We take a quick look back at the most recent race of the season in our post, F1 Review Canada 2023.

While practice and qualifying were dampened by rain, there was not a cloud in sight during the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton had an explosive start and quickly snatched P2 from Fernando Alonso. However, the pace of the Aston Martin proved too much for the Mercedes to compete with as the race unfolded.

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Alonso vs Hamilton

Mercedes and Aston Martin are the main rivalry to watch during the 2023 Formula One season. Despite sharing a number of components, Aston Martin had the jump on Mercedes from day one. This put Fernando Alonso against his old rival, Lewis Hamilton.

The two former world champions did not disappoint as they pushed each other to the limit. Hamilton had a great start and overtook Alonso, only for the two-time world champion to reclaim P2 by lap 10.

Mercedes switched their strategy and went for medium tyres for the final stint; this closed the gap to Alonso but was ultimately not enough to claim P2. Alonso was also nurturing a rear brake issue for the second half of the race, forcing him to lift and coast for around 30 laps.

Click here to read a more detailed account of the 2023 Canadian F1 GP.

Verstappen Makes It 100

Max Verstappen led every single lap of the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. He took the chequered flag with ease, claiming Red Bull’s 100th race win. At the same time, Max also matched Ayton Senna’s 41 F1 race wins.

However, it’s important to note that Verstappen won the race by just nine seconds. This is far less than the 25-second margin that Red Bull enjoyed at the beginning of the year. While this is still a dominant performance, it clearly signals how Mercedes and Aston Martin are closing the gap.

Some Luck for the Ferraris

Ferrari had a miserable qualifying session that left both cars starting outside the points. Despite this, Ferrari made some excellent strategy calls that saw their drivers stay out during the first safety car period.

Both Leclerc and Sainz completed the race with just one stop. This saw them jump up the order to finish P4 and P5, ahead of Perez in P6. The pace of the Ferrari was impressive, but still notably behind the likes of Mercedes and Aston Martin.

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Russell’s Retirement

George Russell had an equally impressive start and was challenging Alonso for the first part of the race. However, Russell took too much curb at turn four and smashed into the barrier. This saw him come into the pits for some repairs and a new set of tyres.

While Russell came back out and worked his way up to P8, there were some issues with his brake cooling that could not be ignored. This saw him retire from the race for the second time this season.