P10 from TSU, but TSU reclaims the place

19: NOR f/lap 1:26.232
PIA f/lap 1:25.976
VER is creeping up on RUS

20/70: RUS, VER, NOR, PIA, ALO, HAM, RIC, STR, LEC, TSU
NOR f/lap 1:25.777
PIA f/lap 1:25.529
HAM has DRS behind ALO
NOR past VER for P2

21: PIA f/lap 1:25.391
NOR has immediately caught RUS
HAM f/lap 1:2
NOR squeezes past RUS to take P1

22: RUS runs wide; rejoins; expect VER to whine about unsafe rejoin
VER passes the recovering RUS for P2

23: NOR f/lap 1:24.429
HAM is all over ALO’s rear wing
Weather update says rain in 3 minutes

25/70: NOR, VER, RUS, PIA, ALO, HAM, RIC, STR, ALB, TSU
Yellow flags – SAR has hit the tall and spun

26: Safety Car deployed
NOR has passed the pit entrance
VER, RUS, PIA, ALO, HAM all pit; they’re all on inters

27[SC]: NOR pits; inters go on; rejoins P3
RIC pits; serves his 5-sec penalty
It’s going to take a while to remove SAR’s broken Williams
Only TSU, OCO and BOT didn’t pit

29[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap
LEC pits; hard (slick) tyres go on; long pause – did they have to reset something?
SC heads into the pits

30/70: VER, RUS, NOR, PIA, HAM, ALO, TSU, STR, OCO, RIC, ALB, BOT, SAI, MAG, GAS, PER, HUL, ZHO, LEC; out: SAR
Radio for LEC, “We think we’ve fixed the engine issue”
LEC runs wide; recovers

31: DRS enabled… no, now it says DRS disabled
ALB squeezes between OCO and RIC, stealing two places; he’s now P9

32: LEC pits again; inters go on

33: SAI runs into the rear of BOT; the Ferrari lost part of its front wing

34: RUS just under 1sec behind VER but DRS is disabled
ALO cuts the chicane

35/70: VER, RUS, NOR, PIA, HAM, ALO, TSU, STR, ALB, OCO, RIC, BOT, SAI, GAS, MAG, PER, ZHO, HUL, LEC

36: The top 5 runners are lapping LEC

38: HUL takes P17 from ZHO

39: GAS harrying SAI for P13

40/70: VER, RUS, NOR, PIA, HAM, ALO, TSU, STR, ALB, OCO
DRS enabled
Radio from RUS reporting Turns 1 and 2 are still damp (but there’s definitely dry line around most of the track)

41: HAM f/lap 1:23.880
GAS pits; slick hard tyres go on
Yellow flag – GAS off track but recovers

42: RUS f/lap 1:23.783
NOR cuts Turn 1; rejoins still P3

43: Radio from RUS saying he lost about 1.5 secs avoiding NOR rejoining at Turn 1
LEC pits; Ferrari retire the car
BOT pits; mediums go on
MAG pits; mediums too

44: NOR f/lap 1:23.671
HAM pits; medium tyres go on; rejoins P7
SAI pits for mediums

45/70: PIA pits, followed by ALO, TSU, STR, OCO and ALB; a mix of medium and hard tyres going on

46: VER pits, as does RUS; mediums and hards respectively
NOR stays out; f/lap 1:23.569

47: NOR f/lap 1:23.272 – he’s on 20 lap old inters
SAI f/lap 1:22.795
GAS f/lap 1:22.775

48: NOR pits; mediums; rejoins P1 but the McLaren squirms as he tries to put the power down; VER steals P1
HAM f/lap 1:21.327
GAS f/lap 1:20.553

49: HAM f/lap 1:19.502
Radio from VER complaining “the ride is very bad, like a locked suspension”
NOR runs deep in the hairpin; RUS takes P2

50/70: VER, RUS, NOR, PIA, HAM, ALO, TSU, STR, OCO, ALB, SAI, RIC, PER, GAS, HUL, BOT, MAG, ZHO; out: LEC, SAR
RUS f/lap 1:19.359

51: VER f/lap 1:18.596
RUS f/lap 1:18.145
RUS runs wide; NOR takes P2

52: VER f/lap 1:18.109
HAM f/lap 1:18.018

53: VER f/lap 1:17.905
NOR f/lap 1:17.631
Yellow flag – PER is limping into the pits with a broken rear wing – he slid off and hit the tyre wall backwards
Separately, SAI spun and slammed into ALB; SAI recovered (after a 360 on the grass) but ALB is stuck against the wall, facing the wrong way

54: Safety Car deployed
SAI pits; retires

55/70[SC]: RUS pits; new mediums
HAM pits; new hards

56[SC]: VER, NOR, PIA, RUS, HAM, ALO, STR, TSU, OCO, RIC, GAS, HUL, BOT, MAG, ZHO; out: SAI, ALB, PER, LEC, SAR

57[SC]: ZHO is the only lapped car; he’s allowed to pass the SC so he won’t be in the way at the restart

58[SC]: Safety Car in at the end of this lap
VER starts backing everyone up as he comes out of the hairpin
SC heads into the pits

60/70: VER already 1.9sec clear of NOR
DRS enabled
MAG cuts a corner

61: RUS f/lap 1:17.103

62: VER f/lap 1:16.625
OCO takes P8 from TSU
RUS almost alongside PIA out of the hairpin but the McLaren hangs on to P3

63: VER f/lap 1:16.318
RUS attacks into the final chicane; contact; RUS runs wide; HAM takes P4

64: VER f/lap 1:15.983

65/70: VER, NOR, PIA, HAM, RUS, ALO, STR, OCO, TSU, RIC, GAS, HUL, BOT, MAG, ZHO
VER f/lap 1:15.830
Radio for RIC, “You are allowed to fight Yuki”
HAM has DRS behind PIA; blasts past before the chicane

66: HAM f/lap 1:15.074
Yellow flag – TSU off at Turn 9
RUS takes P4 from PIA
Replay shows TSU slide off, across the grass, but then slides back onto the track, barely missing MAG

68: RIC takes P8 from OCO
RUS has DRS behind HAM, but HAM is closing on NOR
RUS takes P3 from his teammate as they go into the chicane

69: VER taps the Wall of Champions
Incident involving RUS and PIA will be investigated after the race

70 = final lap: HAM has DRS behind RUS

VER takes the chequered flag
HAM f/lap 1:14.856
Provisional result: VER, NOR, RUS, HAM, PIA, ALO, STR, RIC, GAS, OCO; HUL, MAG, BOT, TSU, ZHO
DNF: SAI, ALB, PER, LEC, SAR
Fastest lap: HAM on the final lap

What a race! Can we have an extra Montreal instead of Monaco next year?

[2024 calendar and driver line-up]