Canadian Grand Prix – The Editorial’s Top/Flop
After a colorful weekend, the editorial team presents you with their top/flop of the Canadian Grand Prix.
After a very dirty track that had to be cleaned, the rain came and disrupted the landmarks. But it was on a dry track and under high heat that the drivers took off, this Sunday.
Each team or driver, in turn, experienced varying fortunes. Motors Inside looks back on the satisfactions and disappointments of this weekend spent on Notre-Dame Island.
The TOP 3
- Max Verstappen at the top of his game
- Fernando Alonso relentless in rainy conditions
- Mercedes is gradually coming back up
–
The Red Bull driver left no chance for his pursuers. With a perfect start, he managed to hold back a battle-hungry Fernando Alonso for the first position. Excellent management of virtual safety cars allowed him to stop and change tires at the right moment.
After the intervention of the safety car, the reigning world champion initially had an excellent restart. But above all, he was able to hold off another in-form Spaniard during this race. Carlos Sainz gave it his all to chase after this first victory, but he stumbled upon a Max Verstappen who was as calm in his defense as he was a perfect manager of his tires, holding off the various attacks from the Ferrari for around twenty laps.
A race of experience that allows him to soar in the championship thanks to this 6th victory of the season. He has a 49-point lead over his teammate.
One thing is certain, Fernando Alonso has not lost any of his temperament or his skill behind the wheel in the rain. After a strong start on a very slippery track during FP1, where he secured the 3rd fastest time, the Spanish driver has shown great comfort in the rain during FP2 and especially FP3, where he finished in first place. He confirms his performance during qualifying with a fantastic front row position.
However, his Alpine did not allow him to keep up with the Austrian race car for long in race conditions. He finishes 7th after a questionable tire strategy, and will even be demoted to ninth place after the race, while he had hoped for a podium. Nevertheless, the forty-year-old Fernando Alonso does not let himself be outshone by the young talents and once again demonstrates that he fully belongs in Formula 1.
If one could think that Lewis Hamilton had taken advantage of the rainy conditions to make the most of his experience and achieve a very impressive fourth place in qualifying, the course of the race proved to us that Mercedes can better understand their car.
The seven-time world champion has finally managed to convince us. His race start was strong, he was hardly outpaced by Max Verstappen. As for the strategy, the Germans are always involved in the right moves, which allowed them to not get caught out during the three race interruptions, resulting in a 3rd place finish for Hamilton and 4th place for Russell.
If Ferrari and Red Bull are still out of reach, the team with the star is increasingly pulling away from its direct pursuers, McLaren and Alpine. On his part, George Russell confirms his consistency by obtaining a new top 5. The ninth in as many races in 2022.
The FLOP 3
- The Haas did not manage to materialize
- Pierre Gasly lacking rhythm
- McLaren lacking pace
If the qualification was filled with hope for the American team with the unexpected 5th and 6th positions of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher.
Everything was harvested on the track due to mechanical failure for the German, and a significant lack of performance for the Danish car.
If the beginning of Haas’ season finally gave hope that they would move away from the back of the grid, there is still progress to be made.
After a very good performance in Baku, Pierre Gasly wasn’t able to repeat it in Canada. Qualified in 16th position, the Frenchman finishes his Canadian escapade in 14th place.
Lacking performance throughout the race, he was unable to take advantage of the three interruptions. Unlike the previous two seasons, Pierre Gasly has still not found the instruction manual for his AlphaTauri and is slowly being overshadowed by his teammate in terms of pure performance.
Like the Haas team and Pierre Gasly, McLaren remained outside the points. Their highlight was in FP3 with Ricciardo and Norris finishing 5th and 6th respectively.
The overall lack of pace of the orange car once again demonstrates that the Woking team is not able to compete with Mercedes. They remain at the front of the midfield pack, but Alpine could easily overtake them if the situation remains the same.
On his side, Lando Norris has struggled in comparison to his teammate, who we know is in an unfavorable position for next year. It was a weekend without success for the English driver, who needs to raise his level of competitiveness in order to prove that he is indeed the number one and the future of McLaren.
