Lazy Thoughts on the Canadian Grand Prix
Drama, debris, and a brief downfall for McLaren
I'll be honest... I kind of expected George Russell to win this one. Not because I was rooting for him, but because there’s something karmic about a man who looks like he irons his sweatpants delivering on the hype given to him. Mercedes was due for a comeback anyway, especially after Kimi Antonelli faced two DNFs in the past three races. And oh boy, did Mercedes deliver.
Russell converted pole (1:10.899) into a flawless lights‑to‑flag victory— his first of the season and his fourth career win. The kind of performance that whispers “I was overdue for a victory” and yells it at the same time.
He might not have outright said it, but Russell knew this was vindication. In Saturday’s qualifying, he described his pole-setting lap as “one of the most exhilarating of my life,” and quipped that he had “a few more penalty points to play with” when asked about lining up alongside Max Verstappen.
Of course, that was a snarky callback to what happened earlier this month in Barcelona. Remember that? When Verstappen got three more penalty points for colliding with Russell? Verstappen now being one point away from a race ban? It’s not like some members of the media kept reminding him of that throughout the weekend.
(And by “not like,” I mean constantly. So much so that he snapped at a British reporter, calling the question “childish” and “a waste of time.” And honestly, I get it. It’s the topic du jour, yeah, but you don’t have to keep asking about it!)
Ironically, Verstappen’s racing this week was clean. He drove a no-notes, no-nonsense race that landed him a P2 finish. But the tension between him and Russell was clear. Russell even trying to claim Max overtook him during a safety car near the end of the race— even when it was clear George had simply slowed down for a moment.
Oh right, we should probably talk about the safety car.
It wouldn’t be a Canadian Grand Prix without at least some chaos, and this year’s chaos came near the end of the race. It was courtesy of Lando Norris playing bumper cars with Oscar Piastri on Lap 67, resulting in a collision and Norris’ subsequent exit from the race.
McLaren had been comfortably in the running for a podium finish— in fact, I was expecting it. Piastri was holding P3. Norris, closing in, got impatient. And instead of waiting for DRS or an actual overtaking zone, he launched a last-minute lunge that had “bad idea, right?” written all over it. He clipped the rear of Piastri’s car, damaged his own front wing, and spun into retirement while Piastri limped to P4 under the safety car.
Cue Norris over the radio: “That was all my fault. Stupid from me.”
Yeah. No arguments there. At least you’re being honest, buddy.
But I think that incident is more than a simple racing misjudgment— it shows the fracture lines in McLaren’s current dynamic. Lando Norris has been McLaren’s golden boy for years— cheeky, charming, “future world champion” energy. But now calm, collected Oscar Piastri is leading the ranks with a 22-point gap. Norris making that move didn’t feel like a calculated risk; it felt like panic. Panic at the moment you realize the younger, quieter teammate is becoming the team’s de facto leader. That lunge wasn’t just a botched overtake—it was a “remember me?” thrown at both Piastri and McLaren leadership.
And the irony? We did remember him— just not for the right reasons.
At least Kimi Antonelli got P3 because of Norris’ mistake. As I said, Mercedes was due for a comeback— and Antonelli wasted no time in becoming the now third-youngest driver to score a podium, behind Verstappen and (believe it or not) Lance Stroll.
The kid deserves it; good for him. He was fast, kept his racing clean, and calmly inherited what McLaren fumbled. He’s definitely going to win a WDC someday.
Miscellaneous Notes
Here are some other observations I made during the race that didn’t fit in the main piece above:
Sucks that Alex Albon had to retire for a second consecutive race— this time due to an engine issue. His qualifying this weekend was pretty strong before the car seemed to give up on him.
Red Bull Racing must’ve been embarrassed after its junior team drivers scored ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. I think it showed this weekend— not by making Tsunoda’s car better, but by screwing over Liam Lawson’s race and modifying his car under parc fermé—them having him retire due to “engine preservation” issues.
Ferrari kept both its cars in one piece, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc securing a 5-6 finish. Not the most remarkable result— especially compared to their performance at Le Mans this weekend… but it’s a win for them.
Shoutout to Nico Hülkenberg for finishing P8, his second consecutive points-scoring finish this season (and third overall). He’s making the most of his garbage Sauber car while waiting for Audi to finally enter F1 next year.
And finally, Kelly Piquet is clearly desperate for Verstappen to finish P1 again. Not because she cares about the championship (spoiler: she doesn’t), but because every not-P1 finish chips away at the
groomingnarrative she’s clinging to like a Dior clutch at a Monaco yacht party. It looks like she’s had to resort to posting videos of Max on the podium— while their almost two-month-old daughter is babbling in the background. Of course, her fans went WILD over the baby sounds. But I see it for what it is: a bid to preserve her relevance in a season that’s becoming more and more about “how long can we keep pretending this is fine?”
Anyway, that’s all for now. See you next time!
-Flower