- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,266,314
- Reaction score
- 59
Montreal has a way of bringing out the best in Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion started fifth on the grid at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and finished second, producing a brilliant overtake on Max Verstappen to claim his best result yet for Ferrari.
It was the kind of Sunday that, after a long and often frustrating spell in red, he’s been waiting for.
Speaking on the podium, Hamilton made no attempt to hide what the result meant. “These guys have been welcoming me with open arms, and it’s been pretty tough for the past year and a bit,” he said. “So to finally find our sweet spot and have a good weekend has been really… it’s an amazing feeling to be back up here.”
He added that getting to race wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen in front of a packed Montreal crowd made it all the sweeter.
Hamilton stepped away from Ferrari’s simulator in the build-up to the race, having felt the tool was steering the team in the wrong direction on setup. His first Ferrari season in 2025 generated more noise than results, and even into 2026, Leclerc had generally looked quicker over a single lap.
Canada changed that picture considerably.
Hamilton qualified fifth and beat teammate Charles Leclerc in both the Sprint and grand prix qualifying sessions. Even with Ferrari’s ongoing struggles, he was within 290 thousandths of pole position – an encouraging margin given where the team has been.
Kimi Antonelli‘s victory extended his championship lead to 43 points over the retiring George Russell, while Hamilton’s 18-point haul lifted him up to fourth in the drivers‘ standings. Russell’s retirement was his first DNF since the 2024 British Grand Prix.
Hamilton stayed fair when assessing what the result actually means for his Italian team. He said that Ferrari brought their major upgrade package to Miami, not Montreal, making P2 at a power-sensitive, low-downforce circuit all the more meaningful. “Considering this is a real straight-line speed circuit and we’ve just managed to hold on and get this result,” he said, “it definitely gives me high hopes for what’s ahead. But we’ve got to keep pushing and keep trying to extract more.”
Despite holding only one grand prix podium since joining Ferrari prior to this weekend, Hamilton has maintained publicly that he is committed to the Scuderia, confirming he is under contract at Maranello for 2027 and expects to remain in the sport for years to come.
A P2 at one of the calendar’s most demanding circuits, secured with a racecraft move on Verstappen, is about as good an argument for that commitment as Hamilton could have made.
Continue reading...
It was the kind of Sunday that, after a long and often frustrating spell in red, he’s been waiting for.
Speaking on the podium, Hamilton made no attempt to hide what the result meant. “These guys have been welcoming me with open arms, and it’s been pretty tough for the past year and a bit,” he said. “So to finally find our sweet spot and have a good weekend has been really… it’s an amazing feeling to be back up here.”
He added that getting to race wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen in front of a packed Montreal crowd made it all the sweeter.
Why This Weekend Felt Different for Hamilton
Hamilton stepped away from Ferrari’s simulator in the build-up to the race, having felt the tool was steering the team in the wrong direction on setup. His first Ferrari season in 2025 generated more noise than results, and even into 2026, Leclerc had generally looked quicker over a single lap.
Canada changed that picture considerably.
Hamilton qualified fifth and beat teammate Charles Leclerc in both the Sprint and grand prix qualifying sessions. Even with Ferrari’s ongoing struggles, he was within 290 thousandths of pole position – an encouraging margin given where the team has been.
Kimi Antonelli‘s victory extended his championship lead to 43 points over the retiring George Russell, while Hamilton’s 18-point haul lifted him up to fourth in the drivers‘ standings. Russell’s retirement was his first DNF since the 2024 British Grand Prix.
What Hamilton Is Reading Into It for the Rest of 2026
Hamilton stayed fair when assessing what the result actually means for his Italian team. He said that Ferrari brought their major upgrade package to Miami, not Montreal, making P2 at a power-sensitive, low-downforce circuit all the more meaningful. “Considering this is a real straight-line speed circuit and we’ve just managed to hold on and get this result,” he said, “it definitely gives me high hopes for what’s ahead. But we’ve got to keep pushing and keep trying to extract more.”
Despite holding only one grand prix podium since joining Ferrari prior to this weekend, Hamilton has maintained publicly that he is committed to the Scuderia, confirming he is under contract at Maranello for 2027 and expects to remain in the sport for years to come.
A P2 at one of the calendar’s most demanding circuits, secured with a racecraft move on Verstappen, is about as good an argument for that commitment as Hamilton could have made.
Continue reading...
