Max Verstappen may have claimed yet another win this year, but it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who was voted F1’s Driver of the Day at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix.
The race in Montreal was an enthralling affair from the start to the finish with two Virtual Safety Car periods and an actual Safety Car spicing things up. Verstappen who led the race from pole was in imperious form with the Dutchman only losing the lead of the race when he came into the pits.
The 2021 champion then had to fend off a late charge by Carlos Sainz, after the Safety Car came following Yuki Tsunoda’s crash into the barrier while exiting the pits.
The Dutchman drove brilliantly managing to hold on to the race lead despite Sainz benefitting from the use of the DRS to bring home his sixth win of the season.
Behind the lead pair, it was a great day at the office for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who seemed to turn his fortunes around at a circuit where he claimed his first-ever win in F1.
Leclerc storms through the field
Having picked up a penalty for changing his power unit, Leclerc was forced to start from the back of the field.
The Monegasque driver made some excellent moves throughout the race, though found himself stuck behind Esteban Ocon’s Alpine during the middle stages of the Grand Prix.
The intervention of the Safety Car was slightly fortuitous for Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver made full use of the opportunity presented to him by quickly dispatching the Alpines of Ocon and Fernando Alonso.
After a series of disappointing races, Leclerc’s fifth at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve was a much-needed shot in the arm for both driver and team, with Leclerc also closing the gap in the Drivers’ Championship to Sergio Perez who retired from the race.
After an exciting race in Canada, Formula 1 now heads to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.
